Written by: Hanna Hanula, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We tend to think that bloating is only a mechanical issue, we just eat something 'gassy,' and we get bloated. Or we overindulge in heavy food, had too many fizzy drinks or pastry.
But when you take a closer look, you will notice that some people are more prone to bloating than others.
A significant role is played by our microbiome and its psychobiotic bacteria that are a part of our nervous system.
Yes, bacteria make up your enteric nervous system! ENS is a completely autonomous nervous system with 500 neurons that is only secondary to the brain. These good bugs send signals using their chemical language (neurotransmitters) to the brain affecting your mood and also your food choices.
When there is a gut dysbiosis, which means the bad bacteria outnumber the good ones, then you tend to crave more sweets, fatty, and carby foods. You are also more prone to have low mood, anxiety, and depression.
Fact: 60% of people with IBS suffer from anxiety. So there is clearly a link between your gut and brain connection.
Now, let's come back to our emotions. What is the link between how you feel and your gut? Well, your gut creates a mirror picture of your feelings. For example, if you feel sad, you find yourself craving something sweet to lift your mood momentarily. But who is really lifting your mood? It's your gut bacteria!
There can be several emotions that often get trapped in your bowels. The most common are insecurity, vulnerability, anxiety, worry, nervousness, low self-esteem, rejection, and abandonment.
How do they get trapped?
Your body generates emotions based on what you are experiencing in the moment and information stored in your body and mind from past experiences. For example, if you have a stressful situation in the office, the emotion of anxiety, worry, or nervousness can be produced. However, if you don’t process feelings correctly (fully feel the emotion) and release them, they get stuck in the body. Using the above example, if you felt anxiety and worry and wanted to cry, but instead, you repressed this feeling, then moved on with your busy day, then the emotion is blocked in your body.
Every trapped emotion leaves a trace in your body not only as a chemical imprint but also as stuck energy. Your body keeps the score. This trapped feeling can cause you bloating and/or other digestive discomforts as your gut is the place you absorb and assimilate your reality.
So let's have a look at three ways emotions keep you bloated.
1. Emotions as trapped energy. Repressed feelings are 'stuck' in your belly, impairing your digestion. It can happen through, for example, low production of hydrochloric acid. When there is a low hydrochloric acid, then more bacteria can pass through your stomach and into your small intestine, causing you SIBO ( Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth). The main symptom of this is bloating.
2. Emotional eating. When you experience certain emotions like loneliness, nervousness, anxiety, sadness (and many more), you turn to processed food or alcohol for comfort, which fuels your gut dysbiosis. This is because your bad bugs feed off sugar, so the more carbs and alcohol (yes, it metabolizes as sugar too!) you consume, the more severe your gut dysbiosis may be, causing your bloat.
3. Fight or flight mode. When you get stressed or consume too many stimulants like coffee, your body goes into what's called flight or fight mode, activating your sympathetic nervous system. This system is responsible for our survival, and when faced with a stressful situation, it pumps adrenaline and puts on hold non-vital -for survival functions like digestion. That means that when you are stressed and eat quickly, your food will not get digested properly, and harmful bacteria will feed off it, causing you bloating. Also, the release of stress hormones negatively influences the microbiome.
What can you do to ease your bloating?
Fan activity that will allow you to express your emotions like dancing, going for a walk, journaling, painting, or talking to a friend
Find a practitioner who will help you release already trapped emotions from your body
Create strategies to mitigate your stress like meditation, yoga, reading, cooking.
Take three deep breaths before consuming your meals.
Each of us is unique, and so should the approach be. That's why I created my method, GEM that is based on gut healing, energy medicine, and mindset. This proven method is fully personalized and holistic to address all parts of you: body, mind, and soul.
How does it work?
Body - through nutritional therapy, target supplementation and removal of trapped emotions.
Mind - releasing limiting beliefs, old patterns and creating new habits and behaviors.
Soul - through energy medicine and energy healing.
All in one program called Bye Bye Bloated Belly. Reach out to me for more details.
Hanna Hanula, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Hanna Hanula is a leading nutritionist, naturopath, and mindset coach specializing in the gut and mental health. She is a former sufferer of high functioning anxiety, ADHD, social anxiety, and several digestive issues (mainly IBS, Candida, Sibo, and food intolerances) who healed herself by working holistically on the gut-brain axis. She then developed her own unique method called GEM based on gut healing (G), energy medicine (E), and mindset (M). She became passionate about helping others understand the importance of the influence of food on our mood. She is a founder of Souliciously Hanna, a coaching practice through which she runs group programs called Holistic Anxiety Reset and coaches private clients. She is also the author of Stress & Anxiety - the ultimate remedies guide. Her motto is that if you really want to heal your anxiety and feel comfortable in your body, then you need to address your emotional center - your gut.
