NERVES IN THE STOMACH: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND TREATMENT - ARTE

The nerves in the stomach are a symptom of a state of anxiety produced by some external situation. You are nervous, you feel an annoying pain in the pit of your stomach and you have the feeling that you have all your nerves lodged in that area of the body, causing you a high level of discomfort that does not disappear.

However, due to the discomfort they cause, it is important to know how to manage and calm them properly when they appear regularly and repeatedly, since the nerves in the stomach can become very unpleasant and affect our well-being.

Characteristics and symptoms of nerves in the stomach

Symptom of anxiety or nervousness

Nerves in the stomach are a peculiar symptom of a state of anxiety, agitation or nervousness.

Anxiety is a mental or psychological state in which you feel especially activated, restless and restless, so nervousness originates in our minds and in our thoughts.

Nervous thoughts usually manifest as worry or uneasiness. Our brain focuses solely and exclusively on them, and they become the center of our mind.

Stomach discomfort

When nervousness and anxious thoughts turn into emotions, they begin to produce a series of physical symptoms, such as an upset stomach.

These discomforts are caused by our state of anxiety and we normally interpret them as a nervous and unpleasant sensation that causes us discomfort.

Pain provokes nerves

However, this is not all, because in the same way that the nerves have passed from our mind to our body, they can return to do the way in reverse.

That is to say: when we are nervous we feel sensations of discomfort in the stomach, but these sensations of discomfort are again interpreted by our brain, a fact that makes our nervousness increase even more.

By increasing our thoughts of nervousness, these are once again transcended to our body with greater symptoms of discomfort in our stomach.

Causes

This nervous feeling in the stomach can appear in multiple situations.

When it appears solely and exclusively in response to a certain stimulus, it is considered a normal response of our body, however, when the nerves in the stomach appear recurrently, it is important to do something to manage it.

For example: during the minutes or hours before a very important exam, a meeting that will dictate the future of your business or a conference before hundreds of people, it is normal that you feel nervous in the stomach.

At that moment, what your body is doing is activating itself appropriately to be able to respond appropriately to that situation, but these symptoms will disappear when the stressful stimulus is no longer present.

However, if your state of anxiety becomes chronic and the nerves in the stomach are permanently, the activation of your body will no longer be adequate and your feelings of discomfort will not disappear if you do nothing.

Treatment

Analyze your thoughts

As we have said, the nerves in the stomach are a symptom that has its origin in a state of anxiety, mainly originated in the recurring thoughts housed in the mind.

That is why if you suffer from recurrent stomach nerves, the first thing you should do is analyze what thoughts you have and which of them may be causing the feelings of anxiety.

To do this, you must stop to think for a moment each time you have a nervous stomach and write down in a notebook what thoughts you are having.

When analyzing your thoughts you must be as detailed as possible. Therefore, if you feel that you are nervous about having an unstable work situation, it would not be enough to write: "I am worried about my work."

Dig a little deeper into your thoughts and detect what you are thinking in more detail. For example:

"My financial retribution is bad and this causes me problems to meet my expenses."
"In the company they are reducing the workforce and maybe they fire me"
"I don't know if I will be able to perform properly and deal with all the work I have."
"If they fire me, I don't know what I'm going to do and I will have many financial problems."

These four sentences are examples of more detailed thoughts that a person who is nervous about their work situation may have.

The goal is for you to be able to do the same with your problem or with those thoughts that cause anxiety, so that later you can work to try to modify them.

Try to modify them

Once you have the thoughts that can cause your nervousness registered and well analyzed, we can start working to modify them.

The objective of this second step is for you to be able to contrast your thoughts in a rational and equanimous way, and to avoid that your analysis of your thoughts is influenced by your state of anxiety.

To do this, you have to submit your thoughts to a series of questions so that your own answer allows you to approach the situation in a different way.

Continuing with the previous example, you could ask yourself the following questions:

Your economic retribution is bad but to date you have managed to move forward, is there any evidence that assures you that you will not be able to do it?
Does the fact that they are reducing the workforce in your company means that they are going to fire you? What evidence do you have that this is going to happen?
What things limit you so that you cannot cope with all your work in an adequate way if you make an effort and get involved in a suitable way?
Do you have other mechanisms to find solutions to your situation? Can you find another job that improves your current situation? Do you have the support of people who could help you in difficult times? Have you been able to properly manage other difficult moments in your life?

