If like me you suffer from constipation, you know how uncomfortable it can be and how that discomfort can even make simple things like holding a conversation difficult to concentrate on.
We're told it's because of diet, lack of water and exercise, but when we have all of those things in check - what then?
I recently discovered feeling threatened and scared can also cause constipation.
When we're feeling stressed and threatened our sympathetic nervous system is activated, it basically tells us: "You're about to be attacked! You better get ready to fight or run!" and then extra blood is sent to the muscles to prepare us for action.
In doing that though, blood is harnessed away from our gut and our digestive system stops working. If we are in this state of stress for a prolonged period of time it can lead to constipation.
What we need to do is to reactivate our parasympathetic nervous system also known as 'rest and digest'. This counters the stress and puts us into a state of relaxation. When the parasympathetic nervous system is active we feel safe and the blood returns to the digestive system to rest and digest.
Some ways we can reactivate our parasympathetic nervous system are -
•Firstly by recognising if you feel safe or not
•Hugs and affection from a trusted and safe person
•A relaxing bath
•A massage
•Talking to people and getting the right support
•A guided mediation to feeling safe
•Doing an activity you enjoy in a safe environment
•Reading a peaceful book
•Reasuring yourself or receiving reassurance
•Using Lavender
•Trying to move out of our heads and becoming aware of the reality of our current surroundings.
Massage for constipation (many more tutorials available online) - youtu.be/6W2VzVqvqyQ
It’s an adrenaline surge that empties the guts - maybe so we are free to fight that tiger. I had an an adrenaline shot at the dentist before an extraction, he got the wrong spot, and I have never moved so fast to the loo 🤣
I had terrible constipation which was stress related. If this is not too much info, it turned out that my sphincter muscle as the exit point was contracting under stress not letting anything out. I had an operation on the muscle & it’s all fine now. I still eat a lot of seeds to help everything on its way...
No not too much info.. People shy away from talking about these things but gut health is important.
I can understand how that must have happened and how you must of felt It must of been pretty bad to get to the point of an operation and I hope you're okay.
My digestive problems have been bad since before I can remember.. It's getting to the point where if I don't get to the bottom of things, it'll end up getting much worse than just constipation.
Like Indigoblue, I am going to say it works also by releasing the bowels in flight/fright or freeze for some, which is why people who break into houses often defecate while there 😮 The body can prepare for a speedy get away if it shuts off the digestive system. It is protecting itself.
Calming the system not only helps with constipation or the opposite but, also brings down cortisol levels and adrenaline which can lead to other health issues so, your article is useful for stress and anxiety in general 🙂
Yes, it's an interesting subject. I have had lots of stress in the last couple of years but has had no impact really on my digestion apart from putting on weight which I believe, and I read somewhere this week, affects people who are diabetic too. Maybe an added bonus of continued stress is the laying down of fat for use later. It is all really interesting 🙂
I've not heard that before and sorry you've been through so much stress the last couple of years. I wonder if de-stressing and doing practices to feel safer would help with that as well. It's quite likely it could x
Thank you, I feel I have come through the other side with it but, it is good to have other strategies to think of. I am quite fascinated by how our physiology works with us and against us sometimes. Being as calm as we can is the best we can do as a decent foundation.
Hi MTM, thank you for your very interesting post. I also have had to deal with constipation, because of yo-yo dieting and also because I regularly need to take opioids for pain relief. I am currently following the LCHF way of eating and I haven’t had an issue with constipation since. I thinks this is because the increased fat intake, lubricates the bowel.
Recently (with increase fasting) I think I was missing out of magnesium. I have found supplementing with about 1/2 the RDA of magnesium has completely resolved my issues.
(Osmosis moves fluid from a lower concentrated solution to a higher concentration. Adding the magnesium has stopped osmosis drawing all the fluid out of my intestine or colon - or possibly reversed it a little, and I have a happy belly again)
I just wanted to thank you also...brave post; it shouldn't be a shunned topic, as it's just the human body, but still; your post is welcomed by many, I'm sure.
I don't see it as bravery but as something that has benefited me in my own life and what could benefit others. I don't really think too much about the rest.
Thanks for your kind words and you too, enjoy your week 😊
Funny, I was looking at the massage for constipation only a few days ago, on Saturday, to be precise 😊 was even thinking if I should post anything about it.
I wonder if one hasn’t been to the toilet for a few days and steps on the scales that do body analysis, where in the analysis is all that crap allocated? 🤔🤪
Nice coincidence 😊 we must be thinking along similar lines.
Hahaha.. Hopefully it will pass 😉 lol
When I posted that specific massage video I did think the dots were a little low 😳😅 but thought it's better than posting one with a semi-naked woman haha 😵😱😂
Apologies if this is too much information....but, last week I weighed myself one morning....then nature called, so I weighed myself again, foolishly thinking that I would weigh less...but my weight was the same....so, poop must be weightless! lol 😂😱
Now, I haven't had an attack of IBS for a long time (maybe 2 years) and I used to get it really bad, sometimes collapsing, once splitting my chin open.
But just talking to you all about it reminds me of the feelings you start to get in your stomach during stage one of an attack.
So empathising and being able to remember the pain is bringing back that unpleasant feeling in my gut. Just by remembering it and worrying about it.
I think it's a kind of panic attack going on in the intestines.
As soon as I get that initial feeling I'm relaxing any tension in my body and calming down while reassuring myself it isn't going to take over. And the pain goes away.
I think being really in touch with the pains as soon as they start, being aware that you are scared and worried about something (even if you can't pinpoint what), relaxing, reassuring yourself and then not panicking could be the key to keeping the attacks at bay.
Hi MintTeaMascara, That is amazing that you are noticing how your body feels and how to calm it back down. It seems like you have reached an understanding with your physiology which sounds really good.
I have included this link which mentions stress and IBS:
After the car crash in 2012, I started to get bloating which was really weird as I hadn't had this before. I also lost some bowel sensation and I would sometimes get horrendous pain. It is a weird thing to experience such feelings and all you can do is relax into it. I haven't had the bloating since I gave up yeast, the wheat and dairy issues I have are to do with milk quickly going through my system and causing a rash and wheat just causing the rash and itching so I avoid them. The milk issue because worse over time.
I think that you are doing really well at noticing what is going on in your body and how stress affects that and that it could help others to recognize their own process. It has helped me to think about my own process for sure.
I've had the intolerances since 93 with my pregnancy of my third child. Strange how it started then. I had eczema before that but this was much worse. At one point I could manage a bit of something with wheat or dairy, usually sheeps cheese, something like that but, now,, it is much worse. I just remembered, I also get wheezing, wow, I realise that it's been so long since I have had it that I forgot that! The bloating only appeared after the car trauma. My Dr ran tests and everything came back normal and she kind of put it down to the trauma.
With the intolerances the kids are all dairy free too with the fourth being wheat and dairy free, so I think it's genetic to a degree. The dietician said to just cut out dairy and try every few months to reintroduce it. Due to the results, I no longer bother trying as there as so many tasty and nutritional alternatives to milk these days it's not an issue.
With the bloating, I feel it was just part of the trauma reaction that now only shows itself when I eat yeast so, feel it is all managed well.
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It must of been pretty bad to get to the point of an operation and I hope you're okay. 
Day1 of my weight loss
Weight loss: Physical or Mental?
Weight loss injections
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Mirtazapine and weight loss
