# About IBS and Hypnotherapy by Michael mahoney



## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

FYIAbout IBS and hypnotherapyFirst it is important to understand what hypnotherapy is and how it may help you in the alleviation ofyour IBS symptoms. It needs to be known that this is not a cure for IBS (since one does not exist atthe moment), but an effective complementary therapy that can be used in isolation or conjunction withconventional approaches, (many people find they can reduce or give up medications, although thisshould be done along with your prescribing physician.) Hypnotherapy has shown to be highly effectivein the majority of people who use it.Important note: Please have your symptoms diagnosed by a medical practitioner or doctor. It isimportant to remember that you cannot self diagnose IBS and there are many serious conditions thatmimic IBS. What is Hypnotherapy?It is easier to state what it is not, rather than what it is really. A trance (an altered state ofconsciousness) is not sleep, unconsciousness, magic, nor mind control. Much of the mystery stillsurrounding hypnosis is this lack of a clear definition. Hypnosis is generally experienced as restful andrelaxing; it is different than slumber. In a trance state you are aware of your surroundings, able to hearsounds, to smell, and you are aware of your movements and in control of your actions.Consciousness is NOT lost, it becomes more selective. In a trance it is usual to be more aware ofinternal processes than in the outside worldï¿½s activities and distractions. Contemporary scientificstudies show trance is a natural and normal state of mind and like other states, such as alertness orpleasure, has many different and individual components.Uses of hypnosis .... hypnosis is often thought to be therapy that only affects the mind, but as mindand body are inseparably joined, hypnosis can also help physical ailments. The popular assumptionthat hypnosis is only used for weight reduction and to stop smoking is very much mistaken; there aremany more possibilities too numerous to mention. However, hypnotherapy is well known to help allvariations of IBS symptoms and reduce frequency of presentation. Hypnotherapy uses hypnosis as atherapy to deal with a wide range of problems, both physical and emotional.Is hypnosis safe ? Yes. It is a safe, natural part of human experience. Always protected by oursubconscious, trance is part of everyday life. We are already proficient in its use, we simply donï¿½trecognize it. Hypnotherapy is not stage hypnosis. Who can be hypnotized? Just about everyone if they choose. However, those deeply disturbed orhandicapped require special personal attention.What is it like to be hypnotized? In experiencing altered states it should be acknowledged that trance isslightly different for everyone. Most find it extremely pleasant, enjoyable and relaxing, saying theyï¿½venever felt so agreeably relaxed and comfortable before.Should I use hypnosis as an alternative to seeing my doctor? The answer is NO. It is not an alternative to seeking proper medical care. Hypnosis is a complementary therapy andshould, where needed be used in partnership with conventional medicine. Your G.P. or Doctor'straining in diagnosis cannot be replaced by a hypnotherapist. Check out all health problems first withyour doctor if in any doubt and then you can combine both a Physician's and a professionalHypnotherapist healing methods. Can I be forced into trance? No. It is a state of mind that needs your co-operation. No one goesagainst their own unique code of behavior in hypnosis.Am I too strong willed to be hypnotized? Strength of will plays no part in the process.I am too intelligent to be hypnotized! No. The higher the intelligence and imagination the better.Do hypnotized persons lose control of themselves? Quite the opposite, the client is in control of theirtrance, and is being guided by the hypnotherapist, and will only do that which seems right and ishelpful.Could I get 'stuck' in trance? No. It simply doesnï¿½t happen.Will I be unconscious when in hypnosis? No. No loss of consciousness is involved. Individuals willbe perfectly aware of their surroundings, including sounds, movements and smells and will behyper-sensitive to touch. Some individuals will achieve a deeper level of trance than others. However,the results remain the same. Physical contact is not needed in any part of the process.Is my problem to trivial to be bothered with? Any problem which affects our lives is not trivial. IBS iscertainly not trivial, it affects the lives of the sufferer and their families.


