NEW YORK CITY – Inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease can cause the intestines to become inflamed and can cause a lot of pain.
In addition to traditional medicine and surgery, IBD specialists are exploring the connection between mind and gut and using alternative therapies to bring relief.
Marylou Wellbrock-Reeves has had Crohn's disease all her life and has seen many doctors and specialists.
"Some of my days are racked with such pain. It's analogous to labor pain," she said.
Wellbrock-Reeves' family is what keeps her going as she searches for the best way to live with a condition that has no cure.
For Wellbrock-Reeves, she deals with the pain with what's called gastric-directed hypnotherapy.
"The brain and the gut are connected through the vagus nerve, which is responsible for communicating a whole bunch of functions: how fast things move through the body, how you process waste, how much inflammation," said Laurie Keefer, gastrointestinal health psychologist and associate professor of medicine at Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Clinical Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Crohn's disease isn't caused by stress, but stress can amplify the symptoms.
For Wellbrock-Reeves, hypnosis is one part of a whole-body approach to managing her disease.
"I think people still think it's a magic act. It's not a magic act. It's really a heavy emphasis on focus and self-focus," she said.
"When a patient is in a focused state of attention, their brain is much more open to suggestion than it would be in a normal setting," Keefer said.
Hypnosis helps Wellbrock-Reeves with things like behavioral and dietary changes, along with traditional treatment to help keep her Crohn's disease in control.
In addition to Mt. Sinai, hypnosis for patients with digestive issues is offered at several other major hospital systems, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago and the University of Michigan. It is often covered by insurance.