Yes Stress Can Cause Bloating Heres What To Do
Stress, anxiety and bloating. This seems to be a combination that often comes hand in hand.
Very commonly, when someone is experiencing digestive symptoms of bloating, but also other symptoms of IBS such as cramping or constipation, these more emotional symptoms are present.
Can stress cause bloating or is it that the digestive symptoms are causing the stress?
Often, its both.
How Does Low Stomach Acid Cause Mood Disorders
Many of your neurotransmitters are made in the gut. You need amino acids from your food to create your NTs. Decreased stomach acid means decreased amino acids since you need stomach acid to break down proteins into amino acids, which thus impacts the function of your NTs which can lead to mood issues.
A study I read showed that those with psychiatric disorders report more heartburn than the control group. The reflux symptoms in the study were not associated with medication. Is it just a correlation or could the stomach issues be at the root of the psychiatric disorders?
The solution is first to determine if low stomach acid is an issue for you and address this, then address overall gut and microbiome health. While working on this, it may be useful to take a product that includes all the essential amino acids to help support your NTs. Once gut health and stomach acid levels have been supported, one can discontinue taking the amino acids
Exercise Makes You Ravenous
Working out too hard can raise cortisol to unhealthy levels. On top of that, intense exercise can also increase your appetite. While feeling hungrier after a workout is completely normal, feeding your hunger with unhealthy foods may worsen stress-belly.
Tip: Exercising at a lower intensity can actuallyreduce cortisol levels. For that reason, consider swapping HIIT or bootcamp-style workouts for something more low-key, such as yoga or walking .
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Ibs Flare Ups And Stress
We know that stress can trigger a flare up of IBS. And when you’re feeling stressed your body might not be able to cope well with certain foods that you can usually eat without any problems. Some of these ‘trigger foods’ are wheat, dairy, or ‘gassy’ foods such as beans, cabbage, broccoli or fizzy drinks.
If youre expecting a flare-up of IBS due to stress, might be a good idea to stock up on medicines to treat your symptoms in the short term. Loperamide is a good treatment for diarrhoea, while laxatives can help with constipation. For bloating and cramps, you could try Buscopan.
In the long term, The IBS Network has some good resources for coping with stress.
Dogs Really Do Know When We’re Stressed
Learning not to catastrophize is also important. Since your brain is the master controller of your whole body the good news is that by changing how you think about things and how you manage and control your bodys stress response system, you can get a lot of relief from GI symptoms.
References
Keefer, L., Palsson, O.S., & Pandolfino, J.E. . Best practice update: incorporating psychogastroenterology into management of digestive disorders. Gastroenterology 154: 1249-1257.
Hunt, M. . Reclaim Your Life from IBS: A Scientifically Proven CBT Plan for Relief Without Restrictive Diets. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, New York and London.
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What Causes Heartburn And How Can I Get Rid Of It
Heartburn is caused when stomach acid enters the esophagus. Typically, the LES opens like a one-way valve that allows food into the stomach. However, at times the LES relaxes and allows stomach juices to flow back up into the esophagus, exposing it to the harsh acids in your stomach. Physicians refer to this as gastroesophageal reflux.
For the occasional heartburn, you can try antacids or H2 blockers. Antacids neutralize the acid in your stomach, but they only provide immediate, temporary relief. H2 blockers reduce acid production and relief can last for 12 hours. While they can both work for occasional heartburn, if you have frequent heartburn, you may find that the relief does not last long enough. Proton Pump Inhibitors can provide 24-hour relief with a single pill each day.* You can also make a few lifestyle changes to ease your symptoms and reduce the chances of heartburn.
The Fight Or Flight Response
Cortisol is a crucial hormone produced in the adrenal glands. It helps control blood sugar and metabolism, among other things.
Along with other hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol is part of your bodys fight or flight response.
When faced with a crisis, this stress response slows unnecessary body functions so you can focus. Once the threat passes, everything goes back to normal.
Thats a good thing.
However, prolonged stress can keep stress hormones levels elevated, along with your blood pressure and blood sugars, and thats not good.
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Binge Drinking Causes Acid
Moderate drinking will not hurt your digestive system, but binge drinking increases acid production in your stomach, and can cause heartburn and aggravate other digestive disorders.
Binge drinking is defined as drinking 8 or more units of alcohol in 1 session for men, and drinking more than 6 units in 1 session for women.
