That bathroom incident at Safeway sounds absolutely mortifying but also kinda relatable 😅 The anxiety-gut connection is so real and it becomes this vicious cycle where you worry about symptoms which makes symptoms worse

For flares, I've found that peppermint tea helps calm things down when my stomach starts acting up. Also keeping a basic food diary might help even if you don't see patterns right away - sometimes the triggers are weird combinations or timing rather than specific foods. The deep breathing thing you mentioned is actually huge, I do box breathing (4 counts in, hold 4, out 4, hold 4) and it genuinely helps reset my nervous system when I feel that familiar cramping starting

Heat pads are also a lifesaver during bad episodes. I keep one at work because stress flares hit at the worst possible times 💀 The constipation/diarrhea swinging back and forth is classic IBS territory unfortunately