Hypno-IBS® for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

 If you have IBS, it might be a bit difficult to understand how hypnotherapy for IBS can help. Hypnotherapy deals with the mind, right? And IBS affects your gut. So there can’t be a connection… 

In fact, there’s a very clear connection between your mind and your gut. Your brain and gut are closely connected by your vagus nerve, which is like an information superhighway and sends messages from your brain to your gut. 

Your thoughts and emotions are communicated directly to your gut and affect how your gut works – we’ve all felt worried about something and been unable to eat or have felt nauseous. Likewise, information is communicated from your gut back up to your brain. The expression ‘gut feeling’ sums this up nicely – your gut is giving you information which might be important and your brain can then act on that information. 

As a trained HypnoIBS® practitioner, I offer specialist treatment using gut-directed hypnosis (GDH) or ‘gut-guided’ hypnotherapy, which has been shown in clinical trials to be significantly effective in helping people with IBS. 

This approach uses hypnosis, suggestion, guided imagery and relaxation to create a therapeutic effect. Clinical trials show that around 70% of those who try gut-directed hypnotherapy see a reduction in their symptoms within six weeks. GDH addresses the “miscommunication” between the brain and gut by improving the connection of the mind and body – or the gut-brain axis – and increasing the response of the parasympathetic nervous system. 

 Many people find that particular emotions – such as anxiety and anger – make their IBS symptoms worse. Hypnotherapy for IBS can help you recognise the situations which trigger these emotions, your own response to the emotions and the impact this has on your IBS. Using hypnosis, you can learn to experience new outcomes from these triggers and emotions which can help manage and improve your symptoms. 

Another way in which hypnotherapy for IBS can help is by introducing you to deep states of relaxation and powerful imagery during your hypnotherapy sessions, and afterwards as you practice self-hypnosis and listen to your HypnoIBS™ recordings. 

Most clients who have experienced HypnoIBS™ report not only an improvement in their IBS symptoms but in their lives in general!.

Hypnotherapy for IBS is not a cure but can help to reduce symptoms and make them more manageable. Hypnotherapy for IBS can help to: 

• Reduce the sensitivity of the digestive system, making it less likely to overreact and cause symptoms. 
• Reduce the severity and frequency of physical symptoms such as pain, bloating, and urgency and regain a more regular bowel habit. 
• Reduce stress and anxiety about your symptoms. 
• Give you the time, opportunity, and support to find the right approach for your health. 
• Give you tools to use in everyday life to help you feel more in control.
• Help you feel more confident in managing your condition.