How Common Is Stomach Bloating
Between 10% and 25% of otherwise healthy people complain of occasional abdominal bloating. As many as 75% describe their symptoms as moderate to severe. About 10% say they experience it regularly. Among those diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome , it may be as much as 90%. Up to 75% of women experience bloating before and during their period. Only 50% of people who experience bloating also report a distended abdomen.
Foods That Reduce Stomach Pain
An upset stomach from anxiety is not usually the result of your diet , there arent necessarily any dietary changes that can help reduce stomach pain.
However, those with panic attacks are more prone to experiencing more severe stomach pains, even when no anxiety is present. In other words, when you have panic attacks, its possible to have stomach pain even without a panic attack.
Also, those with anxiety attacks and acute anxiety are prone to whats known as over-sensitization. That means that they are more likely to notice and feel smaller, normal body changes, which can trigger an anxiety attack. So if your diet contains foods that cause you gas, stomach discomfort, or mild indigestion, it may be best to avoid them because the slight discomfort could feel worse than it should and may trigger a panic attack.
Thats why healthy eating is important for those that get stomach pain from anxiety. Make sure youre getting:
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Water/Hydration
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Wholegrain carbohydrates
In addition, if possible, try to avoid eating until youre too full. Those with severe anxiety sometimes interpret the full feeling as pain, which could trigger a panic attack and further pain.
Furthermore, diets containing more alcohol and caffeine can worsen or even cause stomach symptoms. Stay away from these if you want to improve your gut health and digestive problems.
How Do You Get Rid Of A Stomach Ache In 5 Minutes
Applying a heating pad, hot water bottle, hot towel, or heat wrap over the abdomen and back helps relax the muscles in the abdomen and relieve abdominal cramps and pain. The temperature should ideally be 104° Fahrenheit. Taking a hot bath with bubbles and essential oils or hot showers can also help.
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Fitness Trainer Shares The Surprising Cause Of Her Intense Bloating
Tiffiny Hall said her bloat affected her so badly, she stopped posting new pictures on Instagram for a while.
Bloating can happen to anyone whether youre an avid clean eater or you havent gone to the gym since 2014, your digestion can find itself off-balance and you often pay the price with a stomach shaped like a balloon.
Thats exactly what happened to Australian fitness influencer Tiffiny Hall, who recently took to Instagram to post a picture showing the extent of her bloat.
Theres a reason Ive been posting #throwback pics the last couple of days, and thats because Ive been hit with full on bloating, Tiffiny wrote, clarifying that shes definitely not pregnant.
Indicating she feels insecure about her bloated stomach, despite having a body many women would envy, Tiffiny added: I almost didnt post this, but trainers have bad days too and its important to share the highs and the lows with you.
It gets so bad sometimes my clothes dont fit. I swear its like my gut has access to my calendar, cos my bad tummy often hits right before Im about to shoot fitness videos, the Instagrammer wrote.
But what makes her post most interesting, as well as the bravery in exposing a side of herself shes often reluctant to show, is what Tiffiny says the cause of her bloating: stress.
This, Brendan explained, is because the digestive system is controlled by the nervous system the mediator of stress.
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Rapid weight gain is linked to bloating for several reasons.
Can Anxiety Cause A Pulse In The Stomach
Anxiety can increase a persons pulse or heart rate, or cause a person to have trouble breathing. If youre feeling these symptoms of anxiety, its time to get some help.
Anxiety is a strong feeling of worry and nervousness. It can happen at any time, and its normal for people to feel anxious at certain points in their life.
Some people only experience anxiety during high-stress times, like before a test or an important meeting. Other people may feel anxious all the time, which can interfere with day-to-day activities like work and school. Anxiety can cause different sensations in the body.
You might feel your pulse in your stomach or notice that youre breathing more quickly than usual.
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How To Manage Anxiety
Stomach pain is a common symptom of anxiety. One should know that stomach pain has many causes, and if its just an occasional stomachache, it may not be related to anxiety at all. However, if the pain persists for more than two weeks or worsens with increased levels of stress, then it is quite likely that you may need to talk to a medical professional about your abdominal pain.
Common physical symptoms of anxiety-related stomach pain are:
- Stomach discomfort
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease
- Irritable bowel syndrome
When the brain receives a signal that something isnt right, like a stressful event or feeling out of control, it can often play havoc with your digestive system and lead to stomach pain or a nervous stomach feeling. These physical symptoms are letting us know that something is not quite right and shouldnt be ignored!
