Stress vs. IBS Which one came first?

Yesterday I was surfing the web and there was an article that I came across which stated that IBS came first and that anxiety/depression comes later because people have to learn how to manage their disease.

I think it comes from both fronts. Over 15 years ago I was put in a highly stressful situation when I had a change of roommates. My new roommate didn't like me too much and so I was getting blamed for everything. Back then I didn't know how to stand up for myself against my roommate and after almost two months of being with her I developed IBS. I never had it before, but I had never been under that much stress at one time. I got so sick I had to go home. For a while my IBS would go in waves of getting better or worse.

I trained myself to look for the nearest bathroom at every store so that "just in case" I had a flare up I could run to the bathroom.

Then a few years later I was in another stressful situation with an employer. One day I woke up took 12 capsules of activated charcoal and downed some Imodium and I was still running to the bathroom every 2 minutes or so. I should have been constipated by that time, but I wasn't. Here again I didn't know how to speak up for myself.

I go further with the supposed article. I believe that stress can activate IBS, then yes a person can have flare ups trying to manage their IBS, which can add more stress causing anxiety/depression. Unless you get yourself out of cycle. Which is something I had to learn. How to get myself out of a emotional cycle to where I wouldn't get the flare ups even with stressful conditions.

I have been practicing getting myself out of my emotional cycles for 3 years now. I am taking better care of my health and I have learned to speak up for myself in stressful situations. I eat a more balanced diet and try to be consistent with exercise. I have learned to manage my IBS, but I know that management is a life long pursuit.