Is Hypnotherapy the best treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Go to: Previous Article Next Article
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is very common and it is estimated that as much as twenty percent of the global population has or had IBS. It is the most common gastrointestinal condition seen by the family doctor and Gastroenterologist. In addition, it is not just a heavy burden on the patient, but also to the Health Professionals, the Health Providers and Industry in general. In IBS, there is no abnormality of the gut, yet there are distressing symptoms.
There are numerous treatments available for Irritable Bowel Syndrome but the treatment that produces the best long term benefits is hypnotherapy. Most experts think this type of treatment should be reserved for severe or refractory IBS. I believe this is wrong.
It may seem odd that hypnotherapy is so effective. To understand why this treatment works in Irritable Bowel Syndrome, you must understand how hypnotherapy works. Improvement results from powerful post hypnotic suggestions and visualisation. The hypnotherapist aims to get the subject into a deep trance. In this trance state, the brain is at Theta brainwave. Fully awake, you are at Beta brainwave state.
When you are at Theta brainwave state, you are hyper-suggestible. In other words what ever the hypnotist says is likely to reach the Subconscious Mind because the filters that are likely to reject this information are relaxed.
In addition in Theta state, the hypnotherapist has access to the reality generator of REM sleep. Thus is why visualisation in Theta state is so effective. In the REM state, dreams occur and visualisation during REM sleep is like a dream. At the time it is very real. In REM state the brain cannot differentiate what is real or just imagination.
Visualisation and post hypnotic suggestions are ineffective unless the subject is at Theta brainwave state. In Irritable Bowel Syndrome there are layers upon layers of negative information stored in the Subconscious Mind. The hypnotherapist can gradually remove them and replace them with positive ones. It is only when this happens that the Irritable Bowel Syndrome sufferer changes belief, perception and expectation. This is when symptoms begin to improve.
Relapse after hypnotherapy develops when doubts creep into the mind of the IBS sufferer. Once the subject believes the symptoms are returning, it is like a green light for it to return. As long as the subject continue to believe that he or she is in total control, the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome will stay away.
I strongly believe that hypnotherapy should be recommended to everyone with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and not just reserved for the severe or refractory IBS sufferers. Most severe or refractory IBS patients have symptoms of IBS for a long time. Some have IBS for as long as twenty years or more and if they try something new and it did not work, it anchors yet another negative thought. These patients have a large amount of negative information stored in their mind and the task of the hypnotherapist is difficult.
Patients with severe or refractory IBS will need at least twelve weeks of hypnotherapy and often supplemented by self hypnosis at home. Research has shown very good results in these cases. There may be several explanation why hypnotherapy works in such cases but the simplest one is that the hypnotherapist is replacing negative information with positive ones in the minds of the IBS patients. It therefore makes sense that hypnotherapy should be offered as early as possible and thereby reduce several years of unnecessary distress in a condition where there is no real disease process.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
- Get Fit the healthy way tons of honest tips and tricks to lead a healthier life, also in progress a guide on how to stop smoking -
Word Count: 603
Reduce Your Debts Without Bankruptcy. See How Much You Can Save. Free Debt Analysis
