Nervous system practices and IBS

“Regulate your nervous system” can be frustratingly vague. In our work, I want you to know which skill we are trying, what it is intended to help with, and how we will decide whether it is useful.

What the evidence does—and does not—show

A small feasibility study tested a digital program combining hypnosis and diaphragmatic breathing for functional abdominal bloating. Symptoms improved during the study, but there was no control group, and the design could not separate the effects of breathing from hypnosis (Wang et al., 2025). The findings offer an encouraging direction for research on combined practices for bloating.

Mindfulness programs have separate research. Their findings should not be stretched to cover every practice marketed as nervous system regulation.

An optional, brief check-in

This is a practice example, not a stand-alone treatment protocol:

1. Choose a comfortable, supported position. Your eyes can stay open.
2. Notice one neutral thing around you: a color, a sound, or the chair supporting you.
3. If comfortable, allow a couple of ordinary, unforced breaths. There is no need to breathe deeply or hold your breath.
4. Ask: Did that feel useful, neutral, or uncomfortable? Any of those answers is information.

Stop if you feel dizzy, breathless, more distressed, or otherwise unwell. Do not continue an exercise to prove you can do it. Follow any restrictions from your medical team.

Make the assignment fit the person

In treatment, we can choose a small practice, agree when to try it, and review what happened. If you have POTS, ME/CFS, or another condition affecting tolerance, tell me so we can coordinate and adapt. These exercises are not treatment for those underlying conditions, and they should not require pushing through a symptom flare.

References

Wang, X. J., Philpot, L., Ebbert, J., Dilmaghani, S., Loftus, C., Fox, J., & Palsson, O. (2025). Digital therapeutic combining hypnosis and diaphragmatic breathing intervention for functional abdominal bloating: A feasibility study. Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology, 16(4), Article e00811. https://doi.org/10.14309/ctg.0000000000000811 (opens in a new tab)

For general education, not diagnosis or an individual treatment recommendation. Discuss new, severe, or changing symptoms with your medical team.