Anxiety and gas: what is the relationship between these types of discomfort?

Anxiety is a very common emotion, associated with all kinds of symptoms such as tremors, irritability, lack of concentration and even hair loss.

However, this psychological problem can sometimes be responsible for something that, at first, does not seem to have much to do: gas.

Anxiety and gas are related, either in the form of belching, wind or both. Next we are going to see how it is possible that a problem at a psychological level can induce a stomach problem as curious but annoying as the accumulation of gases.

• Related article: "Types of stress and their triggers"

The relationship between anxiety and gas

Excessive anxiety is a very common problem, which can manifest itself in the form of many symptoms and behaviors. Each person can live it in their own way, and there are not a few who feel this emotional instability in their own flesh, specifically in the stomach area. In fact, it is quite likely that on more than one occasion we have felt the nerves in our belly, since the digestive and nervous systems are connected.

When we feel nervous, it is normal for us to notice pain in the stomach, heartburn, nausea, a feeling that our stomach is closed, as well as having gas. Yes, there is a relationship between anxiety and gas, however strange it may seem that a psychological problem affects the amount of wind and belching that we can produce. Being mentally altered affects our stomach causing us physical pain, discomfort and stinging but, also, changing digestion and producing gas.

Gas may be the least of all the symptoms associated with anxiety, but the truth is that they can be very uncomfortable. Not only because the person who suffers from them can suffer a lot if the meteorism (accumulation of gases) is very intense, but that also due to the fact that in many cultures, mostly western ones, releasing flatulence and belching is not well seen in public. But sometimes they are so many and so intense that there is no time to let them escape in the bathroom ...

The enteric nervous system

The fact that we feel anxiety in our stomach has led many researchers to raise the idea that we have a kind of second brain in our stomach.

Naturally, it is not as complex as the one we have in our skull, but it is true that it has been seen that the digestive system has many nerves, which constitute the enteric nervous system. This system is a subdivision of the autonomic nervous system, which explains why anxiety affects the stomach area so directly.

The enteric nervous system is made up of a network of one hundred million neurons that act independently., capable of sending and receiving impulses and, also, of registering emotions. That is why the stomach and digestive system in general is so sensitive to anxiety, this being the neurobiological explanation behind why we feel a knot in our stomach while we are nervous It is also what allows us to understand why when we fall in love we feel butterflies in our stomach.

• You may be interested in: "Enteric Nervous System: parts and functions"

Why does anxiety cause us gas?

When we feel anxiety, our stomach can be very sensitive to this emotion. There are those who are completely closed off, while others have a terrible desire to eat everything in their path. There are also those who notice very intense pain, stinging, the urge to vomit and an upset stomach in general. But why does anxiety cause us gas? What's happening?

Really It is not only that gas can be caused by anxiety, but also anxiety itself can be a consequence of gas, since the relationship between anxiety and gas is close and bidirectional. Gas can be due to an overstimulation of the enteric nervous system caused because our nervous system is suffering from anxiety, which alters intestinal flow and digestion. This results in heartburn, heavier digestions and accumulation of gases, producing stomach disorders such as meteorism.

That we have so many gases accumulated and they bother us can increase anxiety. Instead of realizing that we have a lot of gas because we are emotionally unstable, the fact that we notice discomfort in the stomach makes us believe that we could suffer some kind of health problem, such as colon cancer or irritable bowel syndrome. This causes us fear, uncertainty because we do not know what to do if we are really sick and insecurity about what may happen.

It can also happen that we feel very intense chest pain. As the chest is a delicate region, the fact that we feel something there makes us worry about our heart health, thinking that we could be having an attack. However, what usually happens is that you actually have a lot of gas accumulated in the neck of your stomach, so much that your chest hurts. Fortunately, these discomforts will disappear when you have burped.

In other cases, anxiety produces gas indirectly. Often, being so nervous, we make poor dietary decisions that alter our stomach health. When we are in full attack of nerves we do not eat salads, but we prefer fast food, sweets and everything hyperpalatable food, with a lot of fat and sugar, in addition to certain types of derivatives of legumes and vegetables cruciferous (p. e.g. hummus). These foods cause a lot of gas.

The excessive accumulation of gases can be due to the fact that we eat very quickly, in a very anxious way. By eating fast and gulping we not only swallow food, but also air. Added to this, as we barely chew the digestion becomes much heavier, which is not only accompanied by a greater amount of gas but also heartburn and stomach pain. All the air that we have swallowed will have to come out, either the way it entered or the other side.

What's more, anxiety causes us gas in part because we move a lot. It is common for people who are victims of a lot of nervousness to not stop still, so much so that they need to go from here to there to calm down a little or even practice a lot of exercise that, although healthy, does not stop moving our organs. By constantly moving the stomach and large intestine, what is achieved is that they release the gases resulting from digestion more frequently. This is not bad, but it is an aspect to take into account in case of suffering a lot of gas and not knowing the cause very well.

How to avoid gases associated with anxiety?

To prevent anxiety from causing us gas, it is essential to try to reduce this psychological problem, going to a mental health professional who will provide us with the necessary guidelines to manage our nervousness. However, it is essential to ensure that the gases are not produced by a real medical problem, whether it is meteorism or a serious illness such as cancer or irritable bowel syndrome.

If what causes us gas has to do with how we eat, we should tell our psychologist, who will evaluate the possibility that there is a problem with eating behavior. Sometimes what we call food cravings can really be a food addiction problem, an excessive consumption of foods that even knowing that they harm us we cannot avoid continuing taking them.

Whatever problem causes us anxiety and gas, it is very important to eat calmly, chewing food well and enjoying them savoring them. You should try to follow a rich and varied diet, eating five meals a day, without forgetting breakfast and watching what foods may make us more prone to gas. Healthy foods such as legumes cause wind, so their intake should be accompanied with plenty of water and consulting a nutritionist to find out how often he recommends us to take them depending on our case.