Many acid reflux patients are turning to complimentary therapies such as hypnotherapy to help ease symptoms without the sometimes harsh side effects of medications prescribed by conventional medicine. Please read on to find out more.
What is Acid Reflux?
Acid reflux is also commonly referred to as heartburn, gastric reflux and gastroesophageal reflux. It's felt as a burning, painful sensation that occurs when gastric acid backflows from the stomach into the throat. The pain is normally located just behind the breastbone, in the esophagus and often radiates to the throat, neck and jaw.
Others symptoms may include:
- Chest pain
- Dental erosion
- Asthma
- Hoarseness of the voice
- Food regurgitation
- Dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing)
Causes of Acid Reflux
Physiologically speaking, acid reflux is caused by a dysfunctional lower esophageal sphincter in the stomach that allows for acid to backflow into the esophagus. Whilst science is still deciding, there are number of reasons thought to cause the sphincter to be faulty in the first place. Some of these include:
- Pregnancy
- Large meals and overeating
- Certain food triggers
- Bending forward
- Hiatus hernia
- Peptic Ulcers
- Insufficient amounts of digestive enzymes in the stomach
- Smoking
- Alcohol
- Asthma
- Constipation
How does hypnotherapy work?
Hypnotherapy is therapeutic technique used to safely access the powers of the subconscious mind. It acts to put the acid reflux sufferer into a sleep-like state in which they act only on external suggestion. It may be used to incite different patterns of thought and behavior, and may be used by an external practitioner or self-administered with the use of pre-recorded sessions.
Hypnotherapy helps acid reflux by helping you quit smoking
The esophagus may be agitated by one of the many thousands of chemicals contained in cigarette smoke. There is also evidence to suggest these chemicals can relax the esophageal sphincter which itself caters perfectly to acid reflux. Hypnotherapy doesn't help a person to stop smoking, but rather helps a person to easily become a non-smoker. It also helps the person to compensate for the loss they might otherwise feel in quitting the habit.
Hypnotherapy helps acid reflux by supporting digestive health
Many people suffer from acid reflux because they eat too much of foods that simply aggravate the reflux. Hypnotherapy can reduce acid reflux symptoms by desensitizing, healing and working the digestive system. The technique encourages the subconscious mind to make healthier eating choices, and to eat smaller portions more frequently, which has been proven beneficial to acid reflux conditions.
Hypnotherapy helps acid reflux by helping you stress less
Stress is as common a trigger of heartburn as some foods can be. Stress may cause acid reflux as it causes:
- Destructive behaviors such as binge eating, overeating, emotional eating, drinking alcohol and smoking.
- The fight or flight response, with which the body tenses up, sending the heart, lungs and muscles the bulk of its energy. This creates a hyperacidic state in the stomach, which is robbed of oxygen and the enzymes required for digestion.
Hypnosis can help us break the vicious stress cycle by giving the subconscious mind tools to deal with everyday anxieties that would normally overwhelm us. It also encourages positive thinking and feelings of relaxation which all function to help keep symptoms of acid reflux away.
Hypnotherapy helps acid reflux by helping you lose weight
Those who are overweight or obese tend to experience acid reflux more than the average person. This is due to the extra amount of pressure put upon the stomach which forces the content of the stomach to backflow up the esophagus thus producing symptoms of heartburn.
Hypnotherapy helps to ease these heartburn symptoms by coercing the subconscious mind into state where it can lose the weight willingly. It does so by building self-esteem, developing positive thinking around eating habits, increasing feelings of relaxation and guiding the individual to create a new and future self-image.
If you are interested in finding out on how hypnotherapy may assist with symptoms of acid reflux, please contact a professional hypnotherapists from more information. You can also check out these 7 ways to relieve acid reflux symptoms. Or learn more about other effective natural acid reflux treatments.
Originally published on Sep 30, 2010