Treatment For Anxiety Disorders
Anxiety disorders are very common, affecting 18% of the population. The most common treatment for anxiety disorders is cognitive-behavioural therapy, which can be used alone or in conjunction with medication.
Cognitive behavioural therapy is a form of psychotherapy that treats anxiety by changing a persons thought patterns and behaviours. It has been shown to be effective at treating anxiety disorders. CBT becomes more effective when it is used in conjunction with lifestyle changes like exercise and improved sleep habits.
So, can anxiety cause stomach pain? Absolutely, but there are ways to combat this! For a short-term fix, try something like meditation or breath work to reduce the immediate symptoms.
In the long-term, therapy such as CBT may be helpful for you too.
You may also want to discuss any long-term gut health issues with our nutritional therapy expert Anna. She offers free discovery calls which you can book in here.
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Tips To Reduce Anxiety Or Worry And De
Become a better breather. Stress can cause shallow breathing, which means that your body wont get enough oxygen to fully relax. Learn to breathe more slowly and deeply from your abdomen. One way to do this is to imagine that you have a small beach ball behind your belly button, which you slowly inflate and deflate.
Watch your self-talk. Much of our anxiety is self-induced, meaning that we often get ourselves wound up worrying about worst-case scenarios or blowing small incidents out of proportion.
Monitor your negative thoughts to see how often you fret about things such as losing your job, or making mistakes. If you find yourself obsessing, try to substitute a negative thought with a positive, but realistic one. For example, instead of thinking, I know something will go wrong during my presentation, tell yourself, No matter what happens, I can handle it.
Get physical. Exercise is a well-known tension reducer and can help relieve symptoms. The paradox is that strenuous, high-impact exercises might induce GERD symptoms, so take care to increase exercise slowly and assess your bodys tolerance to this as you do.
Have a good belly laugh. Laughter is a natural stress reliever that helps to lower blood pressure, slow your heart and breathing rate, and relax your muscles. How do you tickle your funny bone? Catch comedies, have a chuckle with a friend, and make an effort to look on the lighter side of life.
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Stomach Ache And Pain
Stress-induced trapped wind and tense muscles can cause a belly ache, as all those tense muscles squeeze the tummy. This is going to hurt if you have been gulping air and you are full of wind.
- Have a lie down to release the burps. The oesophagus joins the stomach a little to the left of our middle. The stomach lies on our left side and there is a gentle curve where it meets the gullet. When you lie on your left side the air can escape more easily cool tip eh!
- Avoid foods that make you gassy. Chew your food and dont rush
- Relax and breathe slowly, try not to gulp air when you are nervous.
Please see your GP or practitioner if you have stomach issues that are not responding to home remedies or over the counter remedies.
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What Is A Nervous Stomach
A nervous stomach is caused by your emotions affecting your body. When doctors see that someone is experiencing nausea and stomach pain with no related gastrointestinal issue, they often relate it to a nervous stomach.
Everyone feels the effects of stress and anxiety differently, and it is not uncommon for it to trigger symptoms like abdominal cramps that make you feel sick to your stomach.
When Should I See The Doctor
If gastrointestinal symptoms and pain persist for more than a few days, you should consult a doctor. You may be instructed to undertake certain tests or see a specialist if there are signs of a more life threatening medical condition. If you experience abdominal pain and the following symptoms, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible:
- The abdomen is larger than usual and hard
- Rectal bleeding
- You stop having bowel movements
These symptoms may suggest the pain is linked with a biological disease and is not a symptom of IBS or another functional gastrointestinal disorder.
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Gut Health And Anxiety
Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it becomes easier to understand why you might feel nauseated before giving a presentation, or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. That doesn’t mean, however, 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 influence the actual physiology of the gut, as well as symptoms. In other words, stress can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract.
In addition, many people with functional GI disorders perceive pain more acutely than other people do because their brains are more responsive to pain signals from the GI tract. Stress can make the existing pain seem even worse.
Based on these observations, you might expect that at least some patients with functional GI conditions might improve with therapy to or treat anxiety or depression. Multiple studies have found that psychologically based approaches lead to greater improvement in digestive symptoms compared with only conventional medical treatment.
