How to Calm Nervous & Upset Stomach When Anxious

Those who deal with upset stomach from anxiety will likely tell you this is one of their most impairing symptoms. It comes at inopportune moments, it is uncomfortable, and it has a tendency to make you feel sick in a way that is incredibly distracting and impair your day-to-day activities.

Stomach upset is one of the reasons that anxiety can be hard to differentiate from many common illnesses or indigestion, as the upset stomach may feel similar to these types of conditions. Only a doctor can rule out illness so it is important to seek guidance from your physician before assuming your stomach problems are due to anxiety. But if they are from anxiety, there are ways that you can reduce it. 

Anxiety and Focusing on Stomach Discomfort

Because anxiety can lead to stomach upset, those suffering from regular and persistent anxiety often find that their stomach is constantly bothering them. They may feel they need to always be near a bathroom, or they may have a difficult time eating or feeling comfortable during activities.  

Yet it’s not just because your stomach is upset. Anxiety causes the mind to focus on the issues that are bothering you the most, and so when your stomach is bothering you because of anxiety, anxiety will cause that effect to be amplified. 

Types of Stomach Upset From Anxiety

Anxiety and the stomach are linked in a variety of ways, and these links also cause your upset stomach to be experienced in different ways. You may find that you have:

• Stomach pain
• Nausea
• Gurgling in your stomach
• Heartburn
• Diarrhea
• Feeling of needing to go to the bathroom

In some cases, your stomach may simply feel “off,” without a clear way to describe the experience. You simply know that something feels wrong. You may also experience severe stomach tension, which may also give your stomach a feeling of being ill.

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 (and other neurotransmitter) 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.

The way stress affects your body is so unique to each individual that it can be hard to track exactly what it’s doing to any given person. It may be that anxiety changes the way your body processes nutrients, leading to stomach upset. It may also be that when your immune system is weak from stress, germs that are present in your stomach bother your immune system more.

All of these are potential issues that lead to problems with your stomach during periods of stress.

How to Control Your Anxiety Upset Stomach

Stomach upset can really put a damper on your ability to live a happy life. Ideally, you’ll need to treat your anxiety to experience a calmer stomach.

Even though anxiety is causing your stomach to feel sick, many of the symptoms can be reduced with various medications. You should always consult with a doctor before taking medication and do not want to rely on medication to “cure” your upset stomach. However, many people have had success with basic medications that calm the stomach. Common examples include:

• Tums
• Pepto-Bismol
• Rolaids

Eating healthier can also help. Remember that your anxiety is affecting your gut, but it’s not causing the symptoms all on its own. What’s in your stomach has an effect on the severity of the symptoms as well. Eating healthier – especially on days you expect to experience anxiety – can be very helpful. Drinking water may also be useful since water is gentle on the stomach.

You may also try distracting yourself. While your upset stomach may be severe, anxiety causes a tendency to focus on the experience, which causes further anxiety and exacerbates the severity of the stomach pain. A positive distraction, like a funny TV show, can actually make a big difference in the way you experience your upset stomach.

Finally, you’ll need to prevent your anxiety so that you don’t experience frequent gastrointestinal distress. You can do this through therapy, medication, self-help, meditation, sports, and more – all of which are highly effective at decreasing anxiety when completed correctly. Once your anxiety decreases, your stomach upset should decrease with it in both frequency and severity.  

Summary:

The upset stomach is a common anxiety symptom, caused by issues that include stomach tension, digestion changes, and adrenaline. They can be treated with some traditional over-the-counter stomach medications, but unless an individual treats their anxiety, these stomach issues are likely to return. 

Was this article helpful?

• Yes

• No

Overview, Causes, And How To Get Rid Of It

Content

• Overview
• What causes the anxious feeling in your stomach?
• Could the relationship between your anxiety and stomach issues be the other way around?
• How can you get rid of these symptoms?
• Dietary changes
• Traditional medications
• Psychological approaches
• Exercise
• Herbs and spices
• Gut-directed hypnotherapy
• The lowdown

At some point in your life, you have likely experienced some level of anxiety about a stressful situation. You might have also noticed that sometimes, anxious symptoms appear in your stomach. 

