Have you heard the term "butterflies in your stomach”? We use this term for a reason and it’s because our gastrointestinal tract is highly sensitive to the emotions we experience.
Think of a time you were upset or nervous, feeling sick just before you had to speak, or you lost your appetite when you were upset. As a child I remember having lots of tummy aches. I
was afraid to go to the dentist, I was afraid of gym class because I didn’t feel athletic enough. The stress caused me to feel specific emotions that directly affected my loss of appetite and ongoing bouts of diarrhea.
According to an article by Harvard Health, functional gastrointestinal disorders affect 35% to 70% of people at some point, women more-so than men with no apparent physical cause.
As an emotional wellness coach (holistic life coach) and practitioner, I’ve worked with many people who suffer from digestive/bowel problems and there often seems to be an unresolved issue from the past and/or an inability to cope with stress and express one’s feelings openly and rightly.
There have been many scientific advances in the past 10 years that have helped us understand how our brain and gut are connected and how we can also improve our health through mind-body medicine.
Your gut is also referred to as the “second brain” and is the only organ to boast its own independent nervous system, known as the enteric nervous system.
Unlike your big brain, your enteric nervous system is what controls swallowing, the digestive process and communicates steadily with your big brain. When a person is feeling threatened and experiences stress, they enter the “fight or flight” response triggered in the central nervous system. At the same time, the enteric nervous system’s response is to slow down or stop digestion. It’s this system that orchestrates our gastrointestinal behavior.
When a person often feels angry, sad or has anxiety/worry, all of these can trigger symptoms in your gut. The word emotion literally means energy in motion when translated from Latin. Think of it, as this energy moves through the body these energetic currents can affect not only how we feel in our body but how our gut functions.
When chronic stress is present it affects our thoughts, behavior resulting in the emotional energy to become stuck or trapped in the body causing tension, tightness and contractions that can affect our digestion and emotional health. We have arrived at a place where science is beginning to understand that there is a direct link between our emotional body and health. If we take steps to reduce our stress, increase our emotional well-being we can minimize the overgrowth of “bad” bacteria in our gut.
For far too long we’ve approached physical health issues solely by treating physical symptoms; the same goes for mental health issues, we are more than a floating head. Taking a holistic approach to our health means we look at our mental, emotional and physical body as one rather than separate entities. Each one is inextricably tied together so if you are someone who suffers from gut health issues, you may want to include taking care of your emotional health along with the other changes you are making.
The goal is to create balance or harmony within. The gut and brain although separate are interdependent systems which continuously communicate.
As you would fuel your gut with healthy food, fuel your mind with healthy thoughts, be sure to fuel your soul with healthy emotions and take care of your unresolved issues.
Reach out and work with me!
Please note. I am not a medical doctor. Always consult with your doctor when it comes to your health.
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