Mind over Gut? Hypnotherapy and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (Medicine‪)‬

Almost two thousand years ago the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-323 BCE) was concerned with the connection between psychological processes and the underlying physiological phenomenon. He postulated that the body and the mind exist as facets of the same being, with the mind being simply one of the body's functions. In the seventeenth century Rene Descartes (1596-1650), also known as the father of modern philosophy, theorised that the mind and the body are separate and distinct substances. He stated that the mind is conscious and non-spatial whilst the body is spatial but not conscious. He also thought that these two substances interacted via the pineal gland. While this latter theory has long prevailed, (1) we now know that Aristotle's theory has credence. States of mind do indeed directly affect the body, and the body can directly interact with the brain and mind. This has been nicely outlined by the workings of the mind-gut axis: the neural connections between the central nervous system (CNS) and the enteric/gastrointestinal nervous system. (2) The exploding knowledge in the area of neuropsycho-immunology, endocrinology and physiology has allowed us to gain insights into how these interactions occur. However, the lag time from 'bench to bedside' is considerable. In many areas of medicine we are entering an era where a paradigm shift in our thinking will need to occur, as we discover that the wisdom of those like Aristotle is now backed by scientific evidence. This paper outlines an area of medicine where this shift has occurred, resulting in a more holistic approach to a common problem with important implications for patients. IRRITABLE BOWEL SYDNROME