Leading gastroenterologists are calling for hypnotherapy to be used more widely in treating irritable bowel syndrome. Images such a fast-flowing river in the gut slowing down and soothing the bowel may be able to significantly improve IBS symptoms, say researchers at King's College London. In one study at Withington Hospital, 12 weeks of hypnotherapy helped 71 per cent of patients ease their IBS symptoms for five years after the treatment.
What to do: Sitting quietly, imagine your whole body becoming softer and heavier, limb by limb. Visualise a soothing river flowing through your gut. Imagine the river flow first at the "current speed" of your bowel, then slow it down to the "imagined" speed needed for symptoms to cease.
-------------------- Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Gastroenterologists are calling for hypnotherapy to be used more widely in treating IBS
