According to a new study presented at the 2011 Digestive Disease Week meeting Mindfulness meditation has been found to be significantly more beneficial to people suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) than group support.
66 women diagnosed with IBS were randomly assigned either participate in an 8-week Mindfulness Meditation course or an 8 weekly support group meetings. It was reported that learning the technique of mindfulness meditation relieved the severity of IBS symptoms three months after the course has been completed.
It was reported that mindfulness therapy was thought to be the key in breaking the continuous loop of pain and symptoms, by becoming mindfully aware of the body sensations and pains, the women found subjectively reported that their symptoms of IBS improved up to four times more than the women who have partaken in the group support.
It was argued that mindfulness meditation appears to be a life enhancing addition to ongoing treatment that can have a positive impact on the symptoms of IBS without having any negative side effects. Due to the fact that IBS severity is also linked to high stress and anxiety levels, Mindfulness meditation could potentially be more than simply the an addition to the treatment of IBS but also have a positive impact on overall wellbeing.
