Mind Over Gut: Why Your Emotions Might Be Behind Your Gut Issues
Have you ever noticed how your stomach tightens during an argument? Or how a wave of nausea can hit you when you're anxious? Or how you’ve lost your appetite after receiving bad news?
That’s because your gut isn’t just a place where food is digested — it’s also where your emotions are processed. When your body feels unsafe (whether from an obvious external trigger or a more subtle internal one like chronic stress or anxiety), your gut is often the first place to respond.
I’m not one to sugarcoat things — the modern world is overstimulating. There’s always something new to react to, and most of us are carrying more emotional and mental load than we realize. We tend to overlook how deeply this affects our physical body, especially digestion.
There’s a very real connection between your emotional state and your gut health, and in this post, I dive into why that connection matters, as well as my own personal findings from my journey with gut and mental health.
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Mind Over Gut: Why Your Emotions Might Be Behind Your Gut Issues
Stress is a natural emotion we feel in response to perceived threats or challenges; a stimulus triggers a domino effect of physiological responses, what we call the “fight or flight” response, designed to help us physically cope with the impending danger. Something important here is the word perceived - we don’t have to actually be in danger in order to feel like we are. We just have to think that we are.
This fight-or-flight system mentioned is formally referred to as the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). When we perceive a threat, the SNS stimulates the release of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine (aka adrenaline) from the adrenal glands into the bloodstream.
These hormones raise heart rate, blood pressure, and glucose levels to prepare the body to run and fight. The body also shunts the majority of blood into the arms and legs (this means that blood is shifted away from the core, where the digestive system lives).
The system was designed for survival in acute situations, but it can have detrimental affects on the body if you remain stuck there. Stress hormones can interfere with the rhythmic contractions that move food through the digestive tract; this disruption can lead to:
Cramping
Bloating
Nausea
Irregular bowel movements
Loss of appetite (or overeating)
Food sensitivities that seem to appear overnight
Additionally, chronic stress can weaken the integrity of the gut lining, a phenomenon often referred to as "leaky gut." This immune response can lead to inflammation in the gut, worsening digestive function and increasing the risk of developing conditions such as IBS or IBD.
Knowing what I know now, my initial diagnosis of gastritis (that eventually morphed into leaky gut and SIBO) is not surprising. For my entire teenage years and through my early to mid twenties, I experienced almost daily anxiety that preceded any noticable digestive symptoms.
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This all suggests why it’s essential to find ways to manage stress if we want to heal our gut issues. Including stress-reducing practices such as meditation, yoga, or breathwork exercises during the day can help turn off the SNS, reducing the production of stress hormones.
The good news is…this connection goes both ways. When you support your nervous system and reduce stress, your digestion improves as well! This doesn’t mean you need to overhaul your life overnight; small steps make a big difference, and simply realizing that your symptoms may be tied to your emotional state is a powerful first step.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Investing our resources in self care is truly priceless given how the state of our nervous system dictates the state of our entire being. When we’re able to quiet our sympathetic nervous systems, it allows our immune systems to kick in, our digestive organs to get enough nutrition, and our thoughts to become more coherent.
I hope this was as eye-opening to someone else as it was to me when I first learned about this connection. I truly didn’t start seeing results with my gut healing until I started to address my nervous system as well.
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If you’re resonating with this, here are a few next steps you can take:
FREE Gut + Mood Tracker Toolkit
→ Uncover patterns
→ 30-day gut symptom + mood tracking log
→ Downloadable + Printable PDF
The 3-Day Gut Reset
Try my 3-Day Gut Reset Starter Kit — it includes calming recipes, journal prompts, and simple tips to jumpstart your healing journey
free cheat sheet: gut + nervous system herbs
→ 24 medicinal herbs with important properties + uses
→ Color-coded labels for clear referencing
→ Specifically curated to jumpstart your gut health journey
more on the blog
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I am not a medical professional, nor do I claim to be. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment, but for educational purposes only. Please consult your medical care provider before using herbal medicine, particularly if you have a known medical condition or if you are pregnant or nursing.
