What Causes Anxiety Related Upset Stomach
Scientists have many different theories about why anxiety causes an upset stomach. One of the key beliefs is that anxiety causes changes in neurotransmitter function, particularly serotonin. There are serotonin receptors in the gut, and so when your body is experiencing anxiety, it’s likely receiving chemicals that tell it to respond with that upset feeling.
Other causes include:
- Adrenaline Body Changes Adrenaline works with cortisol, the stress hormone, to allow the body to respond to danger quickly. These hormones may change the general physiological traits of the gut. Further, the ratio of good versus bad bacteria in the GI system may be altered by these hormones.
- Slowed Digestion Anxiety activates the fight or flight system. Studies have shown that the speed of digestion decreases as a result of the fight or flight system, and this may cause discomfort in the stomach and intestines as a result.
- Stomach Tension Anxiety also puts a great deal of pressure on the stomach muscles, and these, in turn, put pressure on the stomach. Any stomach pressure has the potential to change the way that your stomach feels during periods of stress.
All of these are potential issues that lead to problems with your stomach during periods of stress.
What Makes You Afraid
Lots of things make us feel afraid. Being afraid of some things like fires can keep you safe. Fearing failure can make you try to do well so that you wont fail, but it can also stop you doing well if the feeling is too strong.
What youre afraid of and how you act when youre afraid of something can vary per person. Just knowing what makes you afraid and why can be the first step to sorting out problems with fear.
How can we manage and reduce stress? Our free downloadable pocket guide offers you 101 tips: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-stress.
Cozy Up With Herbal Teas
So you might not want to indulge in too much coffee, but you can relax with a mug of herbal tea in order to feel less anxious. Great options for herbal teas are chamomile, skullcap, and kava kava to start, Dr. Ramsey says. A study from the University of Pennsylvania found that participants who took chamomile for eight weeks experienced fewer anxious symptoms than those that didnt. However, be aware that kava can interact with anti-anxiety and antidepressant meds, so talk to your doctor first if youre on them. Plus, its so relaxing that high doses of it could impair your ability to drive, according to one study. If youre using herbs for anxiety, steer clear of ones that are stimulating, such as ginseng, cautions Dr. Ramsey, because they might actually make anxious feelings worse. These 13 medical conditions could be triggering your anxiety.
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One Way To Calm Down Is To Remind Yourself That Anxiety Is Your Bodys Way Of Signaling Danger Ahead
Your body is trying to keep you safe it’s giving you data.
The anxiety is often a false alarm, because there’s no actual danger. The data may be wrong. There’s no predator about to attack.
Instead, what’s causing anxiety is “what if” thoughts, also known in jargon talk as “catastrophizing.” It’s an irrational belief that doom and gloom are about to occur.
With this distortion is the certainty that an unfavorable outcome is likely and disaster will result.
How To Calm An Anxious Stomach: The Brain
Ever wonder why you get butterflies in your stomach before doing something stressful? Or why you feel like your stomach is tied in knots after an argument? Ever had a meeting with a toilet that went longer than expected and it wasnt caused by anything you ate? Stomach problems are one of the most common symptoms of stress and anxiety.
Researchers have identified a powerful connection between the gut and the brain. Like the brain, the gut is full of nerves. It contains the largest area of nerves outside the brain with the digestive tract and the brain sharing many of the same nerve connections.
Whether its a single nerve-wracking event or chronic worry and stress over time, stress can exact a physical toll on your digestive system. When you are anxious, some of the hormones and chemicals released by your body enter your digestive tract, where they interfere with digestion. They have a negative effect on your gut flora and decrease antibody production. The resulting chemical imbalance can cause a number of gastrointestinal conditions.
Common stress-related gut symptoms and conditions include:
- indigestion
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- and peptic ulcers
Six Tips for Reducing Stress and Anxiety
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Other Treatments For Ibs
The following treatments are also available for IBS. However, the effectiveness can be lower than for psychotherapies:
- Low FODMAP diet. This diet eliminates common âtrigger compoundsâ of IBS such as fructose and lactose and has been shown effective in treating IBS.
- Antidepressant medication. Low dose treatments of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and tricycle antidepressants have been shown to relieve symptoms of IBS.
- Peppermint oil. It’s been shown that peppermint oil is a natural anti-spasmodic which means it can relax the smooth muscles in the gut, improving some of the symptoms of IBS.
Are There Foods That Reduce Stomach Pain
Anxiety-related stomach pain is not usually the result of your diet , so there arent necessarily any dietary changes that can help reduce stomach pain.
That said, those with panic attacks are more prone to experiencing more severe stomach discomfort, even when no anxiety is present. In other words, when you have panic attacks, its possible to have stomach pain even without a panic attack.
