When a person becomes stressed enough to trigger the fight-or-flight response, (please refer article – effect of stress on you) body releases stress hormone cortisol to make body alert and prepared to face the threat. The resulting chemical imbalance can cause a number of gastrointestinal conditions. It can slow down the digestion or even stops it so that the body can divert all its internal energy to facing a perceived threat. Of course, it can work the other way as well; persistent gastrointestinal problems can heightened anxiety and stress. Other factors, such as genetics, early life experiences, cognitive factors, and environmental support also play important role in development of stress induced pathological conditions.

     Common stress-related gut symptoms and conditions include:

• indigestion
• stomach cramps
• diarrhoea
• constipation
• loss of appetite
• unnatural hunger
• nausea

     Although stress may not cause stomach ulcers or inflammatory bowel disease, it can make these and other diseases of digestion worse, so it’s important to take measures to be in control during stressful situations and find ways to keep you calm.

      Once you suffer with one of these conditions, the condition itself can become a source of anxiety and greatly impact your quality of life. For example, if you experience stomach cramps or indigestion, you might become fearful of these symptoms causing you to limit where and what you eat which could impact your social life.

      Many stomach disorders cannot be resolved with only oral medicines. You must address the stress reduction also. In Classical Homeopathy we consider the person’s physical complaints as well as emotional nature. This way selected Homoeopathic medicine helps to reduce the anxiety as well as physical complaints. At Atharv Clinic we take Art therapy Session to deal with stress. So the combination of medicine and therapy, focusing on the root cause i.e. stress, gives total relief from symptoms.