IBS

Science Daily reports, Hypnosis Provides Effective Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Study Suggests.

The University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is one of the few but growing number of Universities to undertake hypnosis research. This study was designed with the idea of using hypnosis in ordinary healthcare. The article summaries the success in a recent year-long study as well as follow-ups on two other studies which show outstanding results for long-term effectiveness of hypnosis for IBS.

"The conclusion is that hypnotherapy could reduce both the consumption of healthcare and the cost to society, and that hypnosis therefore belongs in the arsenal of treatments for IBS," to quote Researcher Magnus Simrén.

I use visualization techniques a lot to get rid of niggling complaints like headaches and other minor pains, for stopping colds before they develop, and to clear up minor infections. But I've also used visualization to get rid of an allergy to cats and to handle IBS.

I'll tell you both of those stories in brief.

I worked on the cat allergy years ago, when I was living temporarily in a cottage that came with a cat. She was a sweet creature, but she really kicked up my allergies. I worked with a friend who was skilled in visualization techniques to clear up the problem. Meeting in a setting that contained no cats, he guided me into a hypnogogic state and had me imagine holding the cat in my lap and burying my face in her soft fur. I started to sneeze! That's when I realized how even allergies can have a mental component. He helped me discover that as a child I had been inadvertently "programmed" to respond allergically to cats. He had me work with the image of the cat until I could imagine having my face in her fur and not sneeze. After that I had no more problems with the cat.