PAUL: Well, millions of Americans suffer from irritable bowel syndrome.</s>BLACKWELL: This week's "Staying Well" takes a look at one therapy that's helping patients get some improvements.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Kevin Yu suffered for years with irritable bowel syndrome, a condition marked by stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, or alternating between both.</s>KEVIN YU, SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER: Only time I felt okay was when I was sleeping or sleeping on a toilet.</s>COHEN: Yu went to GI doctors who tried traditional treatments from over-the-counter drugs to diet changes, nothing worked.</s>YU: My doctors told me, Kevin, we want to try something new with you.</s>COHEN: They sent him to a psychiatrist who described an anti- depressant. Then he started seeing a health psychologist who diagnosed him with anxiety disorder and depression.</s>YU: She actually helped me realize that the stomach wasn't the source of my problems. I was under a tremendous amount of stress.</s>COHEN: After six weeks of talk therapy that included deep breathing and meditation, Kevin says his symptoms were virtually gone.</s>YU: One of the biggest takeaways is how you carry your anxiety and how you carry your stress.</s>LAURIE KEEFER, HEALTH PSYCHOLOGIST, MT. SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: We have a lot of nerves in our gut that are messaging the brain about what's happening.</s>COHEN: Studies have found that mental health therapy has helped thousands of patients recover from</s>IBS. KEEFER: They learn to think in ways that are more helpful and less worrisome. They're really working on solving problems in a more flexible way.</s>YU: My psychiatrist and my psychologist helped give me my life back.</s>COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, reporting.
Fighting IBS with Mental Health Therapy.