Jeffrey M. Lackner, PsyD, co-author of new research on the correlation between self-ratings of health and IBS symptom severity published in the February 2014 issue of AJG, talks with AJG Co-Editor Dr. Paul Moayyedi about how fatigue, somatization, and negative social interactions might serve as key predictors for self-rated health in IBS, how IBS symptom severity has a surprisingly modest role in self-rated health, and how doctors can better consider the psychological experience of IBS and how that impacts treatment and patient response.