I have used hypnotherapy for treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in my clinics for 30 years. I started this work when I spent time with a hypnotherapist called Shirley Temple who was connected with the original research at Manchester University Hospital.
As well as being a hypnotherapist (AHA) and medical hypnotist, I am also a clinical naturopath (ANPA) and medical nutritionist. So, I take both a physiological and psychological approach to these problems to devise a treatment plan.
Hence the work I do with you is very thorough. No more going from one clinician to another because I manage your whole case. This also includes disorders like ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, and gastro intestinal disturbances etc.,
You may even get health fund rebates.
What is IBS?
Do you find yourself in embarrassing positions having to find an emergency toilet?
Are you constipated for weeks at a time?
Are you now on the medication merry-go-round and more natural relief?
IBS is when you have lost control of your bowels. Either you cannot pass motions or you have no control over when bowel motions may happen.
Your gut bacteria is out of balance (dysbiosis). This means you have too many bad bacteria and not enough good bacteria.
This can happen for many reasons, such as poisoning, nutritional deficiencies, genetic variances, infection, cancer, mechanical muscular failure, medications, and high stress.
The bacteria Brachyspira in research was shown to be connected with diarrhoea. You can also pick up worms or viruses, some of which we can detect and some we cannot although symptoms indicate their presence. So, we have you screened for all that we can.
Added to this can be pain, bloating, allergies and leaky gut that can last for decades if untreated.
Medications may not help these problems but changing your diet and gut flora can.
While stress makes the IBS worse, lowering the stress alone doesn’t resolve the problem in most cases because it’s both a physiological and psychological problem.
Why is hypnotherapy useful in IBS?
There is no separation between mind and body. One affects the other all the time.
Mental illness, anxiety, depression and trauma all affect the function of your gastro-intestinal system. The better your mind and emotions work, the better your gut works.
Your gut produces 95% or your serotonin (happiness hormone) and is the seat for your immune responses. When your mind and emotions are upset, so is your gut.
During hypnotherapy we are able to lower your stress and anxiety levels and instruct your gut to calm down and you gain more control of your bowels.
Acid/alkaline balance
The ph. value of your blood is normally between 7.35 -7.45 (average 7.40). You get into trouble when your blood becomes more acidic which happens during infection and biological dysfunction.
To restore health your ph. levels must be restored as fast as possible so I place you on a carefully tailored diet to help restore the balance which helps the bowel bacteria return to normal.
In cases of infection we may have to kill the infection and strengthen your immune system to fight it.
This will also include nutritional supplementation to improve your body’s responses.
Diet in IBS
Everything you eat and drink or do not eat and drink affects your gut. Poor diet is one of the major causes of IBS because you end up with malnutrition and when infection comes along, you can’t fight it.
Calories and fat on your body do not equal nutrition, even though that’s what you may have been taught. Most diseases in the world are due to poor nutrition.
All IBS suffers have had or do have poor nutrition.
I teach you to eat to get better.
The use of hypnotherapy in IBS
For many years hypnotherapy has been used clinically to help people suffering with IBS. It is a very established and recognised form of treatment to settle down the irritable and disturbed bowel.
Many doctors often say there is no cure for IBS but in reality, my clinical experience is that the condition can be managed to such an extent very quickly that symptoms disappear.
Also it is now a standard form of treatment that is added onto the treatment used in specialist hospitals.
The beauty of hypnosis is that it can be a pleasant experience that adds to your life, well-being and balanced mental health.
Book your appointment to overcome IBS with hypnotherapy with Dr Tracie O’Keefe DH in the clinic or by Zoom by calling 0403 398 808.
