How can hypnotherapy help?
Hypnotherapy is not a passive therapy and requires willing participation
on behalf of the subject. In the area of food intolerance its application
is wide ranging with the general aim being to improve a person’s
quality of life, in many cases leading to the complete removal of symptoms.
A variety of approaches can be taken. For example, for those who find
difficulty in abstaining from food that causes unwanted reactions,
suggestions can be given that will take away the desire to eat such
foods. At the same time suggestions can be given that will enhance
the enjoyment of eating food that is non-allergenic. Symptoms such
as diarrhoea and constipation can be alleviated through the use of
visualisations and suggestions, and those who experience pain as part
of their symptomology can also benefit. In fact, recent research has
shown that hypnosis can effectively ‘turn off’ the area
of our brain that registers suffering, in thus closing down our experience
of the noxious quality of pain (1).
This is by no means the end of the story. In the June (2003) issue
of Foods Matter Professor Nick Read highlighted the role that traumatic
life
events can play in the development of food intolerance and how helping
a person come to terms with the memory of such an event can aid the
management and remission of their symptoms. For these people hypnosis
provides a route to successful resolution, helping to process the emotional
content of the memory as well as deconditioning any learned responses
that may be present as a result of that memory.
Continuing with the concept of the mind body connection, hypnotherapy
can help patients regain a new and appropriate balance within their
immune system through the application of PNI techniques. When intolerance
occurs, an allergic reaction to the food is experienced. Simply put,
the immune system will misidentify certain foods and become highly
sensitised towards them producing an allergic reaction that can include
physical (nausea, swelling, diarrhoea, etc) and psychological (fatigue,
depression, etc.) symptoms. Research has indicated that hypnotherapy
can be used to stimulate the mind body connection and help prevent
such reactions.
It is now known that many neurotransmitters (chemicals that help the
transmission of messages in our nervous system) that were once thought
of as being restricted to activity in the brain are involved in the
regulation of our immune system; also, various immunotransmitters (chemicals
that modulate immune system functioning) that were thought to be restricted
solely to the immune system are active within the central nervous system.
This perhaps partly explains why such emotional responses as stress
and trauma can exacerbate food intolerance and how hypnotherapy can
be used to help a patient to develop positive emotional states that
will in turn stimulate appropriate immune system functioning.
Despite the fact that hypnotherapy is a brief therapeutic approach
it is not a magical panacea. However, its proven record shows that
it is effective in the treatment of food intolerance and can be used
either as a ‘stand alone’ intervention or in conjunction
with other integrative and medical approaches.
Reference:
(1) Faymonville ME, et al, Neural mechanisms of antinociceptive effects
of hypnosis, Anesthesiology, 92(5):1257-67, 2000
Peter Mabbutt is Director of Studies at the London College of Clinical
Hypnosis.
He can be contacted on 020 7473 2946
To find a qualified hypnotherapist in your area contact the British
Society of Clinical Hypnosis on 020 7402 9037 www.bsch.org.uk
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