Week 1 Review of Nerva Hypnotherapy App

Jump to:

• First Impressions
• Have you been hypnotised before?
• Did you worry you couldn't be hypnotised?
• I'm not good at visualising, will it still work?  
• Is it hard to fully relax and get into the zone?
• Do I have to do the sessions every day?
• Do I have to stick to the same time each day?
• Can I do a session more than once?
• Where, when, and how did you do the sessions?
• Did you enjoy the sessions?
• How did you feel during a session?
• Did you feel out of control?
• Did you feel spacey or tired?
• Is your IBS better?
• Nerva Audio Clip
• Visual Inspiration Gallery
• 10% Discount Off Nerva App
• Related
• Comments

In fact, I'm not dreaming at all. It's my first day of hypnotherapy for IBS and I'm sitting on my 21st-century couch. My big floofy dog is snoring softly and farting silently beside me. Luckily for me, the ability to conjure up an authentic, dust bunny free vision doesn't impact the effectiveness of the session, or so the lovely people at Nerva tell me.

But let's back up slightly. If you haven't read this post where I go into detail about gut-directed hypnotherapy and the Nerva app for IBS then you need to do that now. It's ok, me and the dog will wait…

Now you're all caught up with the ins and outs of gut-directed hypnotherapy for IBS let's dive in. Here are my thoughts and experiences of my first week with the Nerva app. 

First Impressions

Although I signed up for the app ahead of time I purposely avoided listening to the sample session on the Nerva website. It was tempting to sneak a peek at the themes and audios but I waited until I was ready to dive into the full experience. I wanted to begin my sessions with no preconceptions and fresh ears, so to speak. 

The volume of the audio and the voice of the narrator were my biggest concerns before I started. I'm a bit of a weirdo when it comes to loud sounds, low voices, accents and style of speech. I've turned off many a guided meditation or ASMR video because I couldn't embrace, hear or tolerate the narration. Thankfully I didn't need to worry. As soon as the warm, well-spoken British accent drifted into my subconscious I immediately relaxed. I felt like I was wrapped in my favourite blankie while Rachel Weisz read Alice in Wonderland just for me. The pitch, volume and pace were perfect for me. I particularly liked how the narrator's voice naturally rose up and down to emphasise specific parts of the session. If you're a fan of audiobooks or ASMR you'll completely understand why this seemingly insignificant detail was so important to the overall experience.

I'm pleased to say that I have peeked ahead to the coming weeks and the same narrator is used throughout. I think this helps to build some familiarity into the sessions. It offers a feeling of getting to know a specific therapist, as you would in an in-person session.

Speaking of Alice in her wonderland, the theme of this visualisation gave me such nostalgic, eat me, drink me vibes that I was half expecting to hear cries of "off with her head". The basic idea is that a special medicine has been made just for you. Its purpose is to ease your gut symptoms and soothe your digestive tract.

The setting is the 18th-century pharmacy we began with. The fact that I once worked in a pharmacy like the one described was a huge boost to my visualisation skills. Remind me to tell you another time about the drawer of scary, reusable glass pessaries! For those of you not fortunate enough to have tangible memories of such a place there's no need to worry. The scene is described for you in such rich detail that you'll almost be able to taste the medicine when you swallow.

I was really surprised how quickly I became immersed in the session and the time seemed to fly. The whole thing, including the intro and outro, took less than 19 minutes. This reduces slightly for future sessions as the intro becomes shorter. Because less explanation is needed and a quick welcome is all that's required. 

My overall first impressions were positive. Once I'd got my narrator worries out of the way I happily settled down into the sessions each day. I genuinely found myself looking forward to them by the end of the week. 

Now that you've had a fairly descriptive look overall at the first session I thought the best way to give you a bit more practical detail would be in the form of a Q&A. I've tried to answer the types of questions that I had in my head before I began. I'll be keeping them specific to starting a hypnotherapy practice and my experience of the first week.

Have you been hypnotised before?

No, not with my knowledge or consent. The more I learn about hypnotherapy the more I realise that similar techniques are used quite a lot in everyday life. This specifically happens in sales and advertising without us being fully aware of it. 

Did you worry you couldn't be hypnotised?

