An effect of trauma

Stomach and gut problems from stress

The gut and the nervous system are deeply connected. Trauma lives in the body and for many survivors it lives specifically in the digestive system. Chronic nausea, stomach pain, irritable bowel, difficulty eating, digestive problems that doctors cannot fully explain or that flare when stress is high. This is not in your head. It is in your gut, which is where the nervous system stores a significant amount of what it has been through.

It can sound like

“My stomach reacts when things are hard.” “I get nauseous under stress.” “I have digestive problems no one can explain.” “My gut responds before my mind does.”

If any of those sentences live in your head too, you are in good company here.

Experiences this often follows

Effects do not come from nowhere. These are some of the experiences that people who carry this one often describe. You do not need to have been through any of them for what you feel to be real.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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