The Naturopathic Co.
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If your IBS gets worse when you’re stressed or anxious, you’re certainly not imagining the connection.
The digestive system and nervous system communicate constantly through the gut-brain axis, meaning emotional stress can produce very real changes in gastrointestinal function.
For some people, this means a stressful week is followed by bloating. For others, anxiety causes diarrhea, constipation, nausea, abdominal discomfort or an urgent need to use the bathroom.
Understanding the connection between IBS, anxiety, stress and the nervous system can be an important part of managing persistent digestive symptoms.
IBS — or irritable bowel syndrome — is a disorder of gut-brain interaction.
Symptoms commonly include:
Some people with IBS also experience anxiety, poor sleep, fatigue or brain fog.
This doesn’t mean IBS is “all in your head.”
Rather, the digestive system and brain are physiologically connected. IBS symptoms can also overlap with other conditions worth ruling out, including SIBO, food sensitivities, coeliac disease and yeast overgrowth.
The gut-brain axis allows information to travel between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain.
The autonomic nervous system, vagus nerve, immune system, hormones and gut microbiome are all involved in this communication.
During stressful periods, changes in nervous-system activity can affect digestive motility and gastrointestinal sensations.
This is why someone who normally manages their IBS relatively well may suddenly experience a significant flare during periods of stress, anxiety, emotional overwhelm or poor sleep. Read more about the gut-brain axis and the vagus nerve and gut health.
Anxiety can contribute to changes in bowel motility, which may result in increased bowel frequency or urgency in some people.
You may notice that before a stressful event you suddenly need to use the bathroom.
For someone with IBS-D or diarrhea-predominant IBS, this can become particularly frustrating.
However, persistent or unexplained diarrhea should always be appropriately investigated rather than assumed to be caused by anxiety — conditions such as IBD and Crohn’s disease or colitis need to be ruled out.
Stress and anxiety may also influence digestive function and gastrointestinal sensitivity.
Some people become considerably more aware of abdominal sensations when anxious, while changes in eating patterns, swallowing air, bowel motility and food choices during stressful periods can also contribute to bloating.
If bloating is frequent, significant or occurring regardless of stress levels, other digestive factors should also be considered, including SIBO or gastritis.
Not everyone experiences faster digestion during stress.
For some people, chronic stress coincides with constipation, incomplete bowel movements and abdominal bloating.
This is another reason there isn’t one universal “stress gut.”
Different nervous systems — and different gastrointestinal systems — respond differently.
IBS itself can become a source of anxiety.
If you don’t know whether a meal will leave you painfully bloated or urgently looking for a bathroom, it’s understandable that eating away from home can become stressful.
This can create a cycle:
IBS symptoms → worry about symptoms → nervous system activation → increased digestive symptoms → more anxiety.
Treatment therefore sometimes needs to address both sides of the equation — read more about nervous system dysregulation and gut health.
Sometimes both.
We don’t assume that digestive symptoms are simply caused by stress.
Depending on your symptoms, there may be value in considering other contributors including:
Persistent gastrointestinal symptoms should also be medically investigated where appropriate, and where inflammation is suspected, conditions such as IBD, colitis or coeliac disease should be ruled out. For some people, chronic stress also plays a role in autoimmune flares more broadly.
Some patients with persistent IBS symptoms may benefit from further digestive investigation.
Depending on your history, this may include gut microbiome testing, comprehensive stool testing or SIBO breath testing. Read more about our approach to functional testing.
Not everybody requires functional testing, and we don’t recommend testing simply because someone experiences anxiety.
Testing is considered where gastrointestinal symptoms indicate that additional information may meaningfully guide treatment.
At The Naturopathic Co., we take an integrated approach to IBS, gut health and nervous system support. Read more about our naturopathic approach to healing anxiety, and how we see the connection playing out for our Melbourne and Sydney clients.
Depending on the individual, treatment may involve nutrition, dietary modification, microbiome support, nutritional medicine, herbal medicine, sleep support and strategies to reduce the impact of chronic stress.
We want to understand not only what your gut is doing, but why it may be doing it. This is particularly important where digestive symptoms sit alongside other patterns, such as skin flare-ups, fatigue or weight changes.
If you’re experiencing IBS and anxiety, stress-related diarrhea, constipation, bloating, nervous stomach symptoms or digestive problems that worsen during stressful periods, we can help investigate the factors contributing to your symptoms.
The Naturopathic Co. offers in-person naturopath consultations from our South Yarra, Melbourne clinic as well as online naturopath consultations Australia-wide, including Sydney.
Supporting the gut without considering the nervous system can miss an important part of IBS – and supporting anxiety without considering significant digestive symptoms can do the same.
Book a consultation with The Naturopathic Co. to start investigating what may be contributing to your symptoms.
With 180+ verified five-star Google reviews, our naturopaths and nutritionists offer comprehensive 60-minute initial consultations, in person in South Yarra, Melbourne, or via telehealth across Australia. Book your consultation with The Naturopathic Co. today.
