Constipation, a condition of when stools remain in the large intestine (colon) too long and are difficult to move for bowel movement, is a common digestive problem. It’s not always easy to find the exact cause since the problem can be attributed by lots of factors. But is it linked to depression and stress?
Sometimes what you feels emotionally can cause constipation
Most people think that constipation is only a physical condition. There is nothing wrong with this perception since typically it causes physical symptoms such as straining in bowel movement, cramps, bloating, or even pain. But did you know that sometimes it may also link to your emotions?
There may be a connection between your gut and brain. Some experts believe that what you feel emotionally can have an effect in the way of how your digestive system works.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to determine whether or not your constipation is linked to your mood. Again the problem can be attributed by many things.
How do depression and stress cause constipation?
What you feel is not only about psychological issue. Experts now realize that your emotions can affect you both psychologically and physically.
For instances, suddenly you may have headache during stressful day. You may also get anxiety before your job interview. These demonstrate that your thoughts can manifest themselves physically. There is a real connection between your body and brain
But where does the connection between your gut and brain come from?
Some experts believe that emotional conditions (such as depression and stress) can affect the nerve pathways related to the way of how gut works.
For this reason, sometimes psychological factors can be directly linked to the digestive system. So during stressful period or if you are being depressed, the chance to suffer from digestive problems (such as constipation and bloating) increases.
Tips for coping
If you do believe that your emotions are the answer of your constipation, improving your mood can be significant to improve and relieve the problem. Interestingly, some mood boosters can be used to help treat the digestive problem, these include:
Perk up with exercise
Good exercise doesn’t mean you can set and forget. The most important thing, you need to do it on regular basis and make it as part of your lifestyle. In other words, you need to have regular exercise to gain the most advantages of your workouts!
Exercise can provide lots of health advantages. For instance, it’s not only a helpful way to improve your mood, but also helpful to treat bloating and good for your digestive system.
Even some studies found that sedentary individuals are relatively easier to have digestive problems (such as bloating and constipation) and mood problems (such as stress and depression). Exercise is great for your entire health, too!
How your diet should go?
Your diet can significantly affect lots of mechanisms in your digestive system. Furthermore, sometimes foods that you eat are also linked to how you feel throughout the day.
When it comes to fight against constipation, foods high in fiber should be on your top lists. Fiber is essential to make foods you eat move easier through the digestive tract, reducing the risk of constipation.
Fruits and vegetables are great source for fiber. These are also rich in lots of essential nutrients. For best result, eat a wide range of fruits and vegetables because each food has unique property.
If you get used with diet low in fiber, increase your dietary fiber gradually! Along with regular exercise, your healthy-balanced diet should be effective enough to treat and prevent constipation.
In addition, your diet can play a key role to control your weight’s scale. And some studies found that obese people may have greater chance of having digestive conditions such as bloating and constipation.
Manage your stress!
Poorly-controlled stress is linked to numerous health conditions. Stress is also reported can worsen many health conditions. For example, it can worsen pain of arthritis and fibromyalgia. If your stress is out of control, this can lead to sleep problems, too.
People with bad stress management may also have higher risk of depression. So, it’s important to have a good stress management. Many times, it can be inevitable at workplace –but you should be able to control it!
Fortunately, there are many options for coping. See also effective stress reducers!
