Do you ever get a “gut-wrenching” feeling in your stomach? The reason that your body reacts this way, particularly when you are feeling anxious or nervous, is the Gut-Brain Connection. The Gut-Brain Connection can affect both children and adults and can cause digestional issues.
In 1765 Scottish physician Robert Whytt developed the concept of ‘nervous sympathy’ to describe the mechanisms which he believed to connect our organs. Through his research, he observed that the gut contained an abundant supply of nerve endings which dispensed ‘nervous energy’ throughout the body. From this, the Gut-Brain connection helps us identify why certain emotions have a visceral impact. Anger, anxiety, sadness, happiness — all of these feelings can trigger symptoms in the gut. Hence why the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is sensitive to emotion.
Here we dive deeper into the Gut-Brain Connection and look at how you can use BMT to help alleviate GI disorders and symptoms.
Identifying the Gut-Brain Connection
By becoming aware of the connection between your stomach and mind, you are identifying that certain emotions may cause stomach problems and vice versa. The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines as they link through the nervous system. An example of this connection is, the thought alone of eating can release the stomach’s juices before food consumption. This connection then goes both ways. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a “troubled” mind can signal the gut. Therefore, a person’s stomach or intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of anxiety, stress, or depression due to the connection between the brain and the GI system. In cases where a person experiences GI upset with no physical cause, it can be challenging to heal without considering the role of stress and emotion. Start by taking note of how your body reacts when emotions, such as anxiety, nervousness or stress are felt.
Stress and The Gut
Given how closely the gut and brain interact, it becomes clear as to why you might feel nervous before public speaking or feel intestinal pain during times of stress. We can identify this further when psychology combined with physical factors causes pain and other bowel symptoms. For example, stress can affect movement and contractions of the GI tract.
Also, many people with functional GI disorders perceive pain more acutely than other people because their brains are more responsive to pain signals from the GI tract. Stress can, therefore, make present pain seem even worse. Based on these observations, patients with functional GI conditions may improve with therapy to reduce stress or treat anxiety or depression. Multiple studies have found that psychologically-based approaches lead to improvements in digestive symptoms compared with only conventional medical treatment.
Treat the Whole Body With BMT
Stress-related symptoms felt in the GI tract can vary significantly from one person to the next, treatment can vary as well. For example, one person with gastroesophageal reflux disease might have an occasional, mild burning sensation in the chest, while another experiences excruciating discomfort night after night. As the severity of symptoms varies, so should the therapies, medications, self-help strategies, or even surgeries used to relieve them.
The non-invasive, hands-on therapy that is Bioelectric Meridian Therapy, gives your body the chance to heal and recover from toxin build-up and release stress within your vital organs. This can significantly impact the gut as it cleanses the nervous system and frees up the Meridian pathways in your body to move the blood around your body. It’s important to note that emotions cause chemical and physical responses in the body that can result in pain and discomfort. BMT uses massage therapy to move these chemicals from the body and free yourself from any discomfort experienced from GI disorders. The goal of BMT is to reduce pressure and stress on your vital organs and help energy flow freely.
For more information on how you can utilise BMT to reduce stress within your body, visit our contact page.
