# People done with the tapes how are you doing?



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Just checking? Please post how your doing if you are done. Its important. Thanks------------------Moderator of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Anxiety and Hypnotherapy forum.I work with Mike building his websites. www.ibsaudioprogram and www.healthyaudio.com I also work with Mike in IBS clinical trials using Mikes tapes at an IBS research facility.My own website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com Please visit for accurate information on IBS.


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## BR (Apr 12, 2001)

Hi Eric,As I stated in my post about jury duty, I'm doing really well, and I don't think I will be asking to be excused because of my IBS. Yikes! Mind armies are still strong, but eventually I'll have them kicked too!


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

BR, thats great and its good your going for it.







. Good for you way to stay positive. Thanks for posting here and if you have any problems let us know. Also keep working with it, I have found the more I work with it and trust myself the better I do.







I think you will find the same thing.







------------------Moderator of the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Anxiety and Hypnotherapy forum.I work with Mike building his websites. www.ibsaudioprogram and www.healthyaudio.com I also work with Mike in IBS clinical trials using Mikes tapes at an IBS research facility.My own website on IBS is www.ibshealth.com Please visit for accurate information on IBS.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

I'm now uncomfortable posting to this thread or the other one for folks currently listening. Can you have a thread for us, you know the ones who had to stay after school??? "How are the Remedial Hypno People Doing?"







Something like that??? Cause I doubt I'll ever be, either one or the other. BQ


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

awwww BQ!,don't feel uncomfortable....I'm one of eric and mike's remedials too - I fell off the wagon too many times to count...and had to be helped back on.don't worry about posting - I like to read your posts and see how your doing.Big {{{{{{hugs}}}}}}Clair


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Wagon????? There is supposed to be a wagon???? Gee, I didn't get one....maybe that is the problem........







Thanks Clair. You are sweet. Yeah I guess there are loads of us who did things a bit differently, but I guess it doesn't really matter. As long as we all end up improving, who cares 'how' we got there.Yes I am still obviously improving. The D I was experiencing in late Sept. and early Oct. has waned off, aside from the monthly hormone flare thing. I also have been fairly effective backing off the pain, aside from yesterday, for the same reason. But looking back to 6 months ago, my life is mine again. It no longer belongs to or is controlled by IBS. In my case there is no other explanation for this other than the effectiveness of Mike's hypno program. (Even if one is a remedial hypno student without a wagon.) BQ


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## Mikala1 (Jun 22, 2001)

I hate to be the one who has to write the negative stuff, but I"m not doing that great. I finished the tapes about a week ago and although I have noticed a reduction in the D, my anxiety is still sky high. It does drop off at some points of the day but it hasn't gotten any easier getting out the door in the morning. Help!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Mikala, Everyone is different. And I saw some positives in your post, so all is not negative really. I think most of us feel a little wobbily right after we finish the 100 days. I believe Mike has just recently completed a follow up tape for us, so that is something to look forward to. In the mean-time, I wanted to share with you something Eric told me and I have subsequently found to be true: Positive breeds Positive. Negative breeds negative.With this in mind, I try to focus more on the days when I feel pretty good. Now after the program, there is no denying there are way more of those days then days when I feel not so good. I take each day or situation that I go thru without symptoms and tell myself, "see there is another time when I was asymptomatic". I try to add up those positive days and remember all the times I was feeling good and didn't have D or anxiety, it has, to some extent become a self fulfilling prophecy. Sure enough, I will have another day that things are ok, and another. I no longer worry or expect to have trouble when I leave the house. I say instead, "Look, yesterday was ok, so will today most likely be." My expectation is a positive one & then the positive snowball rolls instead of the negative one. Gosh, I don't feel like I'm expressing this very well, so I hope you understand.Here's another thing I have been told. You know when you cook something in the microwave?? They always tell you the food should sit for a minute or two before serving because it is still cooking even after the microwave has stopped running. Well the hypno program, to some extent is like that. It continues to work after you stop listening.I'm gonna shut up now before Emeril Lagasse sees this & "Bams" me. Hopefully our hypno experts will see this & help ya some more. May you continue to feel good. BQ


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Mikala,Sorry to hear that your not doing so great, I hope things pick up for you real soon. I still have bad days in fact I've just had a week of them, but the hypnotherapy does help as it gradually and slowly changes your way of thinking about your IBS without you realising it and one day it doesn't become the centre of your universe anymore....and you have control of your life back.Hang in there - the benefits will still keep coming even after your finished. Don't forget to listen again to your tapes once in a while to help you along.BQ, You didn't get a wagon? LOL - you can have mine! I had to have a few prods in the right direction I can tell you! Glad to hear things are improving generally apart from yesterday - we must have had a mutual sympathy thing going on, I had a bad day with pain yesterday too! Hang in there girl - I'm rooting for ya!







