My Story
A journey to health
The beginning
I was a qualified lawyer and busy with our two young children when, in 2002, I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. I was told by my doctors that there was no cure for this, and that I would be on medication to manage the condition for the rest of my life.
For the next eight years, I followed the conventional medical protocol and was put on escalating medications, but none of them brought the flare ups under control for any length of time, and the side effects of the medications lead to other health problems.
At the same time, I also did intensive research for alternative therapies and attempted various restrictive diets (which I found hard to adhere to), but felt confused by the conflicting information and advice, and nothing really seemed to help.
During this time I could not work outside the house and I was generally so fatigued that I had often had to return to bed during the hours that our children were in school. It got to the point where the doctors said that they could no longer prescribe cortico-steroids (the only medication that brought temporary relief) and that abdominal surgery, for removal of the entire colon, was the best option for me. As I had just had an abdominal operation for another health problem, I couldn’t face another such intervention in quick succession. I was at wit’s end.
Turning a corner
A friend suggested hypnotherapy and I read about how it can be used to help with chronic gut conditions - I decided to give it a try.
The first thing I noticed was that, during hypnosis, I was able to reach a level of relaxation which I had never before experienced - I felt that I had previously often actually been in a low level state of anxiety, without even being aware of this, as it had appeared as a “normal” state; so, in effect, my baseline of relaxation was recalibrated, and I had a greater awareness of my thinking and feelings.
Within a matter of weeks I began to see improvements, after a few months I felt I was slowly getting my life back and within a year I considered myself recovered – I had no more flare ups (although my inflammation markers took a bit longer to come down). I was discharged from the gastroenterologist clinic which had been a regular feature of my life for over ten years.
A new journey
That was over eight years ago now, and I have stayed completely healthy and well, not on any medication.
Miraculous?
For me, the miracle was finding hypnotherapy and I am forever grateful for it.
I know that hypnotherapy helped me, and so much so that I re-qualified as a hypnotherapist. My mission is to bring the quality of life that I now enjoy to others, and maybe you, if you are looking at this, and to help ease the suffering, which is so often in relative silence.
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But how can it work?
There is now growing acceptance and very good research evidence (in particular, in the UK, Prof Peter Whorwell at Manchester University) that hypnotherapy is a very effective adjunct treatment for chronic gut issues. Prof. Whorwell says that during the hypnotherapy, patients
"learn how to influence and gain control of their gut function, and then seem to be able to change the way the brain modulates their gut activity.”
Further, new neuro-imaging techniques have indicated that one of the issues associated with chronic gut issues appears to be faulty communication between the submucosal nerves of the gut and the brain; neuroimaging has shown that the neurons of ill patients are far more active than for healthy people - and that this state of hypersensitivity can be calmed using hypnotherapy.
This resonates with me, as I honestly feel it was the most important factor for my getting totally better.