People whose stomach hurts when they get nervous — the gut and the autonomic nervous system
Some people get a stomachache or a sudden urge to go to the bathroom when they get nervous. It's not because they're oversensitive — it's because the gut and the autonomic nervous system are connected.
The movement and secretion of the digestive tract are handled by the parasympathetic nervous system. When tension makes the sympathetic nervous system dominant, blood flow and signals to the digestive tract decrease, so you feel bloated, or conversely your stomach suddenly hurts and you feel an urgent need to go.
- Your stomach hurts before an exam, a presentation, or a meeting
- When you're stressed, you can't digest or you get diarrhea
If this is your pattern, you need to look at the balance of the autonomic nervous system together with the stomach itself, rather than the stomach alone. Managing the gut becomes managing the tension.
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