Anxiety and digestive issues: Why stress affects your gut and how acupuncture can help

Anxiety and digestion are deeply connected—so much so that the gut is often called the “second brain.” If you’ve ever felt nauseous before a big event or had stomach cramps during a stressful time, you’ve experienced this firsthand. But for some, digestive discomfort isn’t just an occasional issue—it’s a chronic part of their anxiety experience.

Let’s explore why anxiety affects digestion, how Chinese Medicine explains it, and how acupuncture can help restore balance to your gut and mind.

The Western medical perspective: The gut-brain connection

Your digestive system and nervous system are closely linked through the vagus nerve, which helps regulate both stress responses and digestion. When anxiety kicks in, it can disrupt digestion in several ways:

• Fight-or-flight mode: Anxiety shifts blood flow away from the digestive organs toward the muscles and brain, making digestion sluggish or erratic.
• Increased gut sensitivity: Stress can make the gut more reactive, triggering bloating, cramping, or diarrhea.
• Microbiome imbalance: Long-term stress may affect gut bacteria, impacting digestion and even mood.
• Acid reflux and nausea: Anxiety may trigger overproduction of stomach acid, leading to heartburn and nausea.

Many people with anxiety experience IBS-like symptoms, where stress worsens bloating, gas, diarrhoea, or constipation.

The Chinese Medicine perspective: When digestion and emotions get stuck

In Chinese Medicine, digestion is governed by the Spleen and Stomach, which transform food into energy (Qi). Stress and worry weaken the Spleen, leading to:

🔸 Bloating and heaviness → Weak Spleen Qi struggles to transform food properly.
🔸 Diarrhoea or loose stools → Spleen Qi sinks, causing weak digestion and assimilation.
🔸 Acid reflux and nausea → Liver Qi stagnation disrupts the Stomach, triggering energy to course upward.
🔸 Constipation → Liver Qi stagnation causes tension in the intestines, slowing movement.

In Chinese medicine, stress-related digestive issues often involve Liver overacting on the Spleen, meaning that emotional tension disrupts digestion.

There may be many other patterns, channels and systems that are involved. Each person is unique, and your acupuncturist will consider the bigger picture when supporting you.

How acupuncture can help with anxiety and digestion

Acupuncture helps digestion by calming the nervous system and restoring balance to the digestive organs. It can:

✅ Regulate gut motility → Helping with constipation or diarrhea
✅ Reduce inflammation → Supporting gut lining health and reducing bloating
✅ Improve vagus nerve function → Helping the body shift into “rest-and-digest” mode
✅ Soothe stomach discomfort → Reducing nausea and acid reflux
✅ Release emotional tension → Helping digestion run smoothly

Common acupuncture points for digestive issues include:

• Stomach 36 (Zusanli) → Strengthens digestion and energy
• Ren 12 (Zhongwan) → Soothes the Stomach and reduces bloating
• Liver 3 (Taichong) → Releases stress and improves gut movement
• Pericardium 6 (Neiguan) → Calms nausea and stress-related gut issues

A Classical Chinese Medicine approach will also look at deeper channel systems and connections.

Struggling with Stress and Digestion? We Can Help.

If anxiety is wreaking havoc on your digestion, acupuncture offers a gentle, natural way to bring your system back into balance. At Village Healing Centre in Curl Curl in the Northern Beaches of Sydney, we’d love to help you rebalance your gut and calm your nervous system—so you can feel more at ease in both body and mind.

📍 Find us in Curl Curl
📞 Call us at (02) 9938 2182
📅 Book your appointment