If you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), you know how disruptive it can be to your life. And it can hit at the most inopportune times—middle of the store, middle of the night, middle of that romantic dinner. You have to know where the bathroom stops are on your usual routes—and you choose new routes based on potential bathroom availability.
I’ve struggled with IBS for most of my life. From bloating and gas to diarrhea and constipation, I’ve had it all. My belly would sometimes bloat so much that I looked like I was six months pregnant. And the pain? As the gas expanded, it pressed up against my diaphragm, creating pain that would sometimes leave me curled up and incapacitated. Sound familiar?
What I Tried for Relief
Years after my IBS diagnosis, a friend introduced me to FODMAPs—that stands for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. They’re fibers that ferment in the gut and act as prebiotics for your beneficial gut bacteria. The foods they’re in are healthy—fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and dairy. But for people with IBS, they can spell trouble as they sit, ferment and cause an abnormal amount of gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation.
Around this same time, I was seeing a new gastroenterologist who also counseled me about FODMAPs. He referred me to a registered dietitian who helped me pinpoint other foods that were giving me trouble. As I learned, it’s important to pinpoint and avoid the foods causing the most issues as opposed to cutting out all high-FODMAP foods. FODMAP-rich foods contain necessary nutrients for a healthy microbiome, disease prevention and overall health, so you should aim to incorporate them where you can.
Eventually, I learned that some foods were okay if I cooked them—which can help break down some of those pesky FODMAPs before they actually reach my gut—and others were pretty much out of the question. I learned how to work around some of the foods, like garlic, which I can often replace by using a garlic-infused cooking oil.
I also found that going for a walk or working out helped with the bloating. Sometimes I can even relieve discomfort by lying down on top of something, like a balance ball or even a rolled up towel. Sparkling water helps too, since it allows me to burp up gas that I’d otherwise feel bloated with. (Having raised four sons, I can burp with the best of them—trust me.)
Despite having an arsenal of tools and techniques, though, many days I still felt like it didn’t matter what I ate or did, I was still bloated, gassy and struggling with constipation. I’ve found some remedies for constipation, too, after consulting with my doctor. I take magnesium and acacia fiber, and I’ve discovered that chia seeds, another great fiber for relieving constipation, don’t bother my gut, so chia seed pudding and chia jam are regulars in my rotation.
Even as things improved, I wasn’t jumping for joy at the results. There were still lots of foods I couldn’t eat without experiencing symptoms, and I missed them.
The Gut-Brain Connection
Still, I knew that food wasn’t my only trigger. Stress ranked right up there, too. As a health and psychology professional, I know that stress and trauma can affect health, including gut health. Your body has a gut-brain axis—a two-way communication system in your body between your gut and brain. That means psychological stress can affect your gut health and gut health can also influence mental health.
A major part of the gut-brain axis is the vagus nerve, which acts as a sort of superhighway for the communication between the gut and brain. The vagus nerve starts in your brain and wanders down your body, touching and influencing nearly every major organ, including your heart, lungs and intestines. The vagus nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which brings calm and slows your heart rate.
The vagus nerve is also called the rest-and-digest nerve because your digestive system works better when the vagus nerve is doing its job. But when your nervous system is in a constant state of fight, flight or freeze, your gut is going to react accordingly. All of these states involve hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system, which revs things up. And while I thought I was good at relaxing, my vagus nerve was saying otherwise.
I had seen ads for the Nerva app for IBS on social media. I even looked into it. But I kept telling myself that I already knew how to do relaxation techniques, so why spend the money on it? Eventually, though, I had to swallow my pride and tell my ego to step aside. I needed to see if it worked.
Trying the Nerva App
The Nerva app was co-founded by Simone Peters, Ph.D., an Australian psychophysiologist who was working with Monash University when she became interested in the psychological component of IBS. Peters also serves on the editorial board of Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology and has published research based on her studies that suggest participants see a 70% to 80% improvement in IBS symptoms using gut-directed hypnotherapy—which is a success rate similar to following a low-FODMAP diet.
