UK medical journal, The Lancent, published a study looking into whether hypnotherapy could help to prevent relapses in the ulcers. The study consisted of 30 people, 14 female and 16 males, all who had suffered from duodenal ulcers and all who had experienced a relapse within the past six months.

All participants were asked to take a common and successful drug for treating ulcers (rantidine) and were given sufficient time for the drug to work and for the ulcer to heal. After this the group was then split into two. One group received seven hypnosis session and were given a recording to listen to on their own, the others did not receive any sort of hypnosis treatment. The participants were then given follow up reviews (with hypnotherapy sessions for the hypnosis group) every three months for the next year.

The aim of the hypnotherapy was to make the patient feel relaxed so they could focus their attention on their abdomen. They were instructed to imagine a feeling of warmth over their abdomen and the warmth was to control the secretion of stomach acid. They were asked to visualise this process.

One year on and the relapse rate of the hypnosis group was 53% compared to 100% in the group who didn’t receive any hypnotherapy. To conclude, the study showed that hypnosis can be of great help to those who have frequent duodenal ulcers.

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