alexnaoumidis

Oooh good catch! We just uploaded the App Store reviews to our site but can just take out that one - cheers!

Yeah that's fair enough, imo I would think it's difficult to game 400+ ratings/reviews from friends and family but I can see where you're coming from.

I'm surprised Apple/Google don't do that - it's beneficial for both the user and us as a business. We could always do it for reviews on our site but it could always be gamed when it's not held accountable with a third-party like with Amazon reviews.

Thanks for this feedback, it's really helpful! it's something we're thinking a lot about atm so this is great.

If you're interested, you can download the app from the Play Store and try the program with a 7-day free trial. Let us know what you think.

We actually had our IBS program within Mindset when we first launched it before we spun it out into it's own standalone app.

Interesting feedback! It's just one element of social proof, the written reviews are more valuable 100% as I would imagine their much harder to game. What social proof would be better in your opinion?

I'd love to learn more about that as we though the money-back guarantee would help assuage hesitation around trying the program - why doesn't it?

If you do want a free trial the mobile app store subscription has a free trial but doesn't come with a money-back guarantee (Apple's control).

In your view, what's more compelling - a free trial or money-back guarantee?

Awesome, glad to hear you've found it so useful!

Yeah that's a great idea! I guess our thinking regarding the stages was to allow further progression if people wanted to keep listening longer than say 3 stages but allowing people to redo the entire program would accomplish the same while also allowing for that 'completion' feeling.

Thanks for the suggestion! We'll bring the idea up to Dr Yapko around developing some sessions for it.

Fecal transplants are not currently an approved treatment for IBS but there has been some recent research indicating it could potentially be helpful in some cases: https://www.jwatch.org/na50649/2020/01/09/fecal-microbiota-t...

Yeah, no worries you can read a study about the role of visceral hypersensitivity in IBS here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5056566/

Thanks!

There hasn't been any research that I've found around increasing adherance to diets but it makes logical sense. If hypnosis amplifies CBT and increases the ability to learn then it make sense that it would help changing the attitudes and perceptions around behavior.

For IBS specifically, it's thought to work on the gut-brain axis by improving motility (i.e. the speed of transit of food through the digestive tract) and reducing gut sensitivity (a large portion of IBS patients have visceral hypnersensitivity). It has also been shown to improve psychological functioning by reducing levels of stress, anxiety and depression which often act as IBS triggers and worsen symptoms.

Initially when we developed Mindset we could only program in Swift so Mindset was built for iOS only.

We are now moving to React Native so should be getting Mindset out on Android soon. Ideally we want to have a single codebase for all of our apps.

It's definitely within the realm of possibility! There's been a lot of research in hypnosis for state anxity (i.e. before a test) so I think it makes logical sense that it would help with the fear of public speaking.

On the anecodtoal I know someone who has had significant success using hypnotherapy for public speaking.

Definitely worth exploring.

Thanks! The low FODMAP diet is a great option but there's many people who would prefer not to have to restrict their diet (myself included).

That's really great to hear! Let us know if he has any feedback.

The efficacy and amount of evidence definitely varies per condition - I wouldn't say it's a pancea for every health condition and there's more research to be done for sure.

As we build these programs we'll focus on where there is the most evidence and conduct our own research to further back up the work we're doing. Thanks for checking it out!

We're working on it! Until then you can listen to some of Dr Yapko's sessions on his website here: https://yapko.com/audio/

Nerva is for people have been diagnosed with IBS, not for people who have self-diagnosed themselves. Many conditions present similar symptoms like IBD, celiac disease etc so it’s important people are properly diagnosed before attempting any management options including the low FODMAP diet and GDH.

Nerva isn’t a treatment, it’s a program that teaches people self-regulation skills and relaxation exercises that can help them self-manage their symptoms.

Nerva is for people have been diagnosed with IBS, not for people who have self-diagnosed themselves. I definitely agree, many conditions present similar symptoms like IBD, celiac disease etc so it’s important people are properly diagnosed before attempting any management options including the low FODMAP diet and GDH.

Nerva isn’t a treatment, it’s a program that teaches people self-regulation skills and relaxation exercises that can help them self-manage their symptoms.

Yeah I think it’s a great idea - we’re really interested in expanding the level of personalisation our programs provide and this could be a feature. Definitely, it’s harder to fear losing control when it’s your own voice.

As someone with Celiac disease I know where you’re coming from but you’re conflating two different conditions.

Celiac disease occurs when your immune system damages your stomach lining in response to eating gluten. It’s why a strict gluten free diet is required. Many gluten contain foods also contain FODMAPs but that’s not what’s causing the immune response.

IBS on the other hand is a functional condition which means it’s problem with how the gut works but doesn’t lead to any damage of the gut/stomach lining. Instead, it’s thought that visceral hypersensitivity could be at play, where the nerves in the gut are overreacting to the gas and expansion caused by the fermentation of FODMAPs. By avoiding FODMAPs you limit this process and reduce symptoms - it’s thought that GDH helps with this process from the top-down and that’s potentially why the Monash study (creators of the Low FODMAP diet) found the response rate was so similar between the two treatment groups.

Ahhh I understand - that’s a good point. Many people follow the low FODMAP diet without the direction of a dietitian (against the recommendation on how to do it) and likely aren’t getting the full result so GDH will still provide benefit, as well as helping the psychological side of IBS.

Interestingly, it’s possible they both help with visceral hypersensitivity - FODMAPs ferment in your gut causing gas and your gut to expand and hypersensitive nerves could then be alerting the brain to potential (but false) danger, so by avoid FODMAPs you avoid this process. Hypnotherapy could potentially be coming at the same process but from the top down instead.

I am actually Celiac as well and follow a strict gluten free diet so I know where you’re coming from. Although the cause of IBS is unknown, it’s a functional condition which means it’s problem with how the gut works but doesn’t lead to any damage. Instead, it’s thought that visceral hypersensitivity could be at play, where the nerves in the gut are overreacting to the gas and expansion caused by the fermentation of FODMAPs. IBD (and Celiac disease) on the other hand leads to gut damage and we would definitely recommend against using Nerva for that - it will not work.

That’s really cool, its taking self-hypnosis to the next level. I personally dislike hearing the sound of my own voice haha but glad to hear you’re finding it helpful.

The FODMAP diet is a great dietary option for managing IBS but gut-directed hypnotherapy has been shown to be just as effective as the diet for people who prefer a non-dietary option. The study we reference that found this result was run at Monash University who created the Low FODMAP diet.

Great question! The approach used in the study also used psychoeducation and breathing exercises as well and we’re in the early stages of an observational study into the Nerva program. What do you mean re discouraging users who’ve tried FODMAP?