Feeling anxious in your stomach can include having what feels like “butterflies” or “knots.” These usually subside relatively quickly once the stressful situation, such as a job interview, is removed. 

However, anxiety can also cause more unpleasant and painful symptoms in your stomach. These could include:

These symptoms may be more persistent, remaining even after what’s causing your anxiety is gone. If you experience this regularly,  it is important to try and get on top of it as soon as possible, as it can lead to conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome. 

Have you considered clinical trials for Anxiety?

We make it easy for you to participate in a clinical trial for Anxiety, and get access to the latest treatments not yet widely available – and be a part of finding a cure.

Check your eligibility

The gut-brain connection

There is a very strong connection between our brain and our gut. The thoughts and emotions we experience mentally in our brains, such as stress and anxiety, can be related to our gut,¹ which is we experience anxiety-related symptoms in our stomach.

This happens because we have a long nerve called the vagus nerve,² connecting our brain to our gut. Our gut has over 200 million nerve cells and is controlled by its own nervous system, known as the enteric nervous system. This can respond to signals and hormones from our brain and our central nervous system. 

When our brain detects a stressful situation or a threat, it automatically reacts by going into a “fight or flight”³ mode, a response designed to help us survive. Chemical messengers and hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, are released. One of their roles is to send less blood to the stomach and slow down digestion. This can cause the symptoms in the stomach that we associate with anxiety. 

The release of chemicals and hormones in the body allows more blood and energy to go to organs crucial for survival, like the heart and lungs.  

However, our brain can see situations that are not life-threatening as stressful, such as an upcoming presentation or interview or even relationship issues. Since our body perceives this stressor as a threat, it still activates the fight or flight response. 

In chronically stressed or anxious people, this response can remain permanently ‘switched on,’ and cause ongoing anxiety-related stomach symptoms. 

Stress

Stress can also affect the balance of gut bacteria. 

We have about 100 trillion microbes in our digestive tract. Most are bacteria and are important for keeping our gut healthy, regulating our gut-brain connection, and breaking down substances that we cannot digest, such as dietary fiber. It is vital for there to be a healthy balance and diversity of the gut microbiome. 

Because of their importance in regulating the gut-brain connection, these microbes also contribute to anxiety-like behavior⁴ in situations where we experience real or perceived stress.  

The chemical messengers released when we are stressed or anxious can create an imbalance of our gut microbiome, even if this stress is short-term. This can also cause symptoms related to anxiety in our stomach, such as nausea. 

Just like how our brain can communicate with our gut, our gut can communicate with our brain. Evidence⁵ has shown that your stomach pain or other gastrointestinal symptoms may be contributing to your feelings of anxiety. 

It is believed that gut bacteria can impact the parts of our brain that manage stress and emotional behavior. So, an imbalance of our microbiome can influence stress-related behaviors such as anxiety. This can then begin a vicious cycle where anxiety about stomach pain causes the stomach pain to stick around as a symptom of anxiety. 

To get rid of the anxious feeling in your stomach, there are different approaches you can take. This could involve managing the stomach issues or treating anxiety as the root cause of the stomach pain. This can help improve stomach pain and even prevent it from occurring in the future. 

Although these suggestions are practical and evidence-based, it is important to understand that everyone has different experiences, so some approaches may not be effective for you. 

If you cannot manage your symptoms through these strategies, or they last for longer than a few days, you should see your doctor for an evaluation. They will be able to rule out other causes and physical conditions, provide you with mental health support or refer you to a specialist, such as a therapist, psychologist, or gastroenterologist. 

