Hypno-Psychotherapy
and IBS.
Many studies have shown that
hypnotherapy, combined with psychotherapy is one of the most successful ways of
treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Hypno-psychotherapy can be successful where
other approaches have failed.
The gut reacts directly to the
environment, and it is believed that stress and anxiety contribute greatly to
the symptoms felt by the IBS sufferer.
Essentially, the bowel is a hollow tube
surrounded by muscle, and your nervous system controls the muscle – and hence
the tube – causing it to contract in a wave-like motion, called peristalsis. In
IBS, the muscles contract too hard and go into spasm, causing the familiar
pain, bloating and constipation or diarrhoea. Frequently, the bowel spasm
itself causes the sufferer anxiety, thus setting up a vicious circle of spasm –
anxiety about the spasm – causing new spasm and so on.
The essence of hypnotherapeutic
treatment is to teach the client not only how to break this circle but also to
begin to control the apparently automatic contraction of the gut so that the
frequency and intensity of IBS attacks is much reduced, and indeed may be
eliminated entirely. The aim is to put you in control, so that you can manage
your condition effectively for the rest of your life.
The nature of IBS is such that its
symptoms can mimic other gastro-intestinal complaints.
It is essential therefore that before
starting hypno-psychotherapy, your condition has been diagnosed by a
GP/Consultant and other possible causes of your symptoms ruled out.
Please ensure that you bring a letter to
that effect from your Doctor to your first consultation.
You may have been told that ‘You have
IBS – you just have to live with it’. The plain truth is that you don’t, and
hypnotherapy could put you back in charge of your life again.