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

This should go here too.2. IBS "All in our head"?Many doctors and gastro specialists use this term 'all in your head'. I think they are trying to say thatthere is nothing organically wrong they have pinpointed yet. However, I have had quite a fewdiscussions about this in the past, the problem lies with the fact that doctors are taught to look fordisease and illness. We know IBS is a functional disorder, so I argue that by definition there issomething wrong because 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 upthe 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 isalso a psychological element in our thought patterns that expects us to have difficult IBS days.Running out our worries causes us to have anxiety and added stress, which in turn creates a negativephysical response. The annoying thing is, it's part of being human, it's a response which we don't haveto even try to do, it all happens automatically.To understand the Audio Program 100 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 forone, can be invigorating or relaxing event for another.Every thought has a physical response. 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 recognized in legislation by recognition of the term Crime of passion - a person might killanother (an extreme example, granted) because they were firing on emotion, which made them pick upthe knife to perform the action. That anger began in the thoughts, was interpreted and an action wascarried out, all by the release of chemicals and electrical impulses. Police officers see heightened statesevery Saturday night when people come out of the pubs, we even have our own language forheightened emotion, count to ten is a good example. Count to 10 before we say or respond tosomething that has annoyed us, basically by giving a bit of time, the response travels through the7/8ths of the brain that is emotion until it gets to the 1/8th bit of logic and reason, which allows us tostop and think. In effect changes the chemical releases and electrical impulses - we simmer down.All these physical reactions, along with the more every day concerns of, getting to work on time, whathappens 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 emotionalreserves, making sure they can complete the journey through the program. Patients that come to mypractice all go through the same thing, in short we have to be able to have the internal emotionalresource to deal with everyday living, as well as changing our thoughts towards IBS. Because IBS hasaffected the lives of sufferers so deeply, to try and deal with the IBS before we are prepared wouldlead to a tougher journey. So taking the time to top up the emotional batteries as it were, is time wellspent. In thinking about stress, it helps too if we remember that the only important moment of our lives is themoment. We are living, not in the past (although we can change emotions attached to memories tomake the past more comfortable for us), but we don't want to worry about future events or problemsthat 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 inthe air, there is a point of time which the ball is neither going up or coming down, that is the moment ofchange. Users of the program who are feeling much better are changing the way they think, theiroutlook on life and its events, but I doubt anyone will be able to pinpoint exactly when things startedto get better, but they do, and they do so because very gently the subconscious mind, which controlsthe digestive system, begins to realize, that these thought patterns of IBS are no longer needed, theindividual 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 sessions are quite complex in their make up, but when I was doing my early days of research, Iremembered that people learned more and it was easier for them if they enjoyed what they we're doing,so by using imagery and suggestion we create an environment internally, that allows changes, bothemotionally and physically to occur. And because we enjoy what we are doing it doesn't seemdifficult, and it isn't, its only when the conscious mind tries to control areas it wasn't designed to thatproblems occur.I might have babbled a bit, but don't expect a doctor to tell you this in this way, because their skills arein the organic, and they might just not know how to say what they mean!3. How to Choose a Therapist?Although legally, anyone can practice hypnotherapy without either special training or a license, it isimportant to make sure your hypnotherapist is a clinical professional with a thorough training. Alsomake sure he or she has experience in treating your particular condition. In this case Irritable BowelSyndrome.4. Who Should Avoid This Therapy?Hypnosis is considered safe no matter what your condition but, Please have your symptomsdiagnosed by a medical practitioner or doctor. It is important to remember that you cannot selfdiagnose IBS and there are many serious conditions that mimic IBS.5. What Side Effects May Occur?Many people avoid hypnotism for fear of losing control to the therapist. They take showbiz stunts,with audience members clucking like chickens or bawling like babies, as genuine examples of hypnoticpower, which is just not true.Fortunately, the truth of the matter is that the hypnotist is never in control. A hypnotic suggestionworks only if you accept it, and the therapist cannot make you do something you would not doconsciously, something that goes against your moral code or religious beliefs, for example. Thepractitioner's goal is to help you use your own mind to solve problems, rather than give you theanswers.6. Modern HypnotherapyModern hypnotherapy relies on induction of a "trance-like" state to reach the unconscious