Caffeine

Avoid caffeine. This can be helpful for two reasons: 

1. Caffeine can cause gastrointestinal problems.

2. Caffeine can worsen anxiety-related symptoms because it increases molecules associated with the fight or flight response, such as adrenaline and cortisol, and blocks a molecule called adenosine, which aids relaxation. 

Improve your gut health

Diet is an important modifier of the microbiota-gut-brain connection. Gut health can be improved by: 

1. Consuming probiotics. These are microorganisms that can contribute to our gut bacteria and help to create a healthy balance. In turn, this can help promote a balance of hormones and neurotransmitters. Also, early studies in mice⁶have suggested that a probiotic effectively reduces anxiety and related gut symptoms by activating the vagus nerve. Probiotics are in foods like yogurt, kombucha, pickled vegetables, and sauerkraut.

2. Increasing fiber intake. We cannot digest fiber, but it acts as the “food” for probiotics and helps promote a healthy balance of gut bacteria. You can find good sources of fiber in whole grains, legumes, and many different fruits and vegetables.

Traditional medications can help treat your stomach pain directly or help manage the anxiety causing your stomach issues. 

Common medications for anxiety include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), beta-blockers, or sedatives. 

Your doctor must prescribe these medications after a consultation to ensure they will be safe and effective for you.

You could also try over-the-counter medications for stomach issues available at your pharmacy. However, it is still a good idea to consult with a doctor. 

Usually, medications for anxiety are only prescribed as a short-term solution and used in conjunction with therapy so that you can work on treating the psychological aspect of your anxiety. 

Psychological treatments, such as therapy, reduce the anxiety responsible for your stomach issues. Even though this approach may not directly target your physical symptoms, they are effective since your gut is so directly connected to brain functioning. 

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

CBT has been shown to help reduce anxiety and associated gastrointestinal symptoms. This form of therapy teaches you how to manage the interactions between your feelings, thoughts, and behavior. It can involve deep breathing and muscle relaxation to reduce the stress response. 

Relaxation therapy

Relaxation therapy involves learning various techniques to feel more relaxed and have a less intense reaction to stressful situations. These techniques involve progressive muscle relaxation, visualizing relaxing scenes, and listening to peaceful music. It is best for treating gastrointestinal disorders associated with anxiety when used alongside CBT. 

13 Science-backed Methods That Can Help Relieve Your Anxious Mind And Body

Diaphragmatic breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing is an exercise that modulates the functioning of the nervous system and can influence the brain and gastrointestinal system. This means it can help manage stomach pain associated with anxiety. 

It can:

• Decrease muscle tension, such as in the smooth muscle of the stomach.

• Activate the body’s relaxation response⁷ and lower the ‘fight or flight’ response by stimulating the vagus nerve. 

Try to repeat the following process for ten to fifteen minutes. 

• Find a comfortable place where you can sit or lie down. Relax your muscles. 

• With your eyes closed, place one hand on your chest and your other hand on your stomach.  

• Inhale through your nose for six seconds. Allow your belly to expand, but try to keep your chest as still as possible.

• Hold your breath for two seconds. 

• Slowly exhale through your mouth for six seconds.

Mindfulness meditation

Mindfulness meditation is a mental training practice where you learn to focus your attention on the present moment and accept your thoughts and feelings. It is believed to be effective because we often feel anxious and experience symptoms when looking to the past or the future. 

A study⁸ in people with IBS and anxiety showed that mindfulness meditation reduced their gastrointestinal symptoms and anxious thoughts, and improved their overall quality of life. 

A Guide To Meditating For Anxiety

Any type of exercise improves hormonal balance and stimulates the release of endorphins that improve mood and decrease stress — in turn reducing the anxiety that can ease your symptoms.  

In particular, yoga is beneficial for improving physical gastrointestinal symptoms and anxiety, including GI-specific anxiety.

Yoga is believed to influence the brain-gut connection, reduce the activity of the sympathetic nervous system that is associated with stress and the “fight or flight” response, and increase the relaxation response. 

These are more of a quick fix to help an anxious stomach, so they will not address your underlying anxiety. 

