ATTENTION: Your Stress Can Trigger Heartburn And Acidity

Yes, you heard it right! You must have noticed that before or during stressful situations like attending an important meeting, an office presentation, an interview or meeting someone special, you tend to experience acid reflux or heartburn which is commonly referred to as acidity. 

Stress or anxiety once in a while does not pose much concern, but stress over a period of time can have deleterious effects on our bodies. And stress is directly correlated to acidity, implying the more stress you take the more you experience the symptoms of acid reflux or heartburn. It’s important to know how stress is related to acidity so that you can manage them both effectively.

Emotional stress can increase acid production in the stomach, aggravating gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In people with GERD, the lower esophageal sphincter muscle (which acts as a door between the stomach and the esophagus) doesn’t work properly stress can increase the heartburn.

Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD(Pediatrics)

What is Acidity?

The food we eat travels from our mouth to the stomach via food pipe or esophagus. The gastric acid produced in your stomach helps in the digestion of food. 

Acidity, also known as acid reflux, occurs when the gastric juices mostly gastric acid from your stomach escape back to the food pipe. When the gastric acid produced in your stomach is present in your food pipe or esophagus, it irritates the lining of the food pipe causing various symptoms like heartburn, nausea, etc.

Common symptoms of acidity include – 

• Indigestion
• Nausea
• Heartburn
• Uneasiness or discomfort on the stomach

When you experience symptoms of acidity more than twice a week, it is called GERD or gastroesophageal reflux Disease. 

What Causes GERD?

Many factors contribute to GERD as mentioned below – 

• Pregnancy
• Obesity 
• Certain medications like painkillers, antibiotics, etc.
• Medical conditions like haital hernia

Nine out of 10 pregnant patients develop symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) by their third trimester. Medications may help control the symptoms and it usually goes away or improves after the delivery.

Dr. Ashish Bajaj, M.B.B.S., M.D. in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

How Does Stress Lead to GERD?

Stress in itself may not cause GERD, but it can aggravate your symptoms and severity.

Stress-related behavioral changes that lead to an increase in GERD symptoms – 

• Smoking
• Alcohol intake
• Excessive caffeine intake in the form of coffee and tea
• Dietary changes like eating oily and spicy foods at irregular timings
• Less physical activity
• Inadequate sleep

Studies show that whenever we are stressed or anxious, we tend to experience more severe symptoms as we become more sensitive to gastric acids. It has to be noted that under stressful or anxious situations, one does not produce more gastric acid but becomes sensitive to even small amounts of gastric acids resulting in symptoms.

No, It’s Not Just in Your Head or Just Your Feeling

Research says that when a person is stressed, a lot of chemical changes happen in the brain, which in turn act on the pain receptors thus making the person more sensitive to pain. In GERD, when under stress a person becomes more sensitive to even a slight increase in gastric acid. 

Stress also depletes a chemical called prostaglandin that helps in protecting your stomach from the ill effects of gastric acid, as a result, you will feel extreme discomfort from gastric acid. 

Stress also alters the way the food pipe or oesophagus works. The muscles of the oesophagus and the sphincter of the oesophagus that prevents the backward flow of stomach acids is reduced thus resulting in symptoms of GERD.

Management of GERD

Even before treating GERD, it is very important to get a proper diagnosis of GERD by your doctor. Management of GERD involves both lifestyle modifications that include stress coping mechanisms and medical treatment with medicines.

Medical Management of GERD

GERD symptoms reduce the quality of life, so it is always better to seek medical treatment. Your doctor upon assessing your condition will prescribe any or a combination of medicines to treat GERD.

• Over the counter, antacids provide quick relief and work by neutralising stomach acids.
• Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like omeprazole, esomeprazole and rabeprazole are stronger than H2 blockers in reducing acid production. PPIs also aid in healing the esophageal lining.

Manage Your Stress

It is important to note that stress not only affects your GERD symptoms but it also affects your overall health as it can cause various diseases of heart, irritable bowel syndrome and increases the risk of stroke. Studies have shown that even under medication for GERD, half of the people still find that stress increases their GERD symptoms. After knowing the science behind stress and its ill effects on your stomach, it is always better to manage your stress to control your GERD symptoms.

Coping Strategies to Manage Stress:

1. Incorporate Exercise to Your Routine

Exercise releases a natural feel-good hormone that in turn makes you feel relaxed and most importantly helps you forget your stressors to some extent.

2. Stay Away from Trigger Foods

For a few people, chocolate may trigger acidity and for others coffee or spicy and oily food. Know your trigger foods that trigger your acidity symptoms and avoid consuming them.

3. Get Enough Sleep

Stress and sleep are interrelated, if you don’t get enough sleep, stress hormones get released thus resulting in stress the next day. So, getting enough sleep must be your first priority as inadequate sleep also aggravates your symptoms.

4. Relaxation Techniques

Try relaxation techniques like yoga, tai chi and meditation. The demands of our daily hectic schedule are bound to drain us. These relaxation techniques help in exhaling negative energy and inhaling positivity while connecting to our inner selves. Relaxing helps in liberating the negative emotions inside you and reduces your stress and anxiety. Make meditation a part of your daily routine to release negativity and focus on things that you associate with calm, peace and happiness.

5. Me Time

Dedicate a part of your day to pursuing your passion, engaging in your hobbies and doing things that bring you comfort and happiness. Modern life and its demands can exhaust us and it is so important to know when to give yourself a break and slow down. Even a small act of self care like taking yourself out for coffee or treating yourself to a movie night can be the solution to your stress. 

6. Talk it Out

Sometimes when the stress of your personal or professional life is weighing you down, it is always a good idea to seek help from your loved ones. Let your guard down, let go of your inhibitions and speak your mind out. Bottling up your emotions will only lead to added stress causing you to break down further. If you don’t want to talk to a known person, you can also opt for professional help. 

7. Positive Self-talk

More often than not we can turn to nobody but ourselves. You are your biggest supporter so it’s important that you treat yourself with compassion and love. Talk to yourself like you would talk to a close friend and instead of being harsh on yourself, understand and evaluate how you are feeling and how you can positively deal with it. Resort to positive affirmations to be kind to yourself. 

8. Acceptance is Key

In most circumstances, life is unpredictable and sometimes the challenges it throws at us is anything but under our control. So, next time when something doesn’t go the way you expected it to go, understand that dwelling on it will only instill more negative emotions in you. Instead, learn to accept change as it comes and look at the brighter side of things.

Also Read: Omee Tablet Uses

Final Takeaway

Even though scientists are still working on the relationship between stress and acidity, it is important to identify and manage both. As both GERD and stress can negatively impact your quality of life along with deleterious effects on your body. You can successfully manage your stress with stress coping strategies but you should visit your doctor for the diagnosis and treatment of GERD.

It is important to note that some symptoms of stress and GERD coincide with chest pain, which is also a major symptom of a heart attack. It is always important to seek the help of a doctor when in doubt rather than self-diagnosing and self-treatment.

Reference:

1.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15184707/#:~:text=Affective%20and%20subjective%20stress%20ratings,depression%20to%20heartburn%20medication%20use.

2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30347938/

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28979749/

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