Living with IBS can be an incredibly challenging and stress inducing experience, with symptoms including: pain, bloating cramps, excessive wind, constipation, diarrhea, and nausea which can significantly impact your daily life. IBS is one of several functional gastrointestinal disorders that affects the large intestine.

It is ironic that IBS induces stress when stress is infact the biggest underlying cause of IBS. Yes certain foods may trigger IBS symptoms, however whether you’ve eaten or not, your brain is constantly receiving information about your digestion through your nervous, immune and hormonal systems. The brain then processes this information and sends it back to the digestive tract, influencing the digestion process.
 

Usually, digestion is an autonomic process which we are unaware of, happening in the background, however for people with IBS, the brain heightens its response to signals during digestion, signalling to the conscious mind. This then leads the brain to send incorrect signals back to the intestines, resulting in pain, altered bowel habits and other symptoms.

These physical symptoms often induce more stress in the body and heightened emotional responses, fuelling a vicious cycle of IBS symptoms.

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Did you know that Hypnotherapy and dynamic psychotherapy are considered equivalent by NICE (The National Institue for Health and Care Excellence) in terms of their role in the management pathway of IBS symptoms?

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The NHS (National Health Service) also recommend hypnotherapy for IBS, and UK guidelines say that people should be offered IBS-focused hypnotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or psychological therapy if changes in diet and medications don’t work after 12 months.

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In 2018 research carried out in the Netherlands  found that 3 months of treatment with hypnotherapy was more effective than other psychoeducation interventions.

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To read my Blog post on IBS symptoms and to find out more about how hypotherapy could help support those with IBS, click here.

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