Clair


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## Mikala1 (Jun 22, 2001)

I know you're right, BQ. I know I need to change my outlook to expect the best. As you know, though,if I could successfully do that, I'd be in a lot better shape. Easier said than done. But thanks for reminding me to remember the good days I've had. There are some positives I need to keep focusing on.


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

Hang in there, Mikala! Clair and BQ (HI !) give you great advice!!! I too fell off the wagon, and remember, I was the one who threw the whole darn shopping cart down the well along with the parcels!!!!! he he







AZ mom says she didn't have any improvements until like 6 months following completion, and now she is doing very well, and has traveled to England and back with no IBS...search around to others' stories, and you will see bits of your own there. ((((HUGS)))) Do't give up on yourself, now!BQ, you are NOT remedial; you are just like many of us here! Actually, it is one of the responses Mike talks about; stopping the program is part of the mind-armies thing, so you are not remedial or out of it at all!!! Hang in there, too, for you have had over your share of trials....And yet you are still here helping others and lending support! That says a lot about the beautiful person you are... (((HUGS)))







BR, I am so proud of you!!! Way to go on the jury duty!!!! This is a wonderful testimony and encouragement to others...(((HUGS))) to you too!! and Congrats







And your kindness in helping others is wonderful too!And Clair (((HUGS)))







to you too, for always being so caring and sweet to all...and yes, I too am still battling with pain that I don't think is IBS, but from all the surgery, but I can relate....hope you are better now, everything takes the time it needs, and I am very impatient, as we all are! But the support that you all have provided here, shows that it can be done!!! And remember too, that for many of us,we are far better today IBS-wise then we were perhaps 6 months ago..and let us know that this will continue..Take care everyone!







------------------~Marilyn~Helping Mike to help others~ www.ibsaudioprogram.com and www.healthyaudio.com


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Hi MarilynSorry to hear your still in pain...







I'm keeping my fingers crossed that those doctors will get to the root of the problem soon, in the meantime I'm sending some {{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}} your way.Hoping and praying you'll feel better soon,Clair


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Everyone,It is important to post if your doing well or not doing so well as setbacks can and do happen, this is all in the management of IBS, so all our experiences help each other good and not so good.Many things influence how we feel, even the weather.If someone isn't doing so well maybe Mike can help or we can all help each other which is what the bb is all about.







Milaka how are you doing now?BQ, I talked to you in chat and you seemed to be on a somewhat even keel right at the moment it seems.I personally think its great we help each other out and sometimes just the talking it through helps a huge amount and sometimes we need to work it through ourselves, but it sure is easier with support.Nothing it seems in IBS is written in stone that's for sure.


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## Guest (Oct 30, 2001)

I'm only 3 weeks into the tapes but already have noticed a huge difference. The pain has reduced greatly, but I'm still having constipation flare-ups. I am hoping that once I'm further into the tapes or have completed them, that I will notice a change in the constipation also.I'll keep you all posted.!!!!!


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## Mikala1 (Jun 22, 2001)

HI Eric,Thanks for asking. I am starting to notice improvement. I am no longer anxious 24 hours a day anymore, only finding relief at the end of the day in my apartment. Mornings are sitll very rough, but during some parts of the day I actually feel practically normal. Maybe it's just a gradual progression. I went to a Halloween party on Sunday night and although it was stressful thinking about being in a crowded bar with gross bathrooms, once I got there I actually became distracted with conversation and dancing and managed to have a "worry-free" time. So, I'm acknowleding the good days. Is it common to experience that kind of gradual improvement or are some people miraculously freed of their anxiety upon completion of the tapes?


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## BR (Apr 12, 2001)

Hi Mikala,Personally, I wasn't (and still am not) magically freed of anxiety. I finished the tapes mid-August of this year. I think it sounds like you are well on your way to getting better. The more good days we have, the more we will have to draw on to get rid of the memory of all the bad ones.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Glass, glad its going well for you.







