An effect of trauma
Stomach problems
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.
The gut hears everything the nervous system says, and for many survivors it is where the whole history gets stored and replayed. Flare-ups that track stress are not imaginary and not a character flaw. Tending the underlying load, alongside whatever medical care you get, tends the gut too. The two have always been one conversation.
It can sound like
If any of those sentences live in your head too, you are in good company here.
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.