You should always consult your doctor if you suspect that you have IBS, as only a doctor can diagnose IBS. Symptoms can include diarrhoea and/or constipation and feeling uncomfortable and bloated. There is no agreement currently as to what exactly causes IBS, although high levels of stress can sometimes trigger it, or worsen symptoms. A great antidote for this is deep relaxation.

Our bodies developed feelings of “stress” to keep us safe and alert. These dangers and threats may not just be hungry lions and tigers, but they may also be the stressful day-to-day situations we all face in modern life. The brain does not distinguish between the different types of threat – it just thinks “stress”.

In the first couple of seconds after perceiving a threat (even before we have consciously noticed it) our adrenal glands produce adrenaline. This sets off our ‘fight or flight’ response. During this time, certain reactions in the body are ‘activated’, such as sweating, quicker and deeper breathing, accelerated heart rate, all allowing the muscles to work harder and escape the danger.

But what also happens is that other certain functions in your body that are not essential to short term survival get ‘deactivated’. For example, the sex drive stops functioning when extremely stressed. A person doesn’t need to be sexually excited when escaping a threat. The stress response also causes our immune system to be sidelined, as we don’t need to be fighting tiny germs when we may have the bigger, more immediate task of fleeing a danger. This is why people under long term stress tend to get more physically ill. The digestive system almost shuts down completely during times of high stress. Eating is a long term survival function. Running away is to do with immediate survival. So one response, in this case digestion, gets switched off in favour of another – running! Running or other physical activity releases the adrenaline, which resets the body’s systems to the correct and normal functions.

If we feel stressed for longer than two minutes, or do not have the physical release, our adrenal glands produce something called cortisol, which is a long term stress hormone. And if we feel stressed for hours, days, weeks or even months, our adrenals will continually sideline digestion. So what was an adaptive response (switching off non-essential functions for short term survival) becomes maladaptive as immune system, sex drive and digestion become damped down over long stretches of time.

When you relax deeply you counteract all this. Your immune system works better and your stomach begins to get the oxygen and blood it needs in order to work better. Deep relaxation is a great antidote to ongoing stress. Hypnosis can effectively help you to relax very deeply. It can also help identify, reduce or even eliminate your personal stress triggers, allowing you to replace them with relaxation techniques - keeping you healthier and happier!