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British Society of Clinical Hypnosis

The Hypnotherapy Association
Services: Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

IBS is a common digestive disorder, which can cause troublesome and persistent symptoms. These vary from person to person, but all will have at least some of these

  • Abdominal pain, which is often colicky in nature. It may be felt anywhere in the abdomen, but is often low down on the left. Many people find their pain is worse when constipated, and it may be relieved by opening the bowels of passing flatus (wind through the back passage). Women may find a pattern associated with their periods
  • Fullness and bloating, making the clothes feel tight and uncomfortable, and sometimes associated with rumbling noises and flatulence (wind)
  • Tenderness of the abdomen. Belching and passing wind through the back passage can ease this
  • Nausea can occur but vomiting is not usually a feature of IBS
  • Alteration in bowel habit, which may be constipation, diarrhoea or an alternation between the two. Bowel habit varies enormously between individuals, though most people have their own pattern. The change of bowel habit may be in frequency of action, the form of motions, or associated urgency
  • Discomfort or difficulty in opening of the bowels. A sensation of incomplete emptying is common
  • Ineffectual straining to pass a motion (tenesus) and a sharp pain felt low inside the back passage (proctalgia fugax) are also common
  • Incontinence can occasionally occur, causing great embarrassment and anxiety

Hypnotherapy has been proven highly effective in alleviating irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, particularly those with severe problems. Over 15 years of solid scientific research has demonstrated hypnotherapy as an effective, safe and inexpensive choice for IBS symptom alleviation. Hypnotherapy routinely produces positive results in over 80% of the people who use it

It has been so overwhelmingly successful for relieving IBS symptoms all that Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD, chair of the National Women's Health Network in Washington, USA, says that hypnosis should be the treatment of choice for IBS cases which have not responded to conventional therapy