Most people experience random bouts of abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas, or nausea at some time or another. But for anyone who’s living with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), these disruptive gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms are a routine — and often unpredictable — occurrence.
Fortunately, with the right approach, you can treat and manage IBS, and Dr. Ran D. Anbar and our expert team at Center Point Medicine can help.
Here, we discuss the ins and outs of IBS, including how hypnosis can help you control it.
Up to 15% of people in the United States have IBS, a functional GI disorder that occurs when your brain, nervous system, and intestinal tract don’t work together as they should. Factors that may increase your risk of developing this fundamental disconnect include:
IBS causes the nerves that control your intestinal tract to under- or overreact, making your gut more sensitive and affecting how your digestive muscles contract. Abnormally strong intestinal contractions can lead to gas, bloating, and diarrhea; weak contractions can slow digestion and lead to constipation.
IBS treatment aims to reduce the frequency and intensity of symptom flares — specifically, abdominal discomfort and changes in bowel habits (diarrhea, constipation, or both) — and restore a better quality of life.
Given that IBS has many potential underlying causes and symptom triggers, however, there’s no one-size-fits-all treatment solution to control the problem. Even so, most people with mild to moderate IBS find that they can reduce or prevent symptom flares by:
A comprehensive IBS management plan may also include probiotics and/or medications.
You may follow a special low-FODMAP (fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols) diet to identify specific dietary triggers. This diet eliminates foods that are rich in FODMAPs or chains of carbohydrates that tend to produce gas, then gradually reintroduces them to determine which foods are problematic for you.
As necessary and effective as these conventional strategies are for managing IBS, it’s an alternative approach — hypnosis — that our patients often say they most appreciate when it comes to improving the primary and secondary symptoms associated with IBS.
Hypnosis is a therapeutic practice that aims to help you quickly and purposefully enter a deep state of relaxation and intense focus. When you’re in this state, you’re aware, in control, and more open to suggestions.
To help you learn how to remain calm, centered, and positive when your IBS symptoms flare, hypnosis uses repeated phrases and guided imagery to suggest positive thoughts, serene mental pictures, and soothing sensations concerning your symptoms.
Research shows that hypnosis provides symptomatic, psychological, and physiological benefits for many people with IBS. It’s associated with improved primary symptoms (abdominal pain, bloating, and bowel habit changes) and secondary symptoms (nausea, fatigue, back pain).
Perhaps most importantly, people who incorporate hypnosis into their IBS treatment plan typically report improvements in their overall well-being and quality of life, with long-term positive results that keep them feeling good many years into the future.
The bottom line? Hypnosis is a focused strategy that helps you recognize that the tools you need to remain calm and relaxed in the face of IBS symptom flares are within you—and you have the power to access them at will. For many people, it’s the game-changer that helps them gain the upper hand over IBS.
Ready to learn more about the positive power of hypnosis for IBS management? We can help. Call or click online today to schedule a visit at your nearest Center Point Medicine office in La Jolla, California, or Syracuse, New York.
