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IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, is an uncomfortable and often distressing condition that affects around a third of the population at one time or another.
So disruptive is IBS, that around ten per cent of all people seek medical assistance in dealing with it.
WHAT EXACTLY IS IBS?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the name given to a collection of uncomfortable and often distressing conditions that cause disruption of the digestive system - the gut. Symptoms include stomach cramps, spasms, pain, diarrhoea and constipation, bloating, swelling, and trapped wind.
Though it can affect anyone at any age, it most often affects those below the age of fifty. It appears to affect women more than men.
IBS can cause such disempowering and distressing feelings that it has been linked to increased suicidal behaviour.
CAUSES OF IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME
IBS is provoked when the nerves and muscles of the bowel fail to function as they should.
Medical researchers and doctors are unsure of the actual cause of IBS. It is acknowledged that stress and anxiety play a role, and also hormonal imbalances can play a part. Certain foods can also trigger a sensitivity that aggravates this condition.
When presenting with IBS symptoms, your doctor may advise a range of different tests. These may include stool tests, lactose intolerance and food sensitivity tests. Other laboratory tests and examinations might include - X-rays, CT scans, colonoscopies, and lower GI tests.
While the medical approach focuses on the symptoms themselves, there is little or no emphasis on the cause of those symptoms.
One 2011 study conducted by the Mayo Clinic found that the effects of psychological and emotional traumas may contribute to IBS in adults. And research conducted at London's Holloway University has found that anxiety, stress and upset is related to the worsening of symptoms in IBS.
HYPNOTHERAPY FOR IBS
There seems little doubt that the mind plays an important role in IBS - and so it is the mind that must be included in its proper treatment and successful resolution.
Research* has demonstrated that hypnosis therapy - hypnotherapy - is an effective means of managing and treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
Using advanced hypnotherapy techniques and strategies, IBS can be successfully treated and the discomfort greatly eased. A course of hypnotherapy for IBS generally consists of 4 to 6 sessions, and perhaps one or two follow-up sessions after a couple of months have passed.
The good news is that if you, or someone you care about, have been experiencing Irritable Bowel Syndrome - IBS, then hypnosis therapy can offer real assistance.
* REFERENCES
Whorwell PJ; Prior A; Faragher EB. Controlled trial of hypnotherapy in the treatment of severe refractory irritable-bowel syndrome.The Lancet 1984, 2: 1232-4.
Harvey RF; Hinton RA; Gunary RM; Barry RE. Individual and group hypnotherapy in treatment of refractory irritable bowel syndrome. Lancet, 1989 Feb, 1:8635, 424-5.
