IBS
Irritable bowel Syndrome (IBS), also known as spastic colon, colitis, spastic colitis or nervous stomach, affects 10% of the population and is characterised by abdominal cramping, constipation, diarrhoea - or a combination of both - abdominal pain and bloating.
More and more people are now being diagnosed as suffering from this stomach condition and recent research has shown relaxation (hypnosis) and relieving stress and tension (EFT) is one of the most highly effective combination treatments available.
IBS is a very debilitating condition often exacerbated by stress. Before any treatment is undertaken, all clients must have consulted their GP and have been officially diagnosed as an IBS sufferer. This is very important as symptoms can be similar to more life-threatening conditions. As much as IBS is not life-threatening, it is far more than just a nuisance and there is help out there – especially combining EFT and hypnosis.
Some of the results I have seen in my practice have been truly amazing and there is no reason why this cannot be the case for you too. Often people come to a session when all other avenues and interventions have failed and they are desperate to overcome their condition. I think one of the reasons my sessions are so effective in treating IBS is because the client talks openly, in a empathetic environment, perhaps for the first time about their condition and their feelings attached to it. Just being able to talk openly about IBS and have someone truly listen can be the first step on the road to recovery. No matter how far advanced we might like to think we are as a society, it has to be said that there is still embarrassment concerning ‘toilet troubles' and we avoid talking about it. We still attach a stigma to the condition, particularly if you are the sufferer yourself. They are usually the ones that refuse to talk about it. Therefore it is often hard to get them to go along to the GP, let alone into therapy, so I always fully respect anyone that presents for treatment.
Upon initial consultation it is vital to take a detailed case history, looking at all the aspects of your life and determining any factors that alleviate your symptoms or exacerbate them. We'll look at the things that IBS stops you from doing and see where you wish to make changes.
There are varying degrees of severity and symptoms apparent in IBS but most can be dealt with using hypnosis and EFT – emotional freedom technique. It has been discovered that IBS is often a stress reaction that is being played out in the gut. One of the reasons for this is that there are many stress receptors lining the gut, and so when we talk about a gut feeling, we are literally feeling that feeling in our gut and it feels uncomfortable or uneasy. We are sensing a form of discord in our gut. Dealing with the cause of that discomfort in the gut is us often the key to unlocking this condition.
It seems to be important to relieve the stress in the gut on a deeper emotional level for complete, sustained relief of the condition. Therefore, I will look at what is it that bothers or upsets you in your life. What specific events from the past would you wish to resolve? What issues or situations cause you emotional discomfort today? All of these questions evoke reactions and it’s those reactions we can begin to work with using EFT, a simple tapping technique, to address the unresolved emotional conflicts and alleviate the condition.
The combination of the relaxation, which is the hypnosis and the releasing of the negative emotion surrounding the condition, integral to EFT, seems to be the main reason for the effectiveness of the treatment. Straight after the first session, the client is able to begin tapping the meridian system themselves to gain relief from stomach pain and emotional upset. If you begin to feel as though you are helping yourself and taking back control over your condition, you will be amazed at the results.
If IBS is something from which you suffer, I hope you will be encouraged to seek alternative help, alongside any medical interventions you may already have in place, so that you may begin to live life as freely as possible, without the restrictions of IBS.