How is Your Digestion?

[Marja]

i'm with the rest of you with ibs, alternating diarrhea and constipation.

Me too. From what I understand, as a "freeze" type during my abusive years, my digestive system would freeze too. I was constipated for years. But in recent years, I've had the opposite problem. I now eat gluten-free, low sugar, adequate fiber, and minimal dairy, and that seems to keep me going good. Just recently, I noticed that after a flashback I don't have much of an appetite, and I crave foods that were comforting to me as a child.

[Elizabeth Jack]

I straight up have Chron's disease that has almost claimed my life.  Yeeaaaahhhh... Anxiety makes it worse, depression makes it worse, CPTSD makes it horrible sometimes.  I just had bowel resection surgery, and I take a chemotherapy called Remicade. 

[writetolife]

This is so interesting.  I also eat really quickly and have most of my life.  (I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that family dinners could be dreadful growing up.  some of the worst psychological abuse I experienced growing up was at the dinner table.)  Also the diarrhea thing, whenever I get anxious for very long.

[Sisue]

Same.  I too, have digestive problems. 
I wonder what percentage of ppl with PTSD (or any emotional struggles) do NOT have digestive issues.  My guess is that it is relatively low.  After all, there is a significant relationship between our brain and our gut.  They share a lot of the same tissues and 90% of our serotonin is produced in our gut compared to only 10% in our brain.  Or so I have read!  But it would make sense why we have so many gastrointestinal dysfunctions.

[Marja]

Last week, I started reading Childhood Disrupted: How Your Biography Becomes Your Biology, and How You Can Heal by Donna Jackson Nakazawa. She writes that "more than half of women suffering from irritable bowel syndrome report childhood trauma."

[chaoticharmony]

I have had digestion issues as far as I can recall. Mostly constipation and the occasional killer stomach cramps followed by terrible diarrhea. I have had a colonoscopy to check everything out and all is good. I myself eat slowly, I tend to be the last one up from the table. I believe my digestion is extremely slow as I feel uncomfortably full even an hour or so after eating. I am lucky if I have 2 BMs a week.

[Sandstone]

Im exactly the same chaoticharmony, chronic constipation  (i havnt been for 10 days now)  then i get really bad cramps that make me sweat and feels like  going into shock , then i get diarrhoea. Also feel bloated. Big belly. Been feeling quite ill these last few days no doubt due to not being able to go.

[sanmagic7]

one of the things i used to tell people is to 'go with your gut', because i always believed that the gut is the one place that we could trust for messages on how we should proceed, which direction to take, etc.  i've had ibs, both ways, for over 20 yrs., altho it usually takes the form of the runs.  emptying everything out, sometimes violently.

as i've been working on my inner child stuff,  i came to a point the other day where i was in a struggle between my inner child (my gut, which wants the best for me) and my inner critic (basically my dad, who wanted perfection from me).  i realized that my gut is where the battle takes place between the two, and no wonder i have digestive problems! 

this was an eye-opener for me.  i'll be keeping this in mind as i continue tackling these issues, and hopefully healing from them.  i do have hope that i will become more regular in the future.  wouldn't that be wonderful!!!

[witchwomb]

My stomach is such a mess! I was diagnosed with GERD, but the weight I gained back from my struggle with anorexia really put my gut in a serious bind.

Eating disorders...not even once.

[Manchesterford]

Emotional upset and stress always triggers a nervous digestive system in me. Calmer days and I can be fine but any upset and im a mess.

[Fen Starshimmer]

My digestion got so bad a few years ago, I could hardly keep any food inside me, and I became drained which exacerbated the sensitivity of my nervous system - already easily tipped into F/F/F. I would nibble on high sugar snacks to try and keep going at work (and work was full of triggers which didn't help). It was always so embarrassing and horrible having to keep rushing off to the loo. I only found out by chance that I had lost a number of enzymes in my stomach (you need enzymes to break down and absorb the nutrients). Shortly before that, by coincidence, I had stumbled upon liquid enzymes that are aimed at sports people, and the supplement helped.  When I was officially diagnosed, I was prescribed homeopathic remedies to restore my own natural enzymes - and amazingly, it worked! I feel so blessed.........