No. I'm a very creative, visual person and I've sporadically practised visualisations in the past. I can be quite spacey and regularly enter into states of waking trance. I find it easy to zone out when watching ASMR for relaxation, listening to guided meditation, daydreaming, reading or performing a mundane task such as cleaning.

I'm not good at visualising, will it still work?  

If you are the type of person that struggles to visualise pictures in your head then it might help you to know that you don't need to try too hard. The main requirements are that you are relaxed and open to receiving help for a specific condition.

I found that I was getting into creating the imagery in my mind for the first few times I heard each session. As the weeks went on I was much more relaxed about it. By weeks 5 and 6 I was just listening and not actively visualising at all. I honestly didn't feel any difference and relaxed just as much on the last week as I did on the first. 

To help get you in the mood and stimulate your creativity I've gathered together some images throughout this post that might be helpful for you for this session. These are just a starting point and are an expression of what comes to my mind as I listen to the mind-gut medicine session. You are encouraged throughout the sessions to explore and visualise whatever you like, in your own unique way.

Is it hard to fully relax and get into the zone?

You need to create time in your day to find 20 minutes where you won't be disturbed. The sessions only work through commitment, consistency and repetition. It's perfectly natural for your mind to wander or for some days to feel harder than others. If however, you find that your sessions are regularly disrupted, left unfinished or demand more of you than you can give in the moment, it might be a good idea to come back to it later or try to find a better time or place to suit you.

I found the narrator to be both relaxing but also authoritative. Their voice helps you to get in the zone, guides you and stays with you throughout. The volume and tone change slightly to emphasise certain points during the session.

Do I have to do the sessions every day?

Ideally, you will do one session a day for 6 weeks. Try not to beat yourself up if you forget or can't manage a day or two. 

One feature of the app that I didn't particularly like is that you can't go back to a previous day's session without resetting your entire progress. Ordinarily, you wouldn't need to do this. However, if you find your commitment to the sessions dwindling later in the program and wanted to repeat a week it seems as though you would need to reset your progress.

You can also listen to the session from the main menu and not the daily screen. The disadvantage of this is it would mess up your progress tracker. As the daily screens keep a progress tick list of each session you complete, if you listen to missed sessions through the main menu it would appear in the daily screen that you had missed the upcoming sessions. Not a big deal, but as someone that likes to see a fully checked tick list, this would bother me.

Edit 2021: I've been informed by Nerva that due to user feedback, this feature will be added to the next update of the app. This means you'll be able to go back to previous days that you've missed and catch up with those sessions.

Do I have to stick to the same time each day?

No. Doing the sessions as and when you can best fit them in to suit you is most important. However, if you're finishing one session at 11:59 pm and starting the next at 12:01 am then firstly, we exist in different time-space dimensions and we can't be friends. Secondly, you may not be getting the best possible experience. I would suggest spacing the sessions out as best as you can to feel the full benefits.

As mentioned above there is also a daily tick list that fills in each day you complete a session. This display is shown in days of the week rather than 24 hours from when you first began the program. I assume from this that a session at any time on a Monday still counts, regardless of what time you did your session on Sunday.

Can I do a session more than once?

If you can find the time, you can listen to the sessions multiple times a day. The program is designed for you to listen to it once per day. Mindset Health has other apps in addition to Nerva. These state that the program is intended to be followed, in sequence, one day at a time.

The Nerva app says that there isn't a problem listening multiple times a day. It doesn't specify whether or not you can mix and match different sessions from across the 6-week program. 

Where, when, and how did you do the sessions?

I usually try to do my sessions in the morning. This is just personal preference, they can be done at any time to suit you. I preferred doing them in the morning because I enjoyed riding the wave of calm energy that I felt afterwards.

I tried listening in a variety of ways to see if I felt a difference. The options I tried included;

• sitting on the couch
• lying in bed
• lying on my yoga mat after a workout
• sitting on my fit ball
• sitting cross-legged on the floor
• whilst walking my dog

Other than when walking, I didn't feel any difference between the other sessions. The walking session was a nice, relaxing way to walk but I did feel as though I didn't give it my full attention.

I varied my sessions like this to see how possible it would be to fit them around other activities for ease and convenience. I felt as though I could happily add the session onto the end of a workout, listen before bed or even in a quiet area on my lunch break. It's not necessary to be in a particular position or environment as long as you can relax in a relatively quiet, undisturbed area for about 20 minutes.