Good to hear and its still early yet.Mikala1, glad its improving. Also glad you had fun at the party.







Distraction is a good tool to use.Keep a good attitude also.







Yes these changes are gradual and some may be catching up with you and some still maybe changing.Also you will always have some anxiety and that's just the way it works and is healthy to a certain extent. Trust yourself and recognize when you have yourself worked up for no reason and recognize it for what it is and then try to calm yourself and change your way of thinking about it. I am posting an old thread of Mike's here for you and it may help.BR, good and important points.Many doctors and gastro specialists use this term 'all in your head'. I think they are trying to say, that there is nothing organically wrong. However I have had quite a few discussions about this in the past, the problem lies with the fact that doctors are taught to look for disease and illness. We know IBS is a functional disorder, so I argue that by definition there is something wrong becuase peristalsis is not doing what it should. 'All in the head' is not right, it is an offensive term to those that are looking for solutions.It conjures up the emotion that sufferers are doing it on purpose somehow. However, the majority of us, tend to run things out, before they happen. So along with Stress, there is also a psychological element in our thought patterns that expects us to have dificult IBS days. Running out worries causes us to have anxiety and added stress, which creates a negative physical response. The annoying thing is, this is part of being a human being, its a response which we don't have to even try to do, it all happens automaically. To understand the tapes a bit more, we have to understand stress is not 'out there', stress is how we respond internally to real or perceived external demands. What is a stressful event for one, can be invigorating or relaxing for another. Every thought has a physical response, exactly as Eric says. We can prove this by the feelings of love, anger, jealousy,etc all emotions start with thought ( our interpretation to an event ) , which then leads to physical response. This is even recognised in legislation by recognition of the term Crime of passion - a person might kill another ( an extreme example, granted) becuase they were firing on emotion, which made them pick up the knife to perform the action. That anger began in the thoughts, was interpreted and an action was carried out. All by the release of chemicals and electrical impulses. Police officers see hightened states every Saturday night when people come out of the pubs, we even have our own language for heightend emotion, count to ten is a good example. Count to 10 before we say or respond to something that has annoyed us, basically by giving a bit of time, the response travels through the 7/8ths of the brain that is emotion until it gets to the 1/8th bit of logic and reason, which allows us to stop and think. In effect changes the chemical releases and electricsl impulses - we simmer down. All these physical reactions, along with the more every day concerns of, getting to work on time, what happens if I need the toilet?, do the shops have toilets, etc. every thought produces a physical reaction, good or bad. The thing is, we can choose to learn new coping strategies. Our inner resources can be topped up. Users of the program will have noticed that the first session, is time spent topping up the emotional reserves, making sure they can complete the journey through the program. Patients that come to my practice all go through the same thing, in short we have to be able to have the interal emotional resource to deal with everyday living, as well as changing our thoughts towards IBS. Becuase IBS has affected lives of sufferers so deeply, to try and deal with the IBS before we are prepared would lead to a tougher jouney. So taking the time to top up the emotial batteries as it were is time well spent. Still on stress, it helps too if we remember that the only important moment of our lives is the moment we are living, not the past (although we can change emotions attached to memories to make the past more comfortable for us), or the future that might never come. The other thing that holds us back is the fear that however we are feeling is going to last forever - Nothing lasts for ever, if we want to change! When we throw a ball up in the air, there is a point of time which the ball is neither going up or coming down, that is the moment of change. Users of the program who are feeling much better are changing the way they think, their outlook on life and its events, but I doubt anyone will be able to pinpoint exactly when things started to get better, but they do, and they do so becuase very gently the subconsious mind, which controls the digestive system, begins to realise, that these thought patterns of IBS are no longer needed, the individual as a whole is reminded that it existed very well thank you, without IBS, and can do so again, simply and gently by changing the thought processes, that kept Stress and Anxiety, Guilt etc in control. So the tapes are quite complex in their make up, but when I was doing my early days of research, I remembered that people learn more and easier if we enjoy what we are doing, so by using imagery and suggestion we create the enviroment internally, that allows changes, both emotionally and physically to occur. And becuase we enjoy what we are doing it doesn't seem difficult, and it isn't, its only when the conscious mind tries to control areas it wasn't designed to that problems occur. I might have babbled a bit, but don't expect a doctor to tell you this in this way, becuase their skills are in the organic, and they might just not know how to say what they mean! Hope it helps Regards Mike


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## wanderingstar (Dec 1, 1999)

I find it hard to evaluate how I'm doing re the hypnotherapy. Worry, anxiety and stress affect my gut a great deal. Less than they used to, but still far too much. Just dealing with life's day to day practicalities with M.E is hard and effects my gut. I can't remove this from my life so I just deal with it. The hypnotherapy helps.


