Can anxiety cause diarrhea?

Anxiety is well known by those who have experienced it for its many physical symptoms. The fear, worry, and tension that come with it can even be overshadowed by the more physical symptoms, including sweating, shaking, headaches, and stomach upset.

If you’ve noticed that you have diarrhea when feeling very stressed or experiencing anxiety, you were right to point at anxiety as the potential source. Stomach issues are common with anxiety, and if you’re prone to the digestive impacts of anxiety, worry over experiencing a bout of diarrhea in public can add to the issue.

A few factors are underlying the anxiety and stomach upset connection. Part of the stress response cycle or fight-flight process is the body’s focus of energy toward necessary processes for immediate survival. This means that the body pulls resources away from things it deems unnecessary, and this can include digestion. Anxiety can cause the digestive process to be interrupted.

Science has also revealed the “gut-brain,” or a connection between the brain and the gut. During stress, the chemical messages carried from the brain to the gut can cause the stomach to respond with nausea, constipation, or diarrhea. This link is likely to work both ways, meaning that having digestive or stomach issues may trigger psychological symptoms like anxiety. Having an underlying condition like irritable bowel syndrome or IBS has a higher likelihood of anxiety and other psychological symptoms.

To address stomach upset and diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms, it’s important to talk with your doctor to determine if you may have an underlying condition like IBS, which may require additional treatment. Addressing anxiety can begin with that visit by asking about medication interventions for anxiety or a referral to a therapist. Working with a therapist to address anxiety can impact all the symptoms of anxiety experienced, even the physical and digestive ones.

Your doctor or your therapist is likely to recommend some basic lifestyle changes to help support your coping with anxiety and prevent its complications. These may include:

• Avoiding stimulants like caffeine
• Practicing relaxation methods like meditation, mindfulness, or yoga
• Getting regular exercise
• Getting adequate sleep
• Eating well

It’s very important to visit a doctor if you notice any symptoms like bloody stool, ongoing cramps that won’t stop, symptoms don’t improve after time, you notice weight loss as a result of your stomach issues, or you begin to experience vomiting.