Soothing abdominal pain: The connection between the brain and the intestines

Sometimes you can suffer from abdominal pain not caused by eating, but abdominal pain caused by psychological stress. So why is there a relationship between abdominal pain and stress, what is the remedy?

Researchers have identified a strong link between the brain and the intestines. Just like the brain, the intestines are full of nerves. The intestinal brain axis shares many neurological connections, as evidenced by the large number of nerves that connect transmission to the nervous system located outside the brain.

A single or prolonged neurological stress problem over time can affect the digestive system. When anxious, the body secretes certain hormones and chemicals that enter the gastrointestinal tract, interfere with the digestive process and can cause abdominal pain. They also negatively affect the intestinal microbial system and reduce antibody production. Eventually leads to a chemical imbalance of the body and causes a number of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Symptoms and intestinal conditions associated with stress include:ingestion, stomach spasms, diarrhea, constipation,appetite, or hunger, nausea, irritable bowel syndrome, peptic ulcer.

When encountering one of the above problems, the condition itself can also be the cause of anxiety, stress and affect the quality of life. For example, having diarrhea that scares us out and going somewhere other than home, or suffering from indysgestion, abdominal pain can make us afraid to eat outside,… All these fears and worries can affect each person's social life.

Stress is a completely normal problem in life and inevitable. However, the good news is that we can control stress to reduce the effects of stress on the stomach, which can even soothe abdominal pain. Here are 6 tips to help reduce stress and stomach problems:

• Take a break and breathe: After a few hours of work, take a break and take a deep breath with your nose and slowly in a quiet space for about 1 minute. Proper implementation can bring surprising results.
• Know how to refuse: At work as well as in life, knowing where your limits are and when to reach that limit to refuse to take on additional responsibilities is a way to help control stress, avoid the impact on the stomach such as abdominal pain. Trying to do everything at once to please everyone can go beyond one's limits and lead to stress.
• Exercise, yoga : Physicalactivities are always a great way to reduce stress, even if you only practice about 15 minutes a day. When exercising, the body releases endorphins, which interact with receptors in the brain and activate the body to produce positive sensations.
• Focus on controllable issues: Stress often comes from problems that we can't control. So let's focus on the problems that we can control by choosing how to react to the problem, including those related to the stomach. Accepting abdominal pain or stomach problems can help reduce anxiety, stress, and limit the symptoms they cause. On the contrary, the more worried the stomach problems, the more serious the symptoms become.
• Listen to programs on relaxation, stress reduction: Take a few minutes a day to listen to relaxation instruction exercises, reduce stress. The effectiveness of this exercise can last for hours after listening.
• Look for an anxiety treatment: Seek the help of a psychoatric or anxiety specialist to help you cope with prolonged and complex anxiety conditions.

To help manage stress and reduce the effects of stress on the stomach or sudden abdominal pains, try to do these tips correctly and make them a priority work every day. However, it should be noted that the results will not appear immediately, or in other words, the implementation of these tips does not cause the symptoms of the stomach to disappear immediately. Accepting an unpleasant stomach condition is very important to help you manage stress.

Finally, check if your diet has any foods that irritate the stomach. Consult your doctor and try the treatments recommended by your doctor. Many stomach disorders such as abdominal pain cannot be solved by reducing stress. When solving bowel problems, it may be necessary to solve many other aspects including biology, psychology and society.

Due to the connection between the intestines, you may experience abdominal pain or stomach problems when stressed or anxious. Therefore, stress and anxiety control is a measure to reduce the impact on the stomach.

Source: adaa.org