level of themind--the level over which people usually have no control. Once the unconscious is open tosuggestion, you and your therapist can more easily change the way you perceive problems--andpromote new ways of responding to them. Although "trances" may sound like psychological hocus pocus, they are neither mysterious norunfamiliar to most of us. We have all daydreamed or become lost in a novel. Sometimes weconcentrate so deeply on a problem that we drive right past our exit on a highway. In all such cases,we are in a sort of trance--a state of "focused concentration" in which we are neither fully awake norfully asleep. We have blocked out all distractions so that we can think exclusively on a particularsubject, memory, problem, or sensation. The concept of using trances to alleviate ills, both physical and mental, has recurred throughout thehistory of medicine. The ancient Greeks and Egyptians induced trance-like states to cure what wewould call anxiety and hysteria. The Druids called trances "magic sleep." Native Americans andAfricans recognized the hypnotic effect of drumming and dancing. Modern hypnotherapy got a false start in the 18th century, when Austrian physician Franz AntonMesmer propounded his theory of "animal magnetism." Believing that illness was a result of imbalancein the body's magnetic forces, he insisted that he could restore balance--and thus cure diseases--bytransferring magnetism from his body to his patients. He endeavored to achieve this by waving ironrods, magnets, and his hands in front of his subjects and using "soothing words" to induce a trance.His influential contemporaries branded him a charlatan, and his magnetic theory was soon discarded. Interest in the healing potential of the trance was later resurrected by James Braid, an Englishophthalmologist, who coined the term "hypnosis," after the Greek word for sleep. To induce a trance,Braid simply stared at his subjects intently. Although he realized he could implant ideas in his subjectswhile they were in this deep, relaxed state, he could not explain why this was so. Hypnosis remained in vogue until the late 19th century, and Freud used it in his early work. It then fellout of favor once again, resurfacing in the 1950s when Milton Erickson began experimenting with it forthe treatment of both mental and physical ailments. By 1955 the British Medical Association hadapproved hypnotherapy as a valid medical treatment; the American Medical Association (AMA)followed suit in 1958. Today, the therapy is so widely accepted that the American Society of ClinicalHypnosis, a professional association of physicians, psychologists, and dentists, boasts 4,300members. While there seems to be little doubt that hypnosis provides lasting benefits for many of those who tryit, no one is quite certain of the reason. Some scientists speculate that it prompts the brain to releasechemicals called enkephalins and endorphins, natural mood-altering substances that can change theway we perceive pain and other physical symptoms. The majority, however, feel that it acts throughthe unconscious, the part of the mind responsible for involuntary reactions ranging from bloodpressure and heart rate to hunger. Normally, these reactions are beyond our control. Hypnotherapyseems to put them under our power. Whatever the truth of the matter, it's clear that when you are in a relaxed, trance-like state, you arereceptive to suggestions that can help you react differently to negative situations, turn your attentionaway from harmful or unpleasant stimuli such as pain, discourage unwanted behavior, and even changeyour pulse rate or body temperature. The technique can also put you in touch with memories that mayexplain the origins of current problems and habits. Once you understand why you act a certain way,proponents suggest, you're in a better position to change the way you respond. Your mind can focuson productive solutions and hopefully overcome negative reactions. One of hypnotherapy's greatest benefits may be its ability to reduce the effects of stress. Manyphysicians and psychologists believe that the mind has a direct impact on physical well-being.According to this theory, tension, anxiety, and depression can undermine immunity and compromiseyour health, while a positive attitude can reinforce the immune system, enabling it to better fightinfections, toxins, and other invaders. Hypnosis can allay stress by putting you into a relaxed state,offering positive suggestions, and ridding the mind of negative thoughts. As tension in yourmuscles--and even your blood vessels--recedes, the theory goes, your circulation then improves, andyour entire body feels healthier.As with most hypnotherapy processes, direct suggestion, guided imagery, and metaphor techniquesare used in this hypnotherapy program. Imagery phrases such as new age, mystical and crystal areused solely for illustrative purposes. These are used in the context of childish wonderment andimagination, openness, and seeing things in perspective. No implication of any religion, belief, or faithis mentioned nor is implied by the author. It is not our intention to offend any individual belief. Shouldthese phrases offend, please do not purchase.


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Bumpity bump!







JeanG


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## jb2 (Jan 6, 2002)

Thank you for this info.Have printed it out for my IBS folder.Peter


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## KariMar (Jun 15, 2002)

Thank you for the wonderful info. I have printed it out to take when I see my hypnotherpist.


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

Bumpety bump!







JeanG


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