Also, those with anxiety attacks and severe anxiety are prone to whats known as over-sensitization. That means that they are more likely to notice and feel smaller, normal changes in the body, and these can trigger an anxiety attack. So if your diet does contain foods that cause you gas, stomach discomfort, or mild indigestion, it may be best to avoid them because the slight amount of discomfort could feel worse than it should and may trigger a panic attack.
Thats why healthy eating is important in those that get stomach pain with anxiety. Make sure youre getting:
- Fruits
- Water/Hydration
- Whole-Grain Carbohydrates
Also, if you suffer from stress-induced hyperacidity, then it is recommended that you consume dairy products and non-spicy foods. In moderate amounts, over-the-counter antacids may be needed as well.
In addition, if possible, try to avoid eating until youre too full. Those with severe anxiety sometimes interpret the full feeling as pain, and this could trigger a panic attack and further pain.
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Ways To Get Rid Of Nervous Stomach Tackle Your Anxiousness
Do you often experience those feelings of extreme anxiety that settles around your stomach? The constant unsettled feeling and the unfurling experience that becomes very hard to tame? Well, nervous stomach is one of the side effects of extreme anxiety and panic. But, with the adverse impacts, there are several ways to get rid of nervous stomach that you possibly didnt know of.
Experiencing nervous stomach is quite common. It could result from an anxious situation or even from an unsettling situation around.
To help you ease nervous stomach, we have some important insights that you can follow through.
Stay In The Moment To Relieve Anxiety Attacks
Although your gut response might be to leave the stressful situation immediately, dont. Let your anxiety level come down, advises Carmin. Then you can decide if you want to leave or if there’s a way to get back to whatever you were doing when the anxiety attack started. Staying in the moment will help you overcome anxiety, but its hard to do this at first.
Its one of the things I respect the most about people I work with, that they are taking the leap of faith and willing to do the things that terrify them,” Carmin says. “That takes a lot of courage.”
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Relax Your Body To Ease An Anxiety Attack
It’s easy to say, “Just relax,” right? But once you start to observe your body during an anxiety attack, you might find that certain parts of your body clench up during an attack. Make a deliberate effort to tighten and then relax those parts of your body.
Or, if those parts feel like they wont obey during an anxiety attack, pick a body part that will respond, such as your toes or your shoulders. The more you can breathe deeply and relax, the easier it will be to cope.
Why Wont My Fear Go Away And Leave Me Feeling Normal Again
Fear may be a one-off feeling when you are faced with something unfamiliar.
But it can also be an everyday, long-lasting problem even if you cant put your finger on why. Some people feel a constant sense of anxiety all the time, without any particular trigger.
There are plenty of triggers for fear in everyday life, and you cant always work out exactly why you are frightened or how likely you are to be harmed. Even if you can see how out of proportion a fear is, the emotional part of your brain keeps sending danger signals to your body.
Sometimes you need mental and physical ways of tackling fear.
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A Mini Strategy To Ease Anxiety And Stress
A strategy to teach yourself mindful belly breathing is to practice what Dr. Rosa calls the mini. Heres what you do: every time you feel stressed, simply take three slow and controlled deep belly breaths. Its a simple act, but this interrupts the fight-or-flight response and puts it on pause, says Dr. Rosa. Over time, belly breathing can buffer your resistance to your fight-or-flight response, so you are not as sensitive to stress triggers.
To help you be more mindful about your breathing pattern, place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest. You want the chest hand to be still and the belly hand to move out like you are blowing up a balloon, says Dr. Rosa.
She suggests practicing belly breathing throughout the day, like once every hour or up to 10 to 15 times per day. As it becomes more of a habit, you can automatically engage belly breathing whenever you face a stressful event.
Stay Away From Refined Sugar And Processed Foods
Sweets and processed foods all are, not surprisingly, bad for your mental health. Sugar and refined carbs cause a spike in blood sugar followed by a sudden drop. A study from Columbia University found that the more refined carbs and sugar women ate, the higher their risk for mood changes and depression. Another study, from the United Kingdom, found that eating processed meat and fried foods had similar responses, possibly because of the link with heart disease and inflammation, which are also associated with mental health problems. Skip highly processed foods, as these are mainly simple sugars and vegetable oils, Dr. Ramsey suggests. Instead, try eating more complex carbs like whole grains, which were linked to fewer mental health issues in the Columbia study. These 14 magic phrases can instantly calm your anxiety.
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Anxiety Attack Symptoms Include:
- Feeling of losing control or going crazy.
- Heart palpitations or chest pain.
- Feeling like youre going to pass out.
- Trouble breathing or choking sensation.
- Hyperventilation.
- Nausea or stomach cramps.
- Feeling detached or unreal.
