With many stage hypnotists using hypnosis as a form of entertainment, it may surprise you to know that hypnosis in the form of hypnotherapy can be very successful in helping with several medical and psychological conditions. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is one of those.
The popular belief is that once somebody is under hypnosis they are no longer in control and can be made to act contrary to normal. However this is far from the truth. During hypnosis you remain fully aware of what is happening and cannot be made to do anything out of the ordinary.
So how does hypnotherapy work? Hypnotherapy uses hypnotic techniques to allow the sub conscious mind to receive and act upon verbal suggestions that the conscious mind might resist. It helps the mind to change how it thinks about things in order to achieve the desired affects. Although the client is in a sleep like state, it is a form of deep relaxation and there is no loss of control.
Ok, so how can hypnotherapy help with IBS? As many as one in five of the adult population have symptoms of IBS making it one of the most common disorders diagnosed by doctors. No one knows exactly why, but it occurs more often in women than in men. The symptoms are quite distressing with abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.
So, for such a wide spread unpleasant condition it is reassuring to learn that a method of hypnotherapy known as Gut Directed therapy has been clinically proven to have a more than 80% success rate helping manage IBS symptoms. This form of hypnotherapy was developed specifically for IBS and digestive disorders by Professor Peter Whorwell. During deep relaxation, gut specific suggestions appear to change the way the brain manages gut activity and so reduce the sensitivity of the gut and the accompanying symptoms.
Here at the The Change Method our Gut Directed Therapy program follows this very successful method. We have designed a diet and lifestyle questionnaire which each client completes before any treatment commences. This allows us to use this information together with input from the client to design and build an individual programme. Armed and ready for action we can help with this distressing and debilitating condition.