Gut Directed Hypnotherapy

Could you be living with IBS?

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

 

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IBS hypnotherapy - it works

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Hypnotherapy is effective in treating Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and other gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.

Hypnotherapy for gastrointestinal health - or gut-directed hypnotherapy - addresses the 'miscommunication' between the brain and gut.

IBS and other GI problems are complex disorders with symptoms unique to each patient. Hypnosis is a brilliant way to tailor the treatment intervention according to the individual’s needs - and can also work to alleviate other occurring symptoms such as nausea and fatigue.

Systematic reviews and reports on hypnosis by the British Psychological Society, British Medical Journal, (UK) National Institute of Clinical Excellence, (US) National Institutes of Health support the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for IBS.

The British Psychological Society report findings: There is encouraging evidence demonstrating the beneficial effects of hypnotherapeutic procedures in alleviating the symptoms of a range of complaints that fall under the heading 'psychosomatic illness.' These include - Gastro-intestinal complaints such as irritable bowel syndrome.

Anyone suffering from irritable bowel syndrome can benefit to a greater or lesser degree from gut-directed hypnotherapy. It could be you.

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The Gut Brain and its role in IBS

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The field of neuroscience has discovered that in addition to our head (cephalic) brain, we have complex and functional brains in both our heart and gut. Called the cardiac and enteric brains respectively, scientific evidence is emerging that these neural networks exhibit intelligence and wisdom.

These three brains are all part of one nervous system and are in constant communication, and interact, with each other for our optimal functioning. We also have complex neural networks that communicate with these three brains.

The gut- heart – head -communication cycle

Head Gut Heart.png

Research suggests that IBS could be the manifestation of a problem within our gut- heart - head - communication cycle. Poorly coordinated signals between the head brain and the gut brain can cause our body to overreact to changes that normally occur in the digestive process, resulting in pain, diarrhoea or constipation.

Do we really have 3 brains?

What constitutes a brain?

  • Large numbers of neurons and ganglia, including sensory neurons and motor neurons

  • Neural cells with inter-neurons; neurons interconnecting with other neurons

  • Support cells and components such as glial cells, astrocytes, proteins, etc.

  • Functional attributes: perceiving/assimilating information, processing information, memory storage and access

  • Able to mediate complex reflexes via an intrinsic nervous system (i.e. it doesn't need the head brain to direct it, it functions even in the complete absence of the head brain)

  • A chemical warehouse of neurotransmitters (those found in the head brain are also found in the gut and heart brains)

[Source: mBraining Chapter 1 – Neuroscience meets ancient wisdom by G Soosalu and M Oka (2012)]

Each of our three brains has a particular role

Each brain has a particular role.

The head – our intellectual brain - thinking, problem solving, creative, rational, logical. We ‘think things through’ and ‘use our head.’

The heart – our emotional brain. We ‘follow our heart’s desires’. We are ‘true to our heart.’ We know when our ‘heart’s not in it,’ or that we have ‘a broken heart.’

The gut – our intuitive/instinctive brain. We ‘follow our gut’ and rely on our ‘gut instincts’. We ‘trust our gut.’ Often we are unable to ‘swallow’ or ‘digest the facts.’ We get ‘butterflies in the stomach.’

Let’s take a closer look at the Gut Brain

The gut (enteric) brain was discovered just over 100 years ago, but is ancient in evolutionary terms and predates the head brain and central nervous system.

Back when evolution was at the stage of complexity of sea cucumbers and worms, organisms only had a neural processing system of an enteric brain. This intelligence was used to detect threats and food in the environment and move away from danger and towards food.

The human gut brain contains over 500 million neurons located in the sheaths of tissue lining the oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, colon and bowel. It has the equivalent size and complexity of something like a cat's brain. It sends and receives nerve signals throughout the chest and torso and innervates organs as diverse as the pancreas, lungs, diaphragm and liver.

Of the 500 million neurons in the gut, more than 100 million are located in the small intestine, roughly the same number as in our spinal cord. Once you add in the nerve cells in the oesophagus, stomach and large intestine and the total number of nerve cells exceeds those in the spinal cord.

The enteric nervous system is also a vast chemical factory within which is found every one of the classes of neurotransmitter found in the head brain. Neurotransmitters are the signals brain cells use to communicate with each other and with the cells under their control. Major neurotransmitters found in the enteric brain include serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, norepinehrine and nitric oxide. Interestingly, over 95 percent of the serotonin used throughout the body and brain is made in the gut. Brain peptides and endorphins have also been found in the gut.

Research has shown that more than 80 percent of our immune cells are located in the gut, and the gut brain is intimately involved in managing immune function. Some people with IBS have an increased number of immune-system cells in their intestines. This immune-system response is associated with pain and diarrhea.

The gut is also a large source of benzodiazepines, which are psychoactive chemicals used in popular drugs such as Valium and Xanax. It's been found that in times of massive acute stress, the gut produces sufficient benzodiazepines to calm and sedate the head brain, downregulating the cognitive and emotional stress response. Our gut literally hijacks the head brain. This is why when in danger we are limited to ‘black and white’/’all or nothing’ thinking and, can 'choke' with emotion.

The gut brain can learn!

There is evidence that the gut brain exhibits plasticity and can learn, form memories, take on new behaviours and grow new neurons, just like our head brain can.

Research performed by gastroenterologist Dr Yuri Saito Loftus from the Mayo Clinic, indicates that the gut brain learns from traumatic experiences such as the death of a loved one, divorce, natural disasters, accidents and physical or mental abuse. These traumatic experiences can cause changes in the nerves and muscles that control sensation and motility of the bowel.

Dr. Jackie D Wood, a professor at Ohio State University, and leading expert on the enteric nervous system (ENS) who named the ENS ‘The brain-in-the-gut,’ says there’s a growing body of evidence that suggests that autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis may involve the gut brain.

Gut Directed Hypnotherapy

The focus of gut directed hypnotherapy is communicating with all three brains that control our mind body system. A key element of the Hypno4IBS programme is to identify and systematically de-traumatise past trauma, effectively changing the way the traumatic memories are encoded in the brain(s) and to positively affect the workings of the ENS.

If you want to know more about how I can help you manage your Irritable Bowel Syndrome using hypnosis and other psychological techniques, please do get in touch today!