It's not advisable to listen to the app when driving. I'd also add that you should avoid times when you are operating machinery, cooking and taking care of children or vulnerable people.

Did you enjoy the sessions?

Very much so. I found myself looking forward to them each day. I felt a distinct, positive difference between general relaxation sessions that I've used in the past and the targeted hypnotherapy suggestions.

How did you feel during a session?

During the sessions, I felt incredibly relaxed, warm and comfortable. I did experience a slight tingling, buzzing, energy feeling. Occasionally I felt a mild sense of heaviness, almost as though I was wrapped in a weighted blanket.

Surprisingly, I didn't feel as though I was fighting sleep or struggling to stay awake. Being unable to concentrate or maintain focus, both during and after, was one of my main concerns.

Did you feel out of control?

Not at all. I felt safe and comfortable throughout the sessions. I was aware of the sounds and movement in the room. If someone had said my name or the doorbell had rung I felt as though I would have been able to respond normally. Not once did I feel zoned out, influenced or controlled. 

I know the idea of feeling out of control scares a lot of people. During this week I had an interesting experience that I hope will help to ease some of those concerns. My day 6 session was on a Saturday and I listened to the audio through headphones with my husband in the room. He was sitting quietly but about ⅓ of the way through the session he received an urgent phone call. My mind immediately became alert to his side of the conversation and what was happening. At this point, I stopped the audio part way through until I was ready to return.

At no time did I feel like I couldn't bring myself to full consciousness if I needed to. I also didn't feel any adverse effects from suddenly stopping the audio. I returned to the session, started it from the beginning and completed it within about 30 minutes of abruptly stopping. 

Did you feel spacey or tired?

Quite the opposite, I felt alert, calm and energised. The best way to describe it would be a sense of being balanced and grounded. As soon as the count begins to guide you out of the session, I start to feel alert and ready to get up and on with the day.

I'm the type of person that struggles to get out of bed in the morning or when waking up from a nap. I like to linger in that 5 more minutes zone so I fully expected to feel like this after the sessions but it hasn't happened yet.

Is your IBS better?

Well, let's just clear up any notion that we may have that hypnotherapy is a quick fix or cure for IBS. It's not. I do think that commitment, repetition and consistency are important. There must be a reason they made the program 6 weeks long. So I fully expect to feel more improvement towards the end of treatment than when I began.

That being said I have noticed a decrease in the number of bowel movements I've had this week. This may just be a coincidence but it's changed enough for both me and my husband to notice a difference.

I've committed to keeping a daily food and symptoms diary for the duration of treatment. I'm hoping this will help me to closely monitor how effective the program has been without relying on my memory.

So there we have it, my week 1 review of the Nerva hypnotherapy app for IBS. If I've missed anything then please leave a question, specific to my first week of using the app, in the comments below. Any general questions on gut-directed hypnotherapy and the Nerva app may already have been answered in this blog post. If not I'd appreciate it if you could leave them in the comments section of that post. This way they will be of more help to other readers looking for answers specific to each post.

I hope you found this helpful and I'll speak to you more about my experience next week.

Michelle xoxo

Nerva Audio Clip

Listen to a short clip from session 1 to get a feel for the Nerva IBS program.

Please note: You will not be hypnotised by listening to this brief clip. This audio has been abridged to give you a general feel for the narrator, tone and pace of what to expect from the Nerva app.

Visual Inspiration Gallery

To help get you in the mood and stimulate your creativity I've gathered together some images that might help you to visualise this session. These are just a starting point and are an expression of what comes to my mind as I listen to mind-gut medicine. You are encouraged throughout the sessions to explore and visualise whatever you like, in your own unique way.

Photo source via Unsplash

Credits: 1: Yusuf Evli, 2: Bundo Kim, 3: Alice Pasqual, 4: Ava Sol, 5: Daniel McCullogh, 6: Charlie Harutaka, 7: Jan Antonin Kolar, 8: Edvinas Bruzas, 9: Katherine Hanlon, 10: Lisa Hobbs, 11: Mark Landman, 12. Matt Briney (a), 13: Matt Briney (b), 14: Nathan Dumlao, 15 Nia Ramirez, 16: Priscilla Du Preez, 17: Sean Foster.