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Does Stress Cause Constipation?

1,322 views · Published 15 July 2018 · 2:46 · Indexed 30 October 2026

Channel: CanXida · 2018 · Education

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Greetings. Eric Packer from New Zealand, the naturopath from down under. Thanks for coming back. The question today is: does stress cause constipation? It most certainly does. Stress has been linked with many studies now with constipation. When you think about it, when you're under stress, especially a flight or flight mechanism, your body is geared towards getting you away from the threat, or from the emergency, from the danger. The stress hormones are going to try and drive blood to the areas that allow you to invade or escape that dinosaur running after you. You know? That dinosaur could be an exactly wife, it could be a boss. That dinosaur could be you're caught up in traffic and you want to get home in a hurry. Oftentimes, we're powerless to really stop this situation. 

So, if you're under this fight or flight, the alarm stage of stress, what often occurs is your body is going to move blood to the zones where it really wants it, especially the arms, the feet, the heart and the head, those sorts of areas. Blood is going to be moved away more from your digestive organs, which are least important. 

The production of enzymes, that output drops right off. You don't really need a good digestive system when you're running away from a 60 ton dinosaur, whatever those things weigh. But you're going to have a high state of alert, so you're going to be aware of things. You're going to hear things better and see things better and smell things better and feel things better, but you're not going to digest things better. 

So, yes, if you're continually in low grade stress, and you have got constipation, have a think of different ways that you can relax or mitigate that stress, how you can change that stress response. 

Stress is most certainly linked up with constipation with many people. This can be one of the prime causes for many people of being constipated, who are thinking perhaps it could be their diet, when it well could be the stress. 

Stress could be packaged up in many different ways for you. You could be a busy mom with a few kids. The kids are demanding your attention all the time. You could be a commuter who has to drive an hour or an hour and a half to work every day and back. It could be stressful. You could be working shift work, long hours. You could be caring for an unwell friend or relation. You could be a PhD student. There can be many reasons why you've got stress. 

But just think careful about this. If you have got a stressful lifestyle, and you are constipated, there are things you can do to de stress, regardless of the situation, to allow the bowel to function optimally.

If you don't have bowel motions regularly, you'll end up in problems down the track, big problems. Thanks for tuning in.

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