Hypnosis Lends Relief to IBS Sufferers: Studies Reveal Hypnosis Sends IBS into the "Bowels" of the Earth

If you are one of the approximately 20 percent of the country who are living with IBS, this message is for you. According to recent studies, hypnosis helps alleviate the symptoms that accompany IBS! But before I get into the details, allow me to explain to those who don’t know just what IBS is and what a pain it can be—literally.

To start, IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, a long-term disorder that results when there are persistent pains in the intestines. Symptoms of IBS include bloating, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal cramps, and mucous or blood in the stool.

The good news for those who suffer IBS—if there can be any good news—is that it isn’t a progressive disorder, nor does it result in more serious diseases like colon cancer or some form of irritable bowel disease. But this isn’t much of a consolation to those who live with it on a day-to-day basis. As aforementioned, IBS is long-term and can significantly alter people’s lives, simply by having to be in the bathroom throughout the day. To the non-IBS sufferer, it may be hard to understand how going to the bathroom “significantly alters people’s lives.” But the next time you exercise, watch a movie, or sleep, go to the bathroom several times in the middle of jogging, tense action sequence or dream—it just might illustrate how IBS alters your life.

The symptoms for IBS can range from mild to severe, but whatever they are, they affect a significant portion of the country. According to the International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, (1) up to 20 percent of the population is afflicted with IBS, (2) is the most common disorder diagnosed by gastroenterologists and (3) is one of the leading disorders treated by physicians.

One of the most frustrating things about IBS is that the exact cause is unknown. It’s a generally accepted belief, however, that IBS sufferers’ brain-to-intestine interaction altered at some point. The alteration can result from a number of factors like high stress levels, hormones, the body’s immune system or a combination of them all. Whatever the exact cause, though, the abdominal cramps and other symptoms that result are downright painful.

But these painful side-effects may be a thing of the past. According to a recent study by Edinburgh University in the United Kingdom, hypnosis reduces symptoms of IBS. The 75 people who participated in the study (20 men, 55 women) all reported that they experienced “significant improvement in their physical and emotional symptoms,” according to The Scotsman newspaper.

To further corroborate this independent study, doctors recently convened at the annual World Congress of Psychosomatic Medicine meeting to discuss the two decades worth of research and evidence showing how hypnosis not only lessens IBS symptoms, but alters the symptoms that cause IBS in the first place.

Findings and studies on the effectiveness of hypnosis in treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome has led doctors like Cynthia M. Yoshida, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Women’s GI Clinic at the Digestive Health Center of Excellence at the University of Virginia, to say simply this:

“I’m a believer.”

Steve G. Jones, Clinical Hypnotherapist http://www.betterlivingwithhypnosis.com/