Using hypnosis to end irritable bowel syndrome

Hypnotherapy is one of the very best known and most extensively utilized treatments for IBS, and can offer patients a drug-free solution to their symptoms of diarrhea, constipation, stomach pain and bloating.

There are now numerous hundreds of hypnotherapists who offer what is called "gut-directed hypnotherapy" for IBS, which takes the general techniques of hypnotherapy and uses them directly to the abdominal discomfort and digestive signs which IBS sufferers battle with. This kind of hypnotherapy has been clinically evaluated and found to be extremely useful to many IBS patients.

Among 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 discovered that a group of IBS victims who had failed to react to other treatments revealed significant enhancements when treated with gut-directed hypnotherapy. Ever since, other therapists have actually shown comparable outcomes.

Hypnotherapy in a medical setting bears no relation to the kind of stage hypnosis where volunteers are made to do ludicrous things in the name of entertainment. Clients remain totally in control of their own actions, and are simply coaxed into a kind of deep relaxation state.
While the patients remains in this state the therapist will speak to you and make positive recommendations-- one normal approach for IBS is to ask you to place your turn over your abdomen and imagine that a recovery heat is streaming from your hand to your stomach.


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

If you do not have the time or the resources to check out a certified hypnotherapist, you may find some relief in one of the self-hypnosis CDs readily available, which can be listened to in the convenience of your own house.
While you will not get a specific treatment program from a ready-made CD, you will be able to take advantage of the general hypnosis approach, and you can pick to listen to the CDs whenever you have the time.
The IBS Audio Program, developed by the UK hypnotherapist Michael Mahoney, is the most extensively used program for IBS sufferers, and is available on audio CD and cassette. The program is developed to be utilized over 100 days, and consists of 4 CDs and a program brochure. The makers declare that around 80% of listeners experience a substantial decrease of pain and bowel dysfunction.

The program includes three healing session CDs, with an introduction and 5 different hypnotherapy sessions. It likewise consists of a reward fourth CD (the IBS Companion), which discusses IBS to non-sufferers.

One of the first research studies of hypnotherapy for IBS was conducted by Dr Peter Whorwell, a leading professional on IBS and hypnotherapy in the UK. A trial he carried out in the 1980s discovered that a group of IBS sufferers who had actually stopped working to respond to other treatments revealed significant improvements when treated with gut-directed hypnotherapy. The IBS Audio Program, developed by the UK hypnotherapist Michael Mahoney, is the most commonly utilized program for IBS sufferers, and is available on audio CD and cassette.