Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a most unpleasant condition to suffer from; I know having had it for 16 years or so.
It was whilst studying for my Practitioners Diploma in Clinical Hypnosis that I came across the research of Professor Peter Whorwell and his suggested treatment for IBS - 'The Manchester Model'. I applied it to myself using self hypnosis and immediately started to have a reduction in the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in my daily life.
Now I rarely count myself as an IBS sufferer, on a
daily basis, as I might only be slightly symptomatic one
day in 20 or so; rather than rushing to the loo up to 10
times a day!
Having qualified I started to look around for websites
that provided support and help for sufferers of IBS and
found that there was very little in the UK - and even
less of it about the role hypnotherapy can play in
helping individuals manage or even get rid of their
symptoms. That we don't have a resource in the
UK that can provide sufferers with
combined information about probably the most effective treatment
and access to resources as well as access to support
from others with Irritable Bowel Syndrome is ridiculous.
Are we
really that reticent to talk about our bowels and the
life restrictions, anxieties and discomfort that Irritable
Bowel Syndrome
causes?
There was a need for an IBS resource that can at the same time as providing information and support can also help sufferers find high quality, ethical, hypnotherapeutic (and other holistic approaches) that can be of benefit for the individual and their own issues within their own management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
I decided that it should also be not-for-profit - so that actual staffing and development costs can be met but there is no distribution of a surplus to shareholders as they don't exist.
It is intended, should a surplus exist, that IBS Help can look to ongoing development and one day contribute partly or fully to funding research into the efficacy of Hypnotherapy for IBS and how to improve it even further.
IBSHelp.org.uk is intended to be that resource.