Avoid stress

Another fundamental aspect to prevent your nervous thoughts from growing more and more, and in turn, increasing your physical sensations and your nerves in the stomach, is to lead a calm life and avoid stress as much as possible.

If you are nervous and stressed, you will have little time to stop to think and to pay attention to your nerves, so they will manifest themselves without any type of filter and will inevitably increase.

Analyze your agenda, your activities, what things you should do yes or yes and what things are secondary and you can eliminate them to be more calm.

Get organized and make sure your schedule does not exceed your capabilities, find free time to do things you like, to get away, and to find the calm and relaxation you need.

Breathe well

Once you have managed to have some control over your thoughts and are able to analyze them correctly without directly providing truthfulness, we can begin to focus on the physical aspect.

You feel the nerves in the stomach, so you should not only focus on the variables of your mind, but you will also have to provide states to your body that allow you to reduce the nerves you feel in the stomach.

One of the most important aspects of the body is breathing, so always try to breathe properly.

People with stress tend to breathe with their clavicles or ribs, a fact that causes a bad entry and exit of air to the body, and usually increases the state of nerves.

So, you should always try to breathe with the gut, from the navel down. This breathing will allow you to oxygenate the blood and the brain, so if you practice it regularly it will be much easier for you to relax.

To breathe better you can practice these relaxation techniques.

just relax

Another fundamental aspect is that you manage to find time to allocate it to practicing relaxation in a much more direct way. Investing a couple of moments a day to relax will allow you to be much less tense during the day and reduce your nervousness in your stomach.

Relaxation can be practiced by yourself at home by doing these steps, as long as you have a calm and quiet environment.

Put on comfortable clothes and if you want relaxing music in the background. Then lie down on a surface that you feel comfortable on, such as a sofa, lounger, or the like.
Place your body on your back, with your legs slightly ajar, arms extended, and eyelids closed. Try to avoid movements.
Do a breathing exercise. Try to breathe (in the way we discussed before) for 8 seconds, hold your breath for 8 more seconds, and breathe out for another 8. Do this sequence for about 20-25 minutes.
As you breathe, try to keep your attention and your thoughts solely on your body. Pay attention to your muscles and notice how they relax more and more.

Widen your posture

Nervous and stressed people tend to close and stress their body, a fact that contributes to the increase of the body's rigidity and the state of nervousness.

A very useful exercise is to widen the posture, pulling the shoulders back, pushing the chest forward and slightly pulling the neck towards the back.

This practice improves the state of the spine, the cervicals and allows to acquire a more relaxed state.

Control diet

One of the first organs to be affected by stress and anxiety is the digestive tract, so it is important to provide a balanced diet to your body so that they do not aggravate the symptoms of nervousness.

Try to eat a balanced diet, do not eat too high or too high in calories, avoid eating carbohydrates excessively, and eliminate the consumption of coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and chocolate.

This way, your stomach will have less work to do and will be less affected by nervous symptoms.

Hydrate well

Finally, another thing that goes very well to deal with the nerves in the stomach is to perform a good hydration and give your body a good amount of water.

Likewise, it can sometimes help to drink infusions with relaxing properties. Chamomile, lemon balm, ginger root decoction, or green anise and mint infusion can relieve stomach spasms and relax our body.

References

Barlow D. and Nathan, P. (2010) The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology. Oxford University Press.
Caballo VE, Salazar, IC., Carrobles JA (2011). Manual of psychopathology and psychological disorders. Madrid: Piramide.
Guyton AC, Hall JE. The autonomic nervous system; the adrenal medulla. In: Treaty of Medical Physiology. Madrid: McGraw-Hill Interamericana from Spain; 1996. p. 835-847.
Sandroni P. Testing the Autonomic Nervous System. IASP Newsletter; November / December 1998.
Robertson D, Ester M, Strauss SE. Dysautonomias: Clinical Disorders of the Autonomic Nervous System. Ann Intern Med. 2002; 137: 753-764.

NERVES IN THE STOMACH: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND TREATMENT - ARTE - 2024