Hypnotherapy for Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a source of chronic pain, fatigue, and other symptoms and it has significant effects on quality of life. About one-in-five Australians suffers from IBS at some time in their lives, but women are more likely to get IBS and develop more serious symptoms.
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The most common theory as to the cause of IBS is that it's a disorder of the interaction between the brain and the gastrointestinal tract, although there may also be abnormalities in the gut flora or the immune system. The composition of gut bacteria may affect aspects of health and disease. It may be that an alteration in the number and/or the kind of bacteria in our intestines contributes to IBS symptoms in some people. There are certainly theories around the brain and gut interactions but for now a cure-all has not been found.However, the stress and anxiety involved in the distressing symptoms and discomfort of IBS adds to the severity of the symptoms and the debilitating aspect of the condition.
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Stress management is a crucially important component of managing IBS, and hypnotherapy is a powerful tool for relieving and managing stress. By using hypnotherapy to help the subconscious mind to think differently, you can allow the body to react differently. Hypnotherapy is clinically proven to improve IBS.
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You have probably done your research and have understood that there are possible factors like genetics and prior adverse life experiences (e.g., infection, trauma) that can predispose someone to get IBS. The symptoms appear to result from disturbances in colonic motility and increased sensitivity to food, gas, or stool in the bowel. Finally, there is a tendency for the bowel to be overly reactive to various factors, which can amplify or bring about the symptoms. Examples include: eating, stress, emotional arousal, GI infections, menstrual period, or gaseous distension.
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Hypnotherapy for IBS involves relaxation, and then suggestions of imagery and sensations focused on the individual’s symptoms. Improvements in overall well-being, quality of life, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and bloating have been noted. It may also help relieve other symptoms suffered by many people with IBS such as nausea. Hypnotherapy appears to offer symptomatic, psychological, and physiological benefit for 75% of patients in clinical studies.
What I have noticed working with clients with IBS, while doing Somatic Energy Therapy, is that they hold tension in the gut. They tend to react to stressful situations by a contraction of the gut. It's like a clamping down, as an emotional response in the same way someone might hold their stress in their neck and shoulders. Do you do this? Certainly working on bringing in a body awareness to how they react to stress has helped enormously with clients. With hypnotic suggestions we are able to encourage a more relaxed system and change the way you respond to stress.
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Please contact Diana Joy if you wish to discuss your issue and whether hypnotherapy can help:
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