Recently I shared a free quiz on my Instagram to help individuals identify the top underlying cause that could be contributing to their symptoms.
Would you be surprised if I told you that 67% of individuals who have taken this quiz got chronic stress as their #1 result?
To me, this wasn’t shocking because I see this with our clients every day…
Most people do not realize all the forms of stress we can experience, which is why this is one of the #1 things that must be addressed for gut health.
We can experience stress due to:
- lack of sleep
- being dehydrated
- being in a toxic relationship
- having too much on our plate commitment-wise
- not having enough downtime
- having unregulated blood sugar
- under-eating
- overexercising
- our environment
- unresolved trauma
….just to make a few!
So, even if you don’t feel like your life is stressful, you could have external stressors that are making your bloat hard to beat.
Your parasympathetic nervous system is also known as your “rest and digest” system. All too often we function in the sympathetic state, also known as the “fight or flight” state.
During times of stress, like when struggling with gut issues, it is extra important to focus on stress-reducing practices that will help you to activate your “rest and digest” mode so your digestive tract can do its job!
Try one of these:
- Take 5 deep breaths when you feel overwhelmed
- Start your day with gratitude journaling
- Focus on enjoyable movement
I 100% agree with these words from a recent gutTogether client:
“I never thought that by doing less, I would feel better!”
This client is a very successful entrepreneur who lives a super busy life. Even though she didn’t necessarily feel stressed, she was functioning in a high state of stress daily and it was important for her to slow down so she could find bloat relief.
This client struggled with gut issues all her life and after trying so many things prior to working in the gutTogether program, she finally decided to decrease her stress and make goals to:
👉Sleep more
👉Cook more
👉Do more yoga
👉Practice breathing exercises
👉Spend more time with her kids and actually be PRESENT
Whether it’s a chosen slowness or life just forcing you to slow down, I always appreciate when my clients intentionally take time to care for themselves!
To read other blogs I have about stress and its impact on bloat, click here and here
If you haven’t taken the quiz yet and you want to learn more about what could be contributing to your bloat, click here
If you want to know more about your root causes AND what you can do to address them, be sure to click here and be added to the waitlist for an exciting offer being released on Cyber Monday. You’ll want to save the date and mark your calendar, as this offer will only be available to 150 people!
