In recent years, I have worked more and more with clients who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS. Most of them are referred to me from hospitals and medical practitioners. Although one cannot say whether IBS is caused by anxiety, it is certain that IBS produces anxiety, as it has consequences in all areas of life. Over the years–some have suffered from this for tens of years–these patterns often solidify. The longer one has suffered from IBS, the more of a challenge it is to heal.

Many of us can recognize unwanted anxiety or unrest in our lives. Consequently, there exist many different methods of dealing with anxiety using hypnotherapy. Here, I would like to present a certain method I find useful. Generally, one could say that it consists of looking at the rest from unrest, and vice versa, with a bit of visualization for letting go, and creating learning experiences from anxiety and worry.

Most of us can notice that certain worries tend to pop up when we are about to enter hypnosis ourselves, or even before we are going to guide someone else. One simple way of dealing with such worries is to ask ourselves, or the client, “Would it be possible to put this worry aside just for this moment?” Most times, we will agree intellectually, and on the way into hypnosis, we also may agree emotionally.

Other times, it is a good idea to let the worry speak up. Some clients can be quite good at hiding their anxiety, so it is a good idea to create a welcoming atmosphere for the worry to come out. It might be enough to let worry say some words about how the anxiety manifests, emotionally, mentally, or physically. While entering hypnosis, people with a lot of anxiety might experience dizziness or even strong dissociations of limbs, to the point of being unable to move their hands. These things obviously reinforce the anxiety, so one needs to be sensitive and careful, and deal with them before they become a problem for the session.

Once one has created a foundation for trust with the client who experiences anxiety, one can do more effective procedures, and the purpose of this article is to present a procedure I sometimes use with clients who suffer from anxiety. As always, there should be an element of trust, meaning, and fun while performing this process.

First, I guide the client into hypnosis, usually by using a gradual Elman induction. Using any form of instant inductions is clearly out of the question for a high-strung person. After doing a deepener, for example walking down some stairs, I suggest there are two doors leading to a fairly large room. This room is divided into two compartments by a glass wall, and each door leads into one of the compartments. One of the doors is labeled “Rest”, the other is labeled “Unrest”. Now ask, “Which door would you like to enter through?” Then, “Place you hand on the door, get a feel for what is inside, grab the door handle and enter. If she enters Unrest, ask her if she can temporarily accept the unrest she feels for a little while. Then ask how it feels to look through the glass wall at Rest. Point out that there is a door in the glass wall and suggest that she enter Rest. If she wants to enter Rest, ask similar kinds of questions, and look at, but do not go into Unrest just yet.

So, in both cases, the client ends up in Rest. Now, to relieve some of the anxiety while in Rest, ask her what she sees. Make up a little story. I am Norwegian, and we are nature-loving people, so many clients end up in the forest or in the mountains. I make the journey a little strenuous, going up-hill, carrying a backpack, but also appreciate the view, perhaps having to take a detour because of something barring the way. After a little struggle, find a nice spot by a river. You imagine that the river takes everything to a magical recycling plant. Whatever useless worry you throw in the river will be taken to the plant to be converted to positive energy that returns to you. So, what is in the backpack? Can you see something you might want to recycle? It is a good idea to have communication, either verbally or using finger signals, to confirm the experience along the way. Talking while in hypnosis is quite nice, actually. To make somebody confirm vocally, ask, for example, “Would it be right to say that..?” This requires only a yes.

With the backpack emptied, return to the Rest part of the room. Now look at the Unrest compartment. Suggest that whatever appears, is seen on some monitors hanging from the ceiling. What do you see? Usually, we see regrets from the past, frustrations of the present, or worries of the future.

Ask if it would be okay to enter Unrest. Focus on one of the monitors, presumably the easiest to deal with. Encourage her to dial up the intensity by turning a knob on the monitor until it becomes saturated and goes all white. Suggest that her finger magically can write in golden letters on the white surface what she learned from this experience. Now, take this picture and hang it up in her past, where it belongs, as a valuable learning experience. Go on to the next issue, going through the process a little quicker. At the end, suggest that she lets her conscious mind rest, while her unconscious goes through all such issues and label them as valuable experiences. She may turn, and look back into her own mind to see a string of valuable learning experiences.

I usually end the session by reaffirming the work done, talking a bit about the conscious mind and the unconscious mind, perhaps saying things like, “We are able to do visualizations and let ourselves experience emotions that our subconscious can take as positive guidance, and we also may allow images to rise up from our subconscious to be aware of them and use them in positive healing processes that may again be forgotten and left as valuable experiences for when they are needed.” At the end, perhaps, count from 1 to 5 to signify that the hypnosis session has ended.