Have you heard of the hypnobiome?
There is a new theory that has emerged in relation to the gut, hypnotherapy, and the treatment of IBS: The hypnobiome! But what is it, and what does it mean for hypnotherapy?
There is a vast amount of literature that links our guts with our physical and mental health. Our gut is theorised to be a ‘second brain’ in our bodies, complete with a nervous system and comprised of up to 95% entirely of microorganisms. Our gut also has around 500 million neurons (still less than the 85 billion neurons in our brains).
There are a number of clinical studies that highlight the benefits that hypnotherapy can bring to people who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) that have emerged since the 1980s, and recently an article by De Benedittis (2022) reviewed the literature and shared some theories built from his observations. Not only has hypnotherapy been shown to help with physical symptoms of IBS, but a common result was also improvements in quality of life and wellbeing, including decreased anxiety and depression.
There is a theory emerging that hypnotherapy can directly affect the mind-gut axis (the connection to our guts and our minds), by promoting relaxation and feelings of wellbeing when focus is given to our gut during hypnosis. The part of our gut that links to our mental health has been named by some as the psychobiome, and the aspects that can be influenced by hypnotherapy has been named by De Benedittis as the hypnobiome!
If you are a member of the National Hypnotherapy Society and would like to read more about this topic, you can! Access to this article and others found in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis is free to all members. Please speak to a member of our team to find out how. For those already signed up, follow the link below: