Reactions of the psyche are very closely related to the digestive system and the gastrointestinal tract. The gastrointestinal tract is nowadays even seen as a second brain, because it has a highly complex nervous system of its own and its health is strongly related to mental health and emotional states of affect. Nowadays, mental diarrhea is a recognized and widespread independent clinical picture.
Nausea, digestive disorders, constipation, abdominal cramps and abdominal pain can also have psychological causes or be aggravated by the psyche. The intensity of gastrointestinal reactions to psychological stress varies greatly from individual to individual. Some people are highly sensitive to this. Nowadays, many complaints of the gastrointestinal tract cannot be attributed to any organic disease and most likely have a psychological cause.
Causes
The most common causes of stress-related complaints of the digestive system are psychological reactions such as strong emotions, stress, sadness, mania or fear. The complaints occur mainly in all mental states that are associated with a form of stress reaction. Strong emotions but also fear can provoke extreme stress, as well as physical stress caused by increased physical activity.
This leads to a release of stress hormones, which flood the whole body and cause reactions in all cells and organs. These reactions are called “fight-or-flight” reactions and prepare the body to cope with the situation. In the process, the pulse and breathing increase, the tendency to sweat increases, the body releases adrenaline and digestion can accelerate.
This can lead to abdominal cramps, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Stress can occur as physical or psychological stress. In both cases the stress leads to a hormone release that prepares the whole body to cope with the stress situation.
This is a physiological and meaningful process that activates the physical resources in acute stress situations in order to survive the situation with full physical functionality. Stress becomes problematic if it occurs recurrently or permanently. Both physically and psychologically, the physical resources become exhausted after a while, so that various symptoms such as exhaustion, depression and numerous other psychological and organic illnesses can occur. Diarrhea can occur and be present both in the acute stress reaction and in the chronic course. Diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome can also be associated with recurring digestive problems and can be due to a stress reaction.
