every part of the system looks healthy and normal, but they still don’t work as they should. These disorders are extremely sensitive to stress. They’re also extremely common. According to a report from the University of North Carolina, roughly 25 million Americans have a functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder. Functional gastrointestinal disorders are also common among African American children and adolescents in a primary care setting and tend to predominantly affect girls.
The classic example of a functional GI disorder is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a very common and perplexing malady often characterized by painful cramps, bloating, and constipation alternating with diarrhea. The National Institutes of Health estimates that as many as one in five Americans has some signs of IBS.
Nobody knows how IBS gets its start, but there’s no doubt that stress can worsen symptoms. For one thing, stress can make the colon contract, leading to stomach pain. It’s not completely clear why people with IBS sometimes become constipated. One possibility is that stress can occasionally make the contractions uncoordinated and unproductive. Stress can also make the mind more aware of sensations in the colon, and since people with IBS may feel more discomfort due to extra-sensitive pain receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, even normal contractions can feel really unpleasant.
IBS can flare up over everyday annoyances, especially those that make a person feel tense, angry, or overwhelmed. But as reported in a 2004 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, IBS — like other chronic conditions — is even more sensitive to the stress that comes from major life changes, such as a death in the family or a loss of a job.
2. Indigestion
Your stomach growls, aches, or burns. Sometimes you feel bloated or nauseated, and you vomit or belch. These could all be signs of an ulcer, but millions of people without ulcers have these symptoms, too. Doctors call this “functional dyspepsia,” but it’s better known as indigestion. Indigestion is the second most common functional GI disorder, after IBS. As reported by the Cleveland Clinic, all of the symptoms of indigestion tend to worsen in times of stress. On the bright side, they usually fade when a person has a chance to relax.
3. Heartburn
There are many possible causes for heartburn, from overproduction of stomach acid to overindulgence in pizza. Whatever its cause, stress can definitely make heartburn worse. A study published in a 2004 issue of Psychosomatic Medicine found that heartburn sufferers who had recently gone through a major life-changing event were especially likely to develop severe symptoms within four months. Researchers speculate that stress could pump up the stomach’s production of acid or make the esophagus extra sensitive to pain.