Tips For Calming A Nervous Stomach
- Practice mindful breathing to promote relaxation
- Exercise to reduce tension and relieve symptoms
- Focus on what you can control instead of the things that are out of your control
- Eat small meals regularly and slowly to aid digestion
- Lose excess weight to alleviate pressure on your stomach and relieve heartburn symptoms
- Stop smoking to prevent further inflammation
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Can Stress Cause Other Gastrointestinal Problems
Bloating rarely comes in isolation and can often be attributed to imbalances in the microflora, which can be caused or worsened by daily life stress. During prolonged periods of stress gut microbiome diversity is impacted.
Gut microbiome diversity is a key indicator over the health of the microbiome. Once diversity of key bacteria is lost then the function of the entire ecosystem is impacted.
This may then lead to:
- Increased risk of digestive issues such as IBS
- Increased risk of inflammatory bowel conditions such as Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis
- Disruption of the gut-brain axis and the stress response. For example, increasing how sensitive we are to stress.
- Increased risk of metabolic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and obesity
Ways To Help Reduce Stress And Stomach Pain
According to a poll that tracks negative experiences of people in 115 countries, 2020 was the year the world reached its highest stress peak in over 15 years. Around 40% of the surveyed population reported experiencing significant stress.
While you should see a doctor if your stomach pain is severe, prolonged, or recurring, there are things you can do to calm a nervous stomach and help reduce the kind of stress and anxiety that could lead to stomach problems.
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Stress Hormones Can Make Bad Bacteria Even Worse
Too much bad bacteria in the gut is, well, bad. According to Singh, stress can actually enhance bad bacteria — meaning that the bacteria could cause even more harm to the gut than if you weren’t experiencing stress.
“Hormones and chemicals like catecholamines and serotonin are what we call quorum-sensing molecules. This means that when they are released by the gut, into the bowel, they can modify how pathogenic some bacteria might be. So basically, stress hormones and chemicals can make certain bacteria more pathogenic,” explains Singh.
Ways Stress Can Mess With Your Digestion
Ever get so overwhelmed that you started to feel physical symptoms? Maybe an upset stomach? Well, you’re not alone. There is a growing body of research that is exploring stress and what it does to the gut. Keep reading to see how stress can effect your digestive health and get tips for how to relieve stress for a healthier gut.
Our gastrointestinal tracts have their own nervous system-the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system is made up the same neuron building blocks as the central nervous system, aka our brain and spinal cord. Not only are they similar in their makeup, but the neurons in the gut use a variety of neurotransmitters, like serotonin, to communicate with the brain. Due to their interconnectedness, stress can trigger or exacerbate GI distress, and vice versa. Additionally, prolonged GI issues can intensify stress and anxiety. In fact, several treatment options for GI disorders include psychotherapy to evaluate and manage stress.
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What Are The Most Common Causes Of Stomach Pain
There are many possible causes of stomach pain, including indigestion, gas, food poisoning, allergy, stress, or more serious conditions such as an ulcer or different types of cancers.
Often, the pain is caused by something that can be easily treated, such as drinking more water or taking an over-the-counter antacid. However, if the pain is severe or persists for more than a few days, itâs important to see a doctor to rule out a more severe problem.
Indigestion Caused Due To Anxiety
People that are suffering from persistent anxiety are likely to suffer from stomach problems like indigestion issues. However, the prime mechanism that leads to indigestion during anxiety is still vague, but it is thought to occur from the following reasons.
- Adrenaline Adrenaline is the chemical that is released excessively during anxiety. This chemical compound is liable to make changes in the processing of nutrients, especially the glucose and when the body experiences a change in nutrient processing, it affects the digestion severely and hence leading to stomach problems.
- Neurotransmitters and Hormones As already mentioned, anxiety, digestion and gut is mainly affected by the similar neurotransmitters and hormones. So, when a person is suffering from anxiety, the balance of neurotransmitter and hormones in body gets disturbed, which leads to stomach discomfort and other stomach problems.
- Stomach Acid The stomach acid is also affected during anxiety. The acid reflux is more commonly affected when the person suffers from severe anxiety. The stomach starts releasing excessive stomach acid during stress and anxiety and this increases the production of stomach acid, which causes heartburn and poor digestion.
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A Sense Of Being Overwhelmed
Its typical for people who experience cortisol imbalances to feel overwhelmed. If it feels as though youll explode, cry, or scream with a small or innocent provocation , you may be experiencing chronic stress.
Tip: If you feel overwhelmed all the time, seek out help. See if you can delegate a few of your responsibilities or ask your friends for assistance when possible. And if it feels like its not getting better, consider journaling to work through your feelings or talking to a professional to get tools to help you cope.
Does Having An Empty Stomach Cause Bad Breath
When a person avoids food and has an empty stomach, saliva production is reduced, which is needed to remove bacteria from the tongue, gums, and teeth. As a result, the process of eliminating bacteria can be disrupted, leading to bad breath.
