Your nervous system links your mind and body. Stress, anxiety and depression often have a profound, negative effect on all your bodily systems and functions.

During the stress response (fight or flight), body parts are on high alert, primed for action. During this time, less essential functions such as digestion, the immune system or fertility are suppressed.

Circulation reduces your gut to your extremities, giving you maximum power to run or fight. This can lead to symptoms such as bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion or nausea.

Generalised anxiety often contributes to hyper-sensitivity and hyper-reactivity of the gut, triggering IBS symptoms. Worrying about IBS flare-ups can re-trigger symptoms, creating a vicious cycle.

The stress response process is designed to return to normal once a threat has passed. Unfortunately, in today’s busy world, we find ourselves overstimulated with information on top of our busy daily routines and family/work demands.

We are permanently “hooked in” checking emails, text messages and scrolling social media pages at all times of the day. As a result of this lifestyle, our bodies are subject to a permanent state of low-level anxiety, and we are unable to relax effectively and regulate correctly.

Hypnotherapy is an effective form of stress relief and can act as a circuit breaker for mind-body symptoms. The gut relaxes and breaks the anxiety loop by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest and digest phase) by giving the body a much-needed break from stimulation.

During this restful, recuperative state, the subconscious mind is gently filled with positive suggestions to calm the nervous response, soothe the digestive system and end the cycle of symptoms.

Hypnotherapy is recognised and recommended as an effective and safe treatment for IBS by NHS NICE guidelines.