Using hypnosis to end irritable bowel syndrome

Hypnotherapy is among the finest known and most extensively used treatments for IBS, and can offer patients a drug-free service to their symptoms of diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain and bloating.

There are now numerous numerous hypnotherapists who offer what is called "gut-directed hypnotherapy" for IBS, which takes the general strategies of hypnotherapy and applies them straight to the abdominal pain and digestive symptoms which IBS victims battle with. This kind of hypnotherapy has been medically checked and discovered to be extremely handy to many IBS clients.

Among the very first studies of hypnotherapy for IBS was performed by Dr Peter Whorwell, a leading specialist on IBS and hypnotherapy in the UK. A trial he carried out in the 1980s discovered that a group of IBS victims who had actually failed to react to other treatments revealed significant improvements when treated with gut-directed hypnotherapy. Since then, other therapists have actually shown comparable outcomes.

Hypnotherapy in a medical setting bears no relation to the type of phase hypnosis where volunteers are made to do absurd things in the name of home entertainment. Patients stay entirely in control of their own actions, and are just coaxed into a kind of deep relaxation state.
While the patients remains in this state the therapist will talk with you and make positive recommendations-- one common method for IBS is to ask you to put your hand over your abdomen and imagine that a recovery heat is flowing from your hand to your stomach.


Some hypnotherapists will record each session for you so that you can listen to them once again in between your visits, and for that reason increase the effectiveness of the treatment.

If you do not have the time or the resources to visit a certified hypnotherapist, you might find some relief in one of the self-hypnosis CDs readily available, which can be listened to in the comfort of your own house.
While you will not get an individual treatment program from a ready-made CD, you will have the ability to gain from the basic hypnosis approach, and you can select to listen to the CDs whenever you have the time.
The IBS Audio Program, established by the UK hypnotherapist Michael Mahoney, is the most widely utilized program for IBS patients, and is offered on audio CD and cassette. The program is developed to be used over 100 days, and includes 4 CDs and a program pamphlet. The makers claim that around 80% of listeners experience a considerable decrease of discomfort and bowel dysfunction.

The program consists of three therapeutic session CDs, with an introduction and five different hypnotherapy sessions. It also includes a bonus offer fourth CD (the IBS Companion), which describes IBS to non-sufferers.

One of the very first studies of hypnotherapy for IBS was performed by Dr Peter Whorwell, a leading expert on IBS and hypnotherapy in the UK. A trial he carried out in the 1980s found that a group of IBS sufferers who had actually failed to react to other treatments showed dramatic improvements when treated with gut-directed hypnotherapy. The IBS Audio Program, developed by the UK hypnotherapist Michael Mahoney, is the most widely used program for IBS patients, and is offered on audio CD and cassette.