However, science-backed suggestions to ease stomach issues include:

Ginger

Commonly used to relieve stomach aches.

Peppermint oil

This is an “antispasmodic,” which means it can relax the muscles in the gut. It can relieve IBS symptoms, abdominal pain,⁹ cramping and bloating in the stomach, and nausea.  

Iberogast

Iberogast is a combination of nine medicinal plants. Some studies have shown it to reduce gastrointestinal symptoms and treat irritable stomach symptoms such as nausea and cramps.  

Gut-directed hypnotherapy is a form of hypnosis, a therapeutic technique that can help manage anxiety or pain. It is a guided process where you learn how to relax, focus, and concentrate on achieving a heightened state of consciousness, which is meant to alter your state of awareness. 

When relaxed in this state, your mind is open to prompts or suggestions for imaginative experiences. Your therapist guides you with metaphors and suggestions directed towards your gut. Suggestions could be made for your stomach pain and symptoms to subside and for a healthy connection to grow between the brain and gut. This type of hypnotherapy aims to prevent you from focusing too much on the discomfort that you feel in your stomach due to your anxiety. 

Scientists don’t know exactly why, but studies have shown gut-directed hypnotherapy to be effective in reducing abdominal pain¹⁰ in adults by 70-80%, as well as having psychological benefits. It also appears to be beneficial for children, with long-term positive outcomes.  ¹¹

An anxious stomach can be uncomfortable and prevent you from living your life to the fullest. Fortunately, by treating the stomach pain directly and also managing the root of your anxiety, you can take steps to reduce, get rid of, and even prevent these anxiety-related symptoms in your stomach.

Bear disease: why anxiety causes diarrhea and what to do about it

• Health

Should I be worried if any excitement causes an attack of diarrhea? Why is the gut a second brain? Discussed with a specialist.

May 8, 2022

Source:

pexels.com

This is familiar to many: before some important or exciting event, be it an exam, public speaking or a holiday, the stomach simply twists with pain and spasm. Diarrhea begins – of course, at the wrong time, it never happens at the right time. Often this phenomenon is called “bear disease”.

Irina Volkova, a gastroenterologist, explained why this happens, and in which case a bear disease can be dangerous.

Bear disease is the common name for stress diarrhea.

The gastrointestinal tract has its own well-developed nervous system, the enteric one, which is why the intestines are even called the second brain. However, this “little lower brain” cannot work completely autonomously. It is controlled by the central nervous system, that is, the brain. Therefore, our psycho-emotional state can affect the functioning of the intestines.

Under stress, intestinal motility can be accelerated, which leads to diarrhea. It is believed that this has a connection with ancient instincts. When a person is in danger, the body does not waste energy on digestion, because flight or fight becomes a priority.

See also

When to worry

Stress diarrhea — is an unpleasant but not dangerous condition.

If diarrhea occurs only under the influence of stress, it may not even be considered a disease. But if the stress is chronic or if there is a mental disorder, then in this case the risk of irritable bowel syndrome increases. It can manifest itself through more prolonged symptoms: abdominal pain, prolonged diarrhea or constipation. If the complaints are prolonged, it is better to seek medical advice.

Other symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome:

• Fatigue;

• Headaches;

• Increased flatulence;

• Mucus in stool;

• Nausea or gag reflex;

• Feeling of an incompletely emptied bowel.

Read also

How to overcome stress and diarrhea

In order not to suffer from diarrhea during exciting events, you need to learn how to cope with stress. There are several working techniques that will help you calm down in any situation.

For example, psychologists advise using the breathing method : for a minute you need to breathe deeply, in four counts, slowly inhaling and exhaling the air. You can also try to “ground yourself”: stand up so that you feel the support on the ground with your legs and feet as much as possible.

Works great physical exercises . Moreover, it is not at all necessary to arrange a marathon or pull dumbbells: just try to walk or abandon the elevator in favor of the stairs, this will help to calm down.