Having an empty stomach can cause stress due to increased stomach acidity, which can also lead to dry mouth. As a result, there is an increase in more and more bad breath. Bad breath due to an empty stomach often has a yeasty or toasty odor.
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Why Does Stress Or Anxiety Impact Your Gut
Theres increasing evidence showing that theres an important relationship between the brain and the digestive system. This is sometimes called the brain-gut or gut-brain axis.
Communication between the two can affect activity in the brain and in the digestive system. This is why stress can cause symptoms in the stomach and the gut, and why the reverse is also true having digestive problems can make us feel very stressed and anxious.
When were in a stressful situation, our bodies tend to have a fight or flight reaction. Hormones are released which prepare us to act, by keeping us alert and energised.
The theory is that when these stress hormones are released, digestion slows down or even stops altogether so that the body can divert its energy to managing the perceived threat. This slowing down of the digestive process causes the symptoms of bloating, constipation, and pain.
We also know that in some people, stress can cause the opposite problem, speeding up the digestive process and causing diarrhoea.
What Are The Symptoms Of Stomach Stress
There are many terms we already use to describe the symptoms of stomach stress. We probably use these without even realising it.
Terms such as gut feeling or butterflies in the stomach, can be key indicators that stress is building up. Often, as already mentioned, the first we may be aware of the stress were experiencing is when our stomach turns over.
If the stress passes, then so will this sensation. However, chronic and ongoing stress can lead to disruptions that may last long after the stress has subsided.
The sensation of bloating and the visible distention can worsen during these periods of stress. Other digestive symptoms such as reflux and altered bowel patterns can also occur.
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How Stress Affects Digestion
Stress can cause a range of gastrointestinal problems including cramping, bloating, inflammation, and a loss of appetite. Find out how to keep stress levels down to protect your gut.
David Malan/Getty Images
Have you ever have to make a gut-wrenching” decision under pressure? Or were you ever so anxious that you had butterflies in your stomach? If so, then you know how stress can affect your digestive system.
The brain and the gut are connected and constantly in communication. In fact, more neurons reside in the gut then in the entire spinal cord, according to research published in the book Neuroscience.
“Stress can affect every part of the digestive system,” says Kenneth Koch, MD, professor of medicine in gastroenterology and medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The gut is controlled in part by the central nervous system in the brain and spinal cord. In addition, it has its own network of neurons in the lining of the gastrointestinal system, known as the enteric or intrinsic nervous system. In fact, the system of nerves in your gut is so influential that some researchers consider the gut a second brain, as noted in an article published in Scientific American.
The enteric nervous system, along with its 100 million nerve cells that line your gastrointestinal tract from your esophagus to your rectum, regulates digestive processes like:
Can Stress Cause Stomach Pain What Is Stress
Anyone who has ever been nervous about an upcoming test or presentation knows that stress can cause physical symptoms like an upset stomach. When we worry too much or panic about an impending event or related issues, we can sometimes experience stomach discomfort. But what exactly is stress-related stomach pain?
This type of pain is caused by the release of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline in response to a perceived threat. These hormones can have several different effects on the body, including increasing heart rate, constricting blood vessels, and slowing digestion. This can lead to cramps, nausea, and diarrhea in some people. Stress-related stomach pain is often relieved by simply removing the source of stress from the equation. However, if the pain is severe or persistent, it may indicate a more serious underlying condition and should be evaluated by a medical professional.
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What Not To Do
Sometimes well-intentioned doctors will tell you to “reduce stress.” The problem with this advice is that it can lead to avoidance. The only way to truly avoid stress is to avoid life, and thats not desirable or sustainable. You may have tried thisskipping trips or events, staying home when you dont feel well, not socializing, passing up jobs or challenging work assignments.
How Does Stress Cause Stomach Pain
Your brain may get most of the credit for overall control of your body, but the intestines have their own nervous system that is so powerful, its sometimes known as a second brain. This system is called the enteric nervous system.
With the largest collection of nerve cells in the body outside of the brain, the enteric nervous system not only controls gastrointestinal functions separately from the brain, but it also produces and responds to the same stress hormones and neurotransmitters that our brains do.
The link between your gut and your brain stems from this system. Even though these two systems function independently, this connection allows your brain to monitor your digestive tract and modify activity within your gut.
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Decrease Good Gut Bacteria
The health of our gut bacteria is affected by what we eat, but also by the general health of our gut. When our GI tract is in distress from all of the previously mentioned symptoms, our good gut bacteria suffer too. Some research has even shown that there is regular communication between the brain-gut axis, the immune system and the gut microbiome. Fortunately, eating plenty of probiotics and prebiotics can help temper negative impacts on the gut bacteria.