Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, often debilitating gastrointestinal disorderthat occurs in approximately 10% of adults in Europe and North America (WorldGastrointestinal Disorder Global Guideline, 2009). The primary symptoms of IBS are chronicabdominal pain and discomfort associated with a change in bowel function (Rome III DiagnosticCriteria, 2012), but symptoms are often variable and do not have any evident peripheralpathology.

Irritable bowel syndrome is thought to be multifactorial in its etiology, and it is bestunderstood from a biopsychosocial perspective (Drossman, 1998). However, many facets of thedisorder remain unclear, which makes it difficult to find successful treatments.

As aconsequence, many patients with IBS have high health-care costs (Longstreth et al. , 2003), andstruggle with daily functioning and quality of life (Frank et al.

, 2002). There is a substantial body of literature indicating that stressful life events (e.

g. , abuse,divorce, relationship difficulties, and business failures) are common among patients with IBS(Bennett, Tennant, Piesse, Badcock, & Kellow, 1998; Roelofs & Spinehoven, 2007).

In addition,daily hassles are associated with an increase in gastrointestinal symptoms (Levy, Cain, Jarrett, &Heitkemper, 1997). Stressors, whether significant life events or recurrent daily hassles, maydysregulate gastrointestinal functioning through the brain-gut axis, which links brain systemsthat mediate cognition and emotion to the gastrointestinal system (Chang, 2011; Mayer,Naliboff, Chang, & Coutinho, 2001; Mayer, 2000).

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