How Survival Mode is Shutting Down Your Digestion

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Anxiety manifests physically throughout your body, affecting everything from swallowing to nutrient absorption when your nervous system gets stuck in survival mode. We explore how stress creates a domino effect in your digestive system and share practical solutions to activate your parasympathetic "rest and digest" response.

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Episode Transcript

Emliy Feist (00:00):
Anxiety doesn't just live in your head.
It shows up in your gut, yourmuscles and even how you swallow
your food.
You're not broken.
Your nervous system is juststuck in survival mode and it's
taking down your digestion andswallowing reflexes down with it
.
In this episode we're unpackingthe signs and symptoms behind

(00:21):
stress-related digestiveproblems and what you can do to
get things flowing again, bothfiguratively and literally.
Hi and welcome to.
It Starts at Vagus, whereholistic health meets modern day
, living through the eyes of amassage therapist and that's me.
I'm Emily and I am aneuromuscular massage therapist

(00:43):
that helps people every dayrelax their muscles, and I'm
here to guide you through thephilosophy of the vagus nerve.
It's the body's ultimate key tocalm, connection and overall
well-being.
So if you have stress, anxiety,have burnout and you just feel
stuck, you're in the right place.

(01:03):
But before we start, could youdo a huge favor for me and hit
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(01:24):
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want this podcast to continueto be worth listening to and
help people all over the worldget stress and anxiety relief.
Naturally, thank you toeveryone who's already
subscribed.
I really appreciate it.

(01:45):
Now take a deep breath in,settle down and let's explore
how we can use our nervoussystem to support our bodies.
Stress has a huge role indigestion.
First, the sympathetic nervoussystem activates and it creates
a domino effect from there.
So let's unpack this a littlebit.
And it creates a domino effectfrom there.

(02:06):
So let's unpack this a littlebit, starting with how it
affects how you swallow yourfood.
When you're stressed, yourbody's in fight or flight mode
kicks right in, leading tophysical changes, including
muscle tension, and thisincludes the tightening of your
throat muscles, which can makeswallowing difficult or even
painful.
Anxiety can also lead to aheightened awareness of the

(02:29):
throat and swallowing process,making it sensitive to any
sensation or difficulties, and Ihave a personal experience in
this.
When I was little, I went to arestaurant with my family and I
ended up choking on a pickle andI was able to cough it up.

(02:49):
So technically it wasn't truechoking, but I remember the
feeling.
It's a feeling that has beenwith me since that moment and to
this day.
I have to trick myself to takeany medication, and before I
even can take medication I wouldoften ask if there's a liquid
form or even a shot, because Ican take those much easier than

(03:14):
the mental strain of swallowingpills.
So I just don't like thefeeling and I know I physically
can swallow pills, but my mindstops me.
It just says nope, we don'tfeel safe with this.
Me it just says nope, we don'tfeel safe with this.

(03:36):
And no matter what I do, I justcan't swallow it down.
And I don't think I've evertaken a pill without tricking my
mind that I have to chew it upfirst.
So there are little ways thatI've done to cope with this, but
it just shows you that evenafter, goodness, 20, 30 years, I
still have that feeling with meand my body has to this day

(03:56):
said nope, everything that goesinto your mouth you must chew
because we don't want to chokeagain.
And that is just my body,keeping me in survival mode.
I will sometimes have a hardertime swallowing food, but
thankfully that doesn't happenas much anymore.
Usually I can get food downpretty well, but here is a fun
new vocabulary word for you,most likely, and that is the

(04:20):
globus sensation.
And this is just a fancy wordfor when people experience that
persistent feeling of a lump orsomething stuck in their throat.
Even if they're not drinking oreating anything, they can still
feel it.
That feeling is often linked toanxiety and stress surprise,

(04:42):
surprise and it's notnecessarily related to an
underlying medical condition.
It's just saying, hey, we'regoing to tighten these muscles
because we're stressed out.
It's just saying, hey, we'regoing to tighten these muscles
because we're stressed out.
But when food does make it downbecause most likely it will when
you're stressed, your bloodshifts away from the gut.

