For years, doctors have been saying that Stress is the cause of IBS. I'm Dr. Bunny Vreeland, and, while I believe and agree that Stress does exacerbate IBS, my personal research shows that 100% of my clients were involved in some sort of Body Trauma prior to the onset of IBS. After researching the histories of many of my clients' over the past seven years, it is my belief and contention that IBS is caused by Body Trauma rather than stress, alone.

I started thinking about this connection when a group of children between nine and eleven years of age started showing signs of IBS. "What could be causing this new surge of younger clients?". I could not find a common thread expect they all talked about stress. I thought the doctors might be right, but I also believed that just about everyone has stress in their life. I couldn't understand why some people got IBS and others didn't if stress was affecting them, all.

One day, one of the parents (of a 10-year old client) mentioned about getting a new book-bag for the client because, "They carry so much weight that the last one ripped out and it cost more to repair it than to get a new one." I began to wonder about the connection of the book-bags and IBS.

As I questioned each of my young clients and their parents, I found that every one of them were carrying excessively heavy book bags which was an assault on their growing bodies. This theory was further supported when I spoke to Dr. Dave Lemons, a local chiropractor and associate, who told me he had been seeing young children as a result of the damage the heavy book bags were causing.

I called the Superintendent of Schools in Oxnard, CA. I asked her about the book-bags and was told that there had been so many complaints that they were now recommending pushcarts for the books and would be discontinuing the backpack type of book-bag. During the transition, I noticed a decline in the clients between 9-11 years old.

I now focused on finding out if all my clients had encountered any kind of Body Trauma just prior to the onset of IBS. In each case, this proved to be a valid concern.

Some examples include:

Maia, a 22-year-old photography student, came to me originally to quit smoking when she disclosed that she suffered from IBS. Maia had traveled to Puerto Rico at age 15, where she became violently ill from food poisoning, twice (Body Trauma). Maia was given a series of antibiotics and, while the poisoning cleared up, she suffered from IBS for a couple years after that experience. We were able to completely control the IBS with the exception of the few times when she drank coffee. These are Maia's words: "I first went for hypnotherapy to quit smoking, which I did after 3 sessions. Then I discovered hypnotherapy works with IBS. I was excited because I have been suffering with IBS since I lived in Puerto Rico. After 4 sessions my symptoms were 90% under control and now I have had no symptoms for over a year. And, I haven't had a cigarette, either."

Donald, a 47-year-old attorney came to see me because was struggling with his practice because he was always in the bathroom. When I questioned him, I discovered that he had been in a car accident (Body Trauma) and had suffered some serious injuries as a result of the accident. He was hospitalized for a week and sent home. Shortly after, he began having constant diarrhea. He didn't want to see the doctor because he felt that the stay in the hospital was were he originally contracted IBS. Donald ate a lot of ?diet food', which seemed to exacerbate the IBS problem. Just getting off the processed foods seemed to help. Donald reported that his IBS symptoms were under control by the 4th session unless he ate any of the processed foods that caused him distress. These are Donald's words: "I remember times when I had diarrhea so bad that it lasted for over two weeks without a break! I hated going to my doctor because nothing they gave me worked. Hypnotherapy is the best thing I have done for the IBS. I haven't had a flare up for over a year."

Beverly, has three grown daughters who sent her to me after I worked with one of the daughters to reduce her weight. When she discovered that Hypnotherapy could help IBS, she got very excited and wanted me to help her mother.

Beverly remarried after her first husband died and, as a result, had given birth to a ?surprise' baby a year before (Body Trauma) I saw her. Twenty years had past since her last child had been born and Beverly experienced a difficult fourth pregnancy. It was shortly after the baby was born that Beverly started experiencing IBS symptoms. Since she was already seeing the doctor for post-delivery check-ups, she told the doctor about the symptoms and he diagnosed her with IBS. Her daughters were doing most of the grocery shopping for her when she came for her first session. Beverly had a ?thing for cheese' which we found was a trigger for the IBS flare-up. After doing some testing, Beverly found that she was able to enjoy low-fat string cheese, which made her happy. These are Beverly's words: "My IBS was so bad I had to carry an extra change of clothing wherever I went. I was becoming a prisoner in my own house. After 2 hypnotherapy sessions I began to feel better. It really helped me to get control of my body."

These are just a few of the IBS case studies I have worked with. With each client, an obvious Body Trauma was present shortly before the onset of IBS symptoms charge! A Hypnotherapist is a great tour guide but he/she must have the client's cooperation for this to be successful.