A Word From Mindset Health
If you suffer anxiety and abdominal pain, and diagnostic testing finds no physical cause, you may have IBS. The gut-brain connection suggests how physical symptoms of IBS such as stomach aches may be linked to anxiety symptoms and stress levels. Seeking help from a mental health professional and receiving psychotherapies such as gut-directed hypnosis will offer the chance for your gut and mind to be healed as one.
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How To Improve Anxiety Digestion
Much of your digestive issues are the result of problems that you simply cannot control if you have anxiety. Anxiety will always affect digestion on a cellular and chemical level, turning down your brain in favor of your anxiety symptoms. So if you still suffer from anxiety, youâre likely going to suffer from indigestion. But there are a few tips that can help:
- Eat Easy to Digest Foods Digestion is still digestion. Even though your body is creating the digestive problems, the foods you eat are going to contribute to the effects of those digestive issues. So make sure youâre eating healthy foods that are easy to digest, and avoiding fried foods and anything that may make it even harder for your body to operate.
- Donât Avoid Sleep Not all sleep problems are going to be your fault. If you have anxiety, you may find that it keeps you awake. But if you have the opportunity to sleep, donât turn it down. Try your best to always get a full nightâs sleep to ensure that your body is operating well.
- Jog Exercise seems to also have an effect on digestion. It may be the anxiety-lowering qualities. Jogging is actually an incredibly effective tool for dealing with stress. But exercise in general appears to have some benefit on improving your ability to digest food. So make sure youâre exercising regularly to help you find relief.
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Saying Goodbye To Your Nervous Stomach
Dealing with anxiety and stomach pain is definitely not fun, and it can be tough to implement stress-relieving activities on a busy day. But over time, your incidents of stomach discomfort or nausea will fade into the past! Remember that consistency is key and that getting frustrated will only increase your stomach pains.
Try to be patient and give yourself some grace.
As always, be sure to talk with your doctor before implementing any major changes in your lifestyle. They can even connect you with valuable resources to make sure your new routine sticks and continues to prevent episodes of stomach discomfort.
For more information on exercise, lifestyle, and mental health, check out the rest of our blog!
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Other Tips For Managing Anxiety In The Stomach
If youre dealing with anxiety in your stomach, there are a few things you can do to help.
Seeking A Doctor’s Advice
Your GP will be able to assess your symptoms and work out if your digestive problems might be caused by something else.
Symptoms like stomach pains, changes to your bowel movements , indigestion, and heartburn should be checked by a GP if they havent improved within a couple of weeks. You should also go to the doctor if you experience any bleeding from your bottom, difficulty swallowing, or unexpected weight loss.
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Take The Occasional Breather
Every few hours, stop all activity and rest. Breathe in and out slowly and steadily through your nose. This is especially helpful when you are performing a task that refuses to give the expected results. Instead of repeating it for the third time, take a rest and just breathe.
When you get back to it, you will realize that your heart rate is back to normal. Also, that tension headache has reduced.
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What Causes An Anxiety Stomach Pain
Anxiety causes digestive activity to increase, resulting in the release of stomach acid in reaction to stress. As the stomach becomes more active more acid is produced and the normal digestive functioning is interrupted. If left untreated through mental health or psychiatric treatment, this nervous reaction that happens in the stomach has the potential for major consequences. The more time that goes by without addressing these issues the higher a persons chances of developing long-term consequences like irritable bowel syndrome and ulcers.
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Can Stress Cause Stomach Pain
Even though they are technically different conditions, stress and anxiety are closely related. You may experience a significant amount of stress without experiencing anxiety. However, the causes of stomach pain which results from tension are the same as the feelings you experience when you go through anxiety.
Muscle tension and digestive issues are some of the problems that result from stressful conditions and lead to stomach pain.
Anxiety And Stomach Pain: The Bottom Line
Maybe you deal with generalized anxiety disorder, another anxiety disorder or just have general symptoms of stress in your life.
Whatever the case, there are many side effects you may experience. Some people notice physical symptoms pop up and find that their anxiety or stress response can lead to abdominal pain or an upset stomach.
See, theres a clear connection between your gut and your brain . This means that in stressful situations, as your anxiety levels rise, you may notice stomach issues or pain.
To get rid of this discomfort, youll need to deal with feelings of anxiety. Therapy, medication and lifestyle tweaks can help alleviate anxiety symptoms and, therefore, help to mitigate stomach upset.
If you have noticed that your anxiety induces negative gastrointestinal conditions, its a good idea to schedule a consultation with a healthcare provider for help.
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