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## Nan (Jul 14, 1999)

Hello Eric & Marilyn.I got to day 55 and stopped! My situation at work changed a few times over the last few months. (I was so worried about changes taking place) My work situation is fine right now. The tapes were helping me very much. I'm still doing good with only 1 setback in the last month. Anyway, should I start over or start where I left off? Thanks for your input!


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Wanderer, thanks for the input.My advise it to keep practicing, because like a martial art the more you do it it seems the easier it is to do and I find doing it everyday has really helped me a lot. I don't however have another condition and I know that makes it harder.keep at wanderer, your last post was good.







Nan, how many days since you last listened?Really good to hear they were helping.


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## Nan (Jul 14, 1999)

Sorry Eric, I didn't notice the "done" in the subject line. Geesh! It's been over two months since I've listened to the tapes.


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

Hi Nan, You were just like me! I stopped at about that point also. Mike told me to start over...so I think with it being two months since you last listened that would probably be the best route. If you just hate the idea of starting again, then back up to like around day 45 or so and start from there.But no matter what you do, START out again with the introduction, and listen to it now and then, because it really helps you to understand things that you may not know early on. Sort of like the intro has the answers but you don't have the questions until you are into it awhile. And he does address feeling like quiting, etc. That's the mind-armies thing! Read my post where I have all the info, it will help you with any questions you might have. I will bump those up for you!!!Eric will probably be back with some suggestions as well!!!! We are all here to help!!! Take care!







Hope this was helpful to you!


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## Nan (Jul 14, 1999)

Thanks Marilyn! I will start over again. The tapes have helped me so much that I was planning on doing them again after I completely finished anyway.


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Hi Eric,I've not been too bad of late - well the IBS has behaved quite well if the rest of me hasn't.







One thing I have noticed is that I don't seem to be sleeping so well at night as I did when I was doing the tapes - and I have been getting a little more stressed than usual.I've been thinking about starting the tapes up again - but don't really know where to start...or how often to listen.Any ideas?Clair


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

nan, did you get my email?Clair, no problem. Listen to side two for three or four nights to start, then listen to a favorite side for three or four nights.Try practicing some of this on your own using some of Mike's imagery from the tapes, so you get use to be able to do it with out the assistance or relying on the tapes, after you finnish that listening time. This will really help you.


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## wanderingstar (Dec 1, 1999)

Eric, thanks for the advice and kind words. I have been either listening or practising the imagery every day now for about 5 days. I think I know the words to my favourite sides off by heart


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## ewink (May 17, 2001)

Hi Eric and all,Well, I finished the tapes a little over a month ago, and have been doing great!Some of you may remember that before and when I started doing the tapes I had really bad D every morning accompanied with awful anxiety. The anxiety went away really soon, within a few weeks I think. I have to say that besides the tapes I also relied on natural supplements, such as probiotics, colostrum and calcium (and a bunch of others, especially in the beginning, I took about 10 different ones!). But the tapes definitely were a major "ingredient" for my improvement! I have kept improving after I finished the tapes. The last 10 days or so I've actually been struggling with constipation, and had to stop taking most of the supplements. Also having to change my diet, adding more fruits, veggies, whole wheat bread and cereal etc. Even had to take some fibercon! I finally had a normal BM again this morning. Eric, do you think it could be helpful for me to redo some of the tapes to get over the constipation now? After having D problems for so many months I can hardly believe I'm asking this. I have listened to some of the tapes a few times over the past month, although it's probably been at least 2 weeks now since the last time I listened at all.Overall though, I'm doing really great, eating everything (except really greasy and fast food, which I don't like anyway) and reaching my ideal weight (still a few pounds to add, but getting there).Take care,Edith


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

Edith, that's fantastic and glad your doing well, keep liistening once in a while for a refresher and ffor reinforcement.







If you feel they have really helped you will you post to the success thread or can I copy this for you?I am glad to hear things are going good for you.


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