I was impressed with the app right away. It’s individualized, so one of the first things you do is answer a bunch of questions about your IBS symptoms. They even connect it to your healthcare team, integrating it as a part of your treatment plan.
The goal of using Nerva is to improve and reduce symptoms and eventually allow you to eat foods that have historically triggered your symptoms, all through integrated techniques that calm the nervous system. The core program is set up for six weeks, and you get to choose how many times a week you plan on using it.
Each session uses gut-directed hypnotherapy and lasts about 15 minutes. There are also lessons that go along with each session that help educate you about IBS, explain what gut-directed hypnotherapy is, how it works and more. In addition, there are also a few coaching lessons within the app that go deeper to help you understand and apply the techniques to the specifics of your everyday life. It includes diagrams and makes it all very understandable, even if it’s your first time learning about hypnotherapy and the gut.
Honestly, I learned so much that I’m glad I pushed my skepticism aside and decided to give the app a try. Though I knew a lot about IBS, food and emotional triggers, I learned more and gained a deeper understanding of what was going on in my body and brain—that was well worth it to me even without the hypnotherapy.
My Experience with Hypnotherapy
I admit: I’ve always said I could not be hypnotized because, while I can totally relax, I refuse to open my mind to other people’s suggestions. The Nerva app didn’t change that for me, but I still got something out of the guided sessions.
As you may know, hypnosis takes you into a deeper state where the subconscious mind is accessed and specific issues or goals can be addressed. Those specific goals can include quitting smoking, your gut health or even acting silly on stage at a hypnotist’s show. At the beginning of my first session, Peters explained that even if you don’t go into a deeper state, you will still gain benefits—and I found this to be true.
For hypnosis or meditation to be effective, you must be in a quiet space without distractions or interruptions. Mute your phone notifications and put a sign on your door if need be. Lying down is best, but I did some of them leaning back in a chair and was still able to relax. If you’re new to total relaxation techniques, though, I do recommend lying down when possible. Your body and brain will be able to more fully relax. Eventually, as you acclimate to the relaxation techniques, it will become easier to relax in any position—that’s one of the goals of the app.
Once you’ve completed six weeks of the basic program, you get ongoing support, too. First, you’ll be given suggestions of what to do next, depending on your results—even if the hypnosis didn’t work for you. If you choose to continue using the app, you’ll get a flare-up toolkit that provides techniques to help you continue to get results and manage symptoms. (That includes everything from deep breathing exercises to brief sessions tailored to help relieve pain during an IBS flare-up.)
My results? I’ve started eating some of my “forbidden” foods again and am not having as many issues with them. Of course, I still get gas and bloating, but it’s definitely better. And I think as I continue to use the app, it will continue to improve. It can take a while to unwind those old thoughts and beliefs about food and how it can affect your body, so I’m sticking with it—because 15 minutes a day is worth getting part of my life back.
The Bottom Line
So, do I recommend the Nerva app? Yes, as long as you’re committed to actually using it. It costs $199 for a year or $78 for three months, so make sure you’re willing to practice consistently. To get a taste of it, you can always try the weeklong free trial. In my opinion, depending on how IBS is affecting your life, the money is a small price to pay if you get some relief. After all, the price you’re paying for IBS and its disruptions is probably pretty steep.
Learning to calm your nervous system can have many benefits beyond reducing IBS symptoms, too. You may improve your gut’s microbiome and reduce overall inflammation—which has been linked to a reduced risk of disease, like heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.
If you’ve never used a relaxation or hypnotherapy app before, it might feel a little weird at first—lying there, listening to a stranger talk to you in a slow, calm voice. If you’re stressed and struggling to relax, it’s important to show yourself some compassion as you try to learn these new skills. You might not catch on immediately, and it may take time for calmness to settle over you during the sessions. But with consistent practice, you might just find that you’re a quicker study than you realize.
Remember, any new skill takes time to master, so allow yourself that time—and let yourself believe it can work.
