This week for the rail industry has been Mental Health Awareness Week. I am sure across the media channels, social or workplace, you have seen content relating to this so apologies for being a tad late to this band wagon, but its one that cannot be ignored either.

I’m by no means a clinical or mental health expert so I can only draw from my own experiences of the challenge of living and working with a gut health condition and how that affects my mental health. It is something I am happy to share if it means it helps someone else experiencing a similar thing feels heard. There is actually a bit of science to it, but I’ll mention that later.

To say that living with a gut health condition like IBS is perhaps being “well managed” wouldn’t entirely be a convincing statement. Actually, there is a lot of time and effort that is required to achieve such equilibrium. Over the 7 years since being diagnosed with IBS and shift working in the rail industry, there have been moments where I’ve worried about whether the meal or snack that I eat will wake me up the next morning feeling or experiencing discomfort; the anxiety, shame or embarrassment if anything happens, and the loss of not having the dietary need entirely understood. It can feel so isolating and so frustrating, particularly as ill mental health such as anxiety and depression can also exacerbate poor gut health symptoms, like stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea .

Now for the science-y bit, it is understood that there is a more profound connection between our brain and our gut, called the “Gut Brain Axis”. There is a great article by GUTS UK about the direct relationship between your gut and your brain. Did you know that 95% of Serotonin i.e. one of the happy chemicals, is produced in your gut? The article can be found here https://gutscharity.org.uk/2024/07/what-is-the-gut-brain-connection-activity/