Researchers at the State University of New York at Buffalo report that even patients with severe symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) were able to get better (and stayed better) if they were motivated and believed they could control their symptoms by changing their behavior. Nearly one-third of the 71 patients participating in a 10-week cognitive behavioral study indicated they felt significant relief after only four weeks, regardless of the amount of time they spent with the therapists treating them. Some had four one-hour sessions with a therapist over the 10 weeks; others had 10 one-hour sessions over the 10 weeks; those in a third "control" group attended no sessions. Conventional wisdom holds that benefit from behavioral treatment is tied to the amount of treatment a patient receives, said lead researcher Jeffrey Lackner, Psy.D., director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic at the UB School of Medicine. But that didn’t hold true in this study - some patients improved rapidly regardless of how many sessions they had. In addition, the investigators reported that 92.5 percent of these "rapid responders" maintained their improvement for well over three months with little evidence of deterioration. The study was published in the May issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
My take? I'm not surprised to hear about the positive outcomes of this mind/body approach to treating IBS. We know that this disorder is worsened by stress, and that other mind/body approaches including hypnosis, biofeedback, hypnosis, yoga and meditation can have positive effects. This latest study seems to add to the evidence that cognitive behavioral therapy can help you see how self-defeating thoughts and actions can contribute to stress, and by extension to IBS.
While the mind/body approach is important, don't forget the importance of nutrition and lifestyle changes in treating IBS as well.
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