Another working method is to try counting up to 50 and vice versa. This technique is based on the patterns of functioning of different hemispheres of the brain.

If you find yourself in a stressful situation, try to switch your attention to your feelings – auditory, visual, tactile. This will help you get set up quickly.

Author of the text: Daria Gapionok

Today they read

These works in the country are strictly contraindicated if you have hypertension

“As if it beats with an electric current”: why there are backaches in the lower back and legs — a neurologist explains

Even doctors confuse : how to distinguish a real hypertensive crisis from a false one – the opinion of a cardiologist

Your back and head will hurt: the doctor named the most harmful summer shoes

Patient zero: the names of people who could be the first to become infected with covid have been named

Nervous diarrhea, what should I do?

Diarrhea is an intestinal disorder that has bothered every person at least once in their life. Most often, the causes of such a problem are poisoning, various infections, eating incompatible foods. However, diarrhea also occurs due to strong experiences. According to statistics, almost 30% of people in the world have experienced nervous diarrhea at least once. The disease is also called irritable bowel syndrome. The problem can occur equally in both women and men. Most often, anxiety-induced diarrhea occurs in people between the ages of 30 and 40.

The information in this section should not be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment. In case of pain or other exacerbation of the disease, only the attending physician should prescribe diagnostic tests. For diagnosis and proper treatment, you should contact a specialist.

Previously, doctors associated diarrhea with an imbalance in the bacterial balance of the intestine, as well as with poor nutrition. However, today mental problems are increasingly mentioned as factors that provoke the problem. The following causes of diarrhea due to nerves are distinguished:

• strong emotional experience;
• stresses;
• malfunctions of the central nervous system;
• depression.
• Anorexia;
• Side effects of psychiatric drugs;

These reasons can cause not only irritation of the intestines, but also provoke malfunctions in the entire gastrointestinal tract. The factors listed above affect digestion and cause diarrhea

Diagnosis

What to do with nervous diarrhea, the therapist will tell you. He can prescribe a consultation of a psychotherapist to the patient, who will help to identify and eliminate the psychotraumatic factor. It is also important for the patient to follow a balanced diet, monitor their daily routine and, most importantly, try to eliminate stress factors. Only a qualified doctor will help to completely eliminate the problem. To do this, he must accurately establish the cause of diarrhea. To confirm that it is stress that causes diarrhea, you can use the following diagnostic methods:

High-precision examinations will enable the doctor to promptly make a diagnosis and choose the most effective method of therapy. The cost of research can vary depending on many reasons. For example, the price of an ultrasound scan will increase significantly if innovative equipment is used in the procedure. More will have to pay for barium enema patients suffering from obesity. The reason is that the cost of the procedure includes the price of an expensive contrast agent, the dose of which is calculated on an individual basis, taking into account the weight of the patient.

Which doctor can help with nervous diarrhea?

If you have diarrhea due to nerves, you should consult a doctor of the following specialty

Our specialists
Gastroenterologist
Pulmonologist

83%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

m. 1905 Street

Makarchuk Natalia Alexandrovna

Cardiologist
Therapist

98%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

Metro Prospekt Mira

Vlasova Svetlana Sergeevna

Therapist
Gastroenterologist
Nutritionist

98%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

m.
Therapist

98%

Satisfied with the result of treatment

m. 0008 Satisfied with the result of treatment

m. Street 1905 years old

Torozova Olga Aleksandrovna

Therapist
Gastroenterologist

98%

satisfied with the result of treatment

m. Some diseases are difficult to diagnose as they say “by eye”. Therefore, you need to trust the doctor when prescribing research. After all the tests, the doctor will be able to draw up the correct course of treatment. Remember: accurate diagnosis and correct diagnosis are already 50% of success in treatment!

Nervous diarrhea

This problem needs to be treated as soon as possible. Regardless of what caused the diarrhea, it is important to remember that frequent bowel movements can cause severe dehydration.