Its important to seek help if youre starting to avoid certain situations because youre afraid of having a panic attack. The truth is that panic attacks are highly treatable. In fact, many people are panic free within just 5 to 8 treatment sessions.
How To Calm Anxiety Thoughts And Stop Worrying
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Some of the emotional feelings that are a normal part of our existence as humans are worries and anxiety.
You could choose to worry over anything like debt or your financial stability, or you could feel your heart pounding faster, your palm getting sweaty or developing a numb feeling in your stomach when you have a proposal to present in front of a panel.
These arent unusual traits at all but would be when our worries and anxiety thoughts become unnecessarily and excessively out of control.
According to research from the US Census Bureau, out of every 100 US adults, about 34 percent show symptoms of anxiety. In fact, research has it that one of the most common mental illnesses in the US is an anxiety disorder. One strong emerging feeling that I have noticed to be relatable to uncontrollable worry is fear.
Anxiety is one form of fear, which has more to do with panic over future occurrences or expectations. It is not a big deal to give a serious thought about the future, however, constantly thinking and stressing over what could happen or how bad things could go is the problem.
However excessive worries lead to chronic anxiety. Anxiety has been proven to have led to mental imbalance, that is, it disallows the brain from concentrating, which easily moves one into a state of depression, whereby one unnecessarily feels sad or withdrawn.
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Try The Stop Practice
If you like acronyms, this one is for you! The four steps of a S.T.O.P. practice take seconds to a minute.
- Stop: Give yourself a moment to literally stop and collect yourself. Just stop whatever you’re doing and pause.
- Take a deep breath: Feel your belly expand as you inhale. Allow your belly to contract on your slow exhale. Be here now. Feel the place where your feet and ground connect feel its support. You got this!
- Observe: Notice your thoughts, feelings, sensations. Is your jaw tight? Are there butterflies in your stomach? Do your knees feel like they are going to buckle? Tune in to yourself, without any kind of judgment. You’re just observing.
- Proceed: This is the secret sauce. To do so, expand your awareness and take in the situation. Remind yourself that you can be in this circumstance without it controlling you. Notice the calming sensations you may start to feel. Allow those to help you open to the choices for what to do next.
You come up with the next steps from a place of wisdom and presence, rather than from a place of anxiety and panic.
Use The Tree Metaphor
Think of your favorite tree or create one in your mind. Consider the deep network of its roots under the surface. No wind or force is strong enough to uproot the tree.
Imagine yourself as the tree. Note the roots of the tree extending from the soles of your feet, strongly rooted to the center of the Earth.
You’re tethered, calm, and breathing. Strong as a tree solid, calm, and confident.
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Beat Stress To Ease Tummy Troubles
You may have noticed a feeling of unease in your stomach during times of stress. That’s because anxiety and worry can upset the delicate balance of digestion.
In some people, stress slows down digestion, causing bloating, pain and constipation, while in others it speeds it up, causing diarrhoea and frequent trips to the loo. Some people lose their appetite completely.
Stress can also worsen digestive conditions like stomach ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome.
A solution is to avoid eating when you’re feeling very anxious, stressed or unhappy.
It also helps your digestion if you avoid arguing at the dinner table, as getting angry can put you off your food or make eating harder. Try to keep mealtimes happy and relaxed.
What Is The Feeling Of Butterflies In Stomach
If you’ve ever been nervously excited, you’ve likely experienced the fluttery feeling known as “butterflies in your stomach.” This feeling can arise in a variety of situations, from meeting someone for a first date to giving an important speech to a large audience. But why is it known as butterflies in the stomach, and what is that feeling trying to tell you?
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How To End An Anxiety Or Panic Attack
An anxiety attack can be terrifying, but it wont kill you. If you want to overcome it, take a deep breath and know it will end soon.
“Anxiety” is a general term that describes a variety of experiences, including nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worry, that are common in several mental health disorders. While most of us have anxiety at some time, this is completely different from an anxiety attack or anxiety disorder. Normal feelings of nervousness, worry, and fear often have a known trigger . But when you’re having a full blown panic attack or anxiety attack, the symptoms chest pain, flushing skin, racing heart, and difficulty breathing can make you feel as though you’re going to faint, lose your mind, or die. The reality is, you wont. The key to surviving is to learn all you can about anxiety attacks and practice the skills you need to get through them.
According to the Mayo Clinic, signs of an anxiety attack include:
- Abdominal cramping
- Fear of loss of control or death
- Feeling of unreality or detachment
- Headache
- Shortness of breath or tightness in your throat
- Sweating
- Trembling or shaking
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America offers practical strategies in how to deal with stress and anxiety attacks, including:
- Accept that you cannot control everything.
- Do your best.
- Maintain a positive attitude.
- Learn what triggers your anxiety.
Here’s how to stop an anxiety attack and recover.