People with depression may have frequent stomach problems, such as nausea, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation. One possible explanation for these symptoms involves a neurotransmitter in the brain and gut called serotonin.
Digestive Issues
Anxiety and depression often result in feelings of nausea, diarrhea, and general unease in your belly. Stomach pain or discomfort that seems to increase along with stress may be tied to depression.
In some people, stress slows down digestion, causing bloating, pain and constipation, while in others it speeds it up, causing diarrhoea and frequent trips to the loo. Some people lose their appetite completely. Stress can also worsen digestive conditions like stomach ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome.
Improve gut health naturally. As already discussed, stress can cause bloating by stimulating the body's "Fight or Flight" response which negatively impacts gut health and impedes our digestion.
"Sometimes stress can make [gas and bloating] a major issue," Dr. Raj says. "What's happening there is the stress is affecting how you digest your food and then your food is producing more gas—more air in the system—which leads to that distended feeling."
It might be as simple as eating too much too fast, or you could have a food intolerance or other condition that causes gas and digestive contents to build up. Your menstrual cycle is another common cause of temporary bloating. Sometimes a bloated stomach can indicate a more serious medical condition.
The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation — all of these feelings (and others) can trigger symptoms in the gut. The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines. For example, the very thought of eating can release the stomach's juices before food gets there.
Short-term stress can cause belly issues such as vomiting and diarrhea. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) can be the result of long-term stress. If you already have IBS, stress can worsen gas and belly bloat.
Stress belly is the extra abdominal fat that accumulates as the result of chronic or prolonged stress. Although stress belly is not a medical diagnosis, it is a term used to describe the way that stress and stress hormones impact your midsection.
Depression is technically a mental disorder but also affects your physical health. It may impact everything from your heart, kidney, nervous system, and immune system health.
Aside from affecting your mood, thought processes, sleep schedule and digestive system, depression also impacts one of your most vital organs – your heart. When a person is depressed, stress hormones surge through the body, causing the heart rate to quicken and blood vessels to tighten.
Absolutely. Stress and anxiety are common causes of stomach pain and other GI symptoms.
Here are two signs your abdominal pain could be mental.
It flares up when you're anxious. Whether your stomach cramps strike every time you have to take a flight or before big work presentations, it could be a sign that you're so stressed it's affecting your gut.
The development of IBS is often preceded by a stressor to the patient; the stressor can be depression or any physical ailment [20,21].
Bad news first: There's no such thing as spot reduction, so you can't lose weight only from your belly. The good news is that you can build muscle and reduce overall fat — including stress belly — by maintaining a consistent, full-body workout routine.
Stress and anxiety produce an alteration in the contractility of the gut. This may then cause cramps or pain (increased contractility) and may influence bowel habits, which then causes constipation due to reduced GI contractions. This may then lead to someone being bloated.
Stress, anxiety and bloating. This seems to be a combination that often comes hand in hand. Very commonly, when someone is experiencing digestive symptoms of bloating, but also other symptoms of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) such as cramping or constipation, these more emotional symptoms are present.
When excess insulin and cortisol are released together, they create lipoprotein lipase (LPL) which is a fat storing enzyme. The more of this enzyme you have, the more belly fat is stored. Those extreme levels of cortisol also cause damage to cells, lowering their insulin sensitivity.
Research suggests that eating foods high in B vitamins can help relieve stress. So, consider adding a lot of dark, green, leafy vegetables, bananas, etc, to your diet. Reduce total calories: Limit foods that are high in calories with little to no nutrition. Avoid added fructose and hydrogenated vegetable oils.
You should see a doctor if you have gas and bloating along with any of these symptoms: Blood or mucus in your stool. Changing your eating habits didn't help. Chronic or frequent diarrhea, constipation, or vomiting.