Are you suffering with chronic abdominal pains, cramps, bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, change in bowel behaviour?

Do you feel you are at the mercy of your bowels, never sure what they are going to be doing one day to the next or even one hour to the next?

If you said, ‘yes’ to one of the above statements, you could be experiencing a gastrointestinal disorder called ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome’ (IBS).

What is IBS?

IBS is a common, chronic functional gastrointestinal disorder.

How common is IBS?

With a prevalence of approximately 10–15%, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders in the industrialized world. It’s estimated that in NZ, at least 7% of the population is currently experiencing IBS.

However, the real number is probably much higher. Many people never discuss their bowel problems with their doctor because they do not know that what they are experiencing is abnormal. They may have had mild symptoms for most of their life and so developed coping strategies and/or got used to living with the discomfort and disruption the symptoms cause.

What does functional mean?

IBS is called a ‘functional’ disorder because there are no structural or biochemical abnormalities present to account for the symptoms. So, a person experiencing IBS can complete a battery of exploratory tests, all of which return negative results.

IBS is a syndrome, not a disease

IBS is a syndrome, not a disease. A syndrome is a group of symptoms which consistently occur together, or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms.

It’s important to get a medical diagnosis

The only way to know for sure if you’re experiencing IBS (or something more sinister like irritable Bowel Disease) is to get a diagnosis from a medical professional. In most cases, the diagnosis, will be based on what’s called the Rome IV criteria.

These criteria state a person needs to have abdominal pain at least one day per week for three months. And that pain needs to be associated with their bowel movements.

In applying the criteria, your GP or specialist will explore whether there is an anatomical reason for your bowel problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac, infections, and cancer.

The impact of IBS on one’s quality of life

There’s a definite spectrum with IBS, and symptoms can range from mild to severe and debilitating.

I’ve had people join my Hypnosis4IBS Program who spent up to a third of their day sitting on the toilet.

The impact is threefold:

1. Physical

2. Emotional

3. Cognitive

Physical

• constipation

• diarrhoea

• constant abdominal pain

• cramping

• bloating and distention

• hypersensitivity in the digestive tract

• exhaustion

Emotional

• Fear

• Anxiety

• Hopelessness

• Embarrassment

• Shame

• Guilt

Cognitive

• worry

• catastrophising

• brain fog

• believing your body is out of control

• mental exhaustion

These symptoms can be persistent or intermittent.

Is there a cure for IBS?

As yet, there is no medical cure for IBS. There are, however, several treatment options available that aim to reduce symptom severity and improve quality of life. These fall into three categories:

1. Medication

2. Dietary changes

3. Psychological interventions

Usually, all three are combined into one treatment strategy for best effect.

Gut Directed Hypnotherapy

As a clinical hypnotherapist, the gut directed hypnotherapy services I provide fall under the ‘psychological interventions’ category. I love the fact that a large body of research has found that gut directed hypnotherapy is highly effective in helping people experiencing IBS manage both the physical symptoms and the psychological symptoms of IBS.

If you would like to know more about gut directed hypnotherapy and my HYPNOSIS4IBS Program do get in touch.

Thanks for reading - Tony