Pay attention to your gut-brain connection – it may contribute to your anxiety and digestion problems



The gut-brain axis is very powerful, and it interacts with anxiety to a great extent; this includes digestion problems. Emotional feelings of anger, anxiety, sadness, and joy stimulate symptoms in the gut, just as the direct actions that the brain has upon the stomach and intestines do. Conversely, a troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just like a troubled brain sends signals to the gut. It means that stomach or intestinal distress can be both the cause of and the product of anxiety, stress, or depression, especially when a person is experiencing gastrointestinal upset with no obvious physical cause.

Such close interaction between the gut and brain may explain why some people experience nausea right before giving a presentation or pain in the intestines during periods of stress. Then, stress, depression, and other psychosocial factors may modulate the motility and contractility of the GI tract, impacting even the physiology of the gut itself and its symptoms.

Pay attention to your gut-brain connection, for it may mean that you are going to have a case of jitters and diarrhoea. The gut-brain axis has been considered in terms of relating anxiety to stomach problems and stomach problems back to anxiety. Many emotions—anger, anxiety, sorrow, and joy—can stimulate symptoms in the gut. Emotions can affect the gut directly through brain action upon the stomach and intestines. Consider, for example, the fact that the thought of food can stimulate stomach juices before the actual food reaches the stomach. Signals can then be sent to the brain from a troubled intestine, and at the same time, signals may also be sent to the gut from the anxious brain. That is why stomach or intestinal distress may sometimes be either the cause of anxiety, stress, or depression or their by-product. This is very true in the case when a person becomes subject to gastrointestinal upset for no obvious reason or physical cause.

Gut health and anxiety

Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it becomes easier to see why you might feel nauseated before giving a presentation or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. That doesn't mean that functional gastrointestinal conditions are imagined or "all in your head." Psychology combines with physical factors to cause pain and other bowel symptoms. Psychosocial factors disturb the physiology of the gut itself and the resulting symptoms. Put differently, stress depression and other psychological factors can influence movement and contractions of the GI tract.

It is also important to note that a lot of patients with functional GI disorders perceive pain more acutely compared to other people since their brains are more responsive to pain signals emanating from the GI tract. Being stressed may make this existing pain seem even worse.

At least some patients with functional GI conditions, based on these observations, could theoretically improve with therapy to reduce stress or to treat anxiety or depression. A few studies have shown that psychologically based approaches lead to greater improvement in digestive symptoms compared with only conventional medical treatment.

Caution
This article contains medical information. It is important to consult with a healthcare provider for personalized advice and treatment.