(05:04):
Your body diverts blood towardyour muscles in your brain and
away from your digestive organs,because it's prioritizing, it
wants to keep you safe forsurvival, and digestion just
takes a back seat.
So this includes areas such asyour mouth and esophagus, which
is what we just talked about,your stomach, these small and

(05:27):
large intestines, your rectumand your anus.
So when that stress isconsistently high, your body
feels it everywhere.
And that's where you're saying,god, I've got all these
problems and things that youknow bother me, but there's no
connection when, in reality thatstress might be triggering all
those things.

(05:48):
Like I said, it's just a dominoeffect because your body puts
your survival in priority.
And those things, like I said,it's just a domino effect
because your body puts yoursurvival in priority and those
things are just secondary to it.
Now, it does create problems,but your brain goes survival's
number one.
So what are those problems?
Your stomach becomes lessacidic, your small intestine has
a harder time absorbing thenutrients, your pancreas has

(06:13):
fewer enzymes to produce, yourliver slows down the detox
process and bile production, andeven your mouth can get dry.
So all of those things are justcommon factors when it comes to
swallowing food, digesting ourfood, all based off of that

(06:34):
common denominator of stress andanxiety.
So now that we know those twoways that stress affect our
digestion one, because it makesit difficult to swallow, and two
, once it does get down, itdoesn't get prioritized let's
reverse that response to get youin rest and digest mode.

(06:56):
And here is the tip for thatone Eat with friends.
Eating with your friends isactually a sneaky good way to
support your vagus nerve, toactivate that rest and digest
mode.
And here are four reasons why.
First, social connection itactivates your vagus nerve and

(07:16):
that vagus nerve is deeply tiedto your parasympathetic nervous
system, which is our rest anddigest mode.
And positive socialinteractions, like sharing a
meal with your friends,naturally stimulate the vagus
nerve and boost your sense offeeling safe, secure and relaxed

(07:37):
.
All good things that we need todo.
Second, eating with friends.
We often incorporate laughterand relaxed All good things that
we need to do.
Second, eating with friends.
We often incorporate laughterand conversation and when you
laugh, make your eye contact,talk with others that you enjoy.
You engage part of that vagusnerve that helps regulate your
mood, heart rate and digestion.

(07:58):
So, yep, your body literallydigests food better when you're
having a good time and you canenjoy it.
It's a great way.
Third, chewing your food andbreathing.
That creates yourparasympathetic power.
Eating slowly, chewing yourfood thoroughly, chewing your

(08:25):
food thoroughly and takingrelaxed breaths between bites,
which you're more likely goingto do when you're not rush
eating and you're not alone atyour desk.
That helps trigger your vagusnerve activity, because when
you're socially engaged you'reless likely to stress eat and
more likely to eat mindfully.
So, again, eat slower and enjoyyour food while you're talking

(08:47):
to your friends.
And lastly, number four, feelingsafe while eating.
So important because, again, wewant that parasympathetic
nervous system activated, wewant to rest and digest, we want
the blood to get to ourdigestive organs.
So, when the vagus nervethrives, when your nervous

(09:08):
system feels safe, eating in acalm, friendly environment, that
sends safety messages to yourbrain and body, which then can
reduce inflammation and evenimprove your gut-brain
communication.
If you need a backup and you'relike I don't have time to get

(09:29):
together with friends to eat mymeal, my backup is watch
something funny on TV.
Listen to something funny.
Again, if you're going to laugh, you're going to be able to
enjoy your food.
Your body's going to say, okay,we feel safe.
It won't have the socialinteraction as much, but you're
still going to help activatethat rest and digest mode, which

(09:53):
is what we're going for, sothat you can enjoy your meal,
you can digest your food and youcan settle down all those
unnecessary side effects ofstress.
So thank you for spending partof your day with me.
Breathe and do one thing thatmakes you happy.
Thanks for listening to.
It Starts at Vagus.
New episodes are released everyTuesday.

(10:15):
If you liked this episode, goahead and give it a subscribe
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on what's coming next.
If you'd like a step-by-stepvideo on how to do a pain-free
and easy vagus nerve exercise,grab my free vagus nerve reset
video in the show notes.

(10:36):
It's what I do when I feel likeI just not like myself.
Until next time, remember,wellness starts at vagus.