Our busy lives are loaded with highs and lows that create some level of stress. Stress is a normal physical reaction which can sometimes have negative effects on your colon health.

Emotions triggered by stress impacts on your stomach and bowel movements. What goes on in your gut can cause stress and also long term upset. Chronic constipation, diarrhea, and different kinds of bowel conditions may trigger anxiety, causing an endless loop of stress.

Stress is terrible on its own, but suffering from poop issues when you are stressed is just dreadful. Unfortunately, it occurs, and you are not the only who gets stress diarrhea or constipation when things get insane. “Many individuals have that experience where stress causes irregularity in bowel movements”, says Dr. Parameshwara C M, best coloproctologist in Bangalore.

While you have just accepted it as a fact of life that you are going to you are going to have bowel issues when you get stressed, there is an actual reason why this can occur. Here is what is actually going on in your digestive system when you are stressed and anxious, in addition to what can be done about it.

Your gastrointestinal tract has various nerves and the brain impacts on what is going on in the gastrointestinal tract. At the time of exams or nervous situations, you get extreme stress that causes spasms in the gut. How those spasms impact what leaves your body relies on where they occur. If the spasms are widely spread, your entire colon is contracting, everything will move along very quickly, you will experience diarrhea. However, if the spasms are occurring in only one region, it holds everything up and aggravates constipation.

Diarrhea is more typical than constipation when you are stressed. But it ultimately depends on the default gastrointestinal issues, Dr. Parameshwara C M says-if diarrhea tends to be an issue if you have poop issues, you are bound to have diarrhea when you are stressed. It is similar in the case of constipation too. As per coloproctologist experts, stress will obviously push you towards your usual poop issues.

There is a different form of IBS, including IBS-C (IBS which causes constipation) and IBS-D (that causes diarrhea), and stress is a leading cause to bringIBS symptoms, Dr.Parameshwara C M says.

A similar thing can occur in people with inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative colitis. In such cases, a person’s colon, digestive tract or rectum is already prone to bowel inflammation, and stress can also add to that inflammation and bring on symptoms of IBS, says the best coloproctologist in Bangalore.

All kind of processed and junk foods can trouble your gut, particularly if you are already prone to poop problems from stress or upset, explains Dr. Parameshwara C M. Stress stimulates your gut, however, food does as well, whereas certain kind of foods can cause more stimulation than others. For example, coffee, tea, and chocolates are most likely to stimulate your gut, he says.

Obviously, it is an indication to relax and try to reduce stress all the time if your digestive system is acting normal. You must be very careful about what you are doing, eating and drinking when you are under stress and check if that helps.

Apart from that,.medications can help stop diarrhea or constipation and make the bowel movements soft and smooth. However, if you are struggling with IBS and stress makes it worse, certain antidepressants can help to treat nerves in your gut. Stress reduction techniques like exercise, walking, and meditation etc can also work.
In general, if your stress involves diarrhea or constipation it would be a big issue with your gut. A low FODMAP diet, which allows certain vegetables, fresh fruits, and gluten-free bread, can also help as well, best colorectal specialist Dr. Parameshwara C M says.

If your stress poops are severe and persistent, seek medical help immediately by our experienced and qualified colorectal specialists at SMILES, Bangalore.