Note to Self:
This is SO COOL!
Hi, everyone! This post is a little different because it's not really a note to myself. This is a post where I really just want to share a part of my life and my story with all of you!
Over the last few weeks I've been researching and writing a paper (okay, you got me, I wrote the paper in a day haha) about the bidirectional relationship between the gastrointestinal tract and anxiety, and the effect of probiotics on that relationship.
This
topic didn’t just come from some weird obsession I have with stomachs or
psychological disorders (though I think both are fascinating). I chose this
topic because I have struggled with both gastrointestinal issues and anxiety
problems for years. I have what is referred to as a "functional gastrointestinal
disorder." This means that there’s something wrong with the way my body is
working, but there are no clear, structural causes. Basically, no matter how many doctors and specialists I go to, they all
tell me that I’m just fine. In fact, I found the term I used early to define my stomach issues on my own. No doctor ever told me I had a "functional GI disorder," but that is literally what has been happening. The doctors who didn’t tell me I was fine (structurally), decided
that my GI issues must be caused by anxiety. The problem with that idea is I
didn’t feel anxious or stressed at all when this all started. My stomach issues began the summer after 8th grade... what on earth would I have to be that stressed about? School was over, summer was good, I had a great life. It was nearly impossible for me to find
any correlation between the problems in my stomach and stress.
Fast-forward about five years. The GI discomfort continued regularly throughout that time. I found little relief in various prescriptions, but, for the most part, it was something that I had come to think of as just a part of me. At this point, though, I began to develop intense anxiety, which eventually led to full-on panic attacks. People joke about those... like "calm down, don't have a panic attack." Seriously, though... they are no joking matter. My first panic attack TERRIFIED me. I'll never joke about that again. Now, I will admit that this was a much more stressful time in my life. Transitioning to life as an adult, figuring out college, thinking about getting married... they're stressful things. But it troubled me that I was having such intense anxiety and panic attacks when I couldn't remember ever feeling anything near that before.
At this point, my doctors still believed that my GI problems came from my anxiety. It is true that in times when I felt noticeably anxious, I had some GI discomfort. THIS FELT DIFFERENT. It's not something I could easily describe to a doctor (or to anyone) but the stomach pain that came from my anxiety felt completely different from the stomach pain that I had been experiencing for years. Even if my doctors couldn't distinguish between the two, I knew there was a difference.
Fast-forward, again, (about a year) to my Biopsychology class this semester. My professor (love that woman) briefly mentioned that bacteria in the stomach can have an effect on anxiety and then moved onto our next topic. After class I approached her to clarify. I told her about some of my issues and that doctors always told me that my anxiety caused my stomach issues. She told me that's usually true, but that the relationship can go the other way, as well. I was amazed! This suggested that my stomach problems could have actually influenced my anxiety! I decided this relationship would be the perfect topic for my research paper. My professor actually suggested I talk about probiotics as well, and I am so glad she did.
I won't bore you with my actual APA formatted research paper (though, if you're interested, I would be happy to email you a copy), but I would like to briefly summarize all that I've learned.
Typically the relationship has been viewed from a top-down perspective: the idea that our GI tract is influenced by the physical and emotional
stress we are experiencing. This makes sense and is a very real part of the
relationships inside our bodies. However, it says nothing about the other
aspect. The microbiota (bacteria) in the GI tract are actually a crucial part of how the
brain is influenced by the body. This includes the influence on the risk of
disorders such as anxiety.
How exactly does this relationship work? How does the GI tract influence our brain?
Going
back to the top-down perspective, stress can actually influence how permeable
the intestines are. This gives the bacteria access to the peripheral nervous
system. Without going into too much detail, there is a portion of our PNS that is designed to send information about digestive processes to the central nervous system (aka: our brain). The signal sent from the GI tract to the brain influences the neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus and the amygdala, which are both areas involved with processing anxiety-related emotions.
Now, ideally, every relationship in our body exists to serve a purpose. What purpose would this signal serve? The nerves that send this signal are sensitive to dangerous bacteria in our stomach. It sends the signal as a kind of warning. Which, looking from an evolutionary perspective, makes sense! Food poisoning (and other things) can leave an animal (or human) vulnerable so the body needs to warn the brain that it needs to be more cautious (and, in turn, anxious) than normal. Tada! It makes sense.
My
next question had to do with what could be done to influence this relationship so that I could "fix" myself. As my professor hinted, probiotics are the most promising answer. Probiotics work to displace the potentially dangerous bacteria in our GI tract, which makes it of greater benefit to the individual. This also improves mental health because of the signals I talked about earlier!
Studies with mice have shown that probiotic treatment can reverse anxiety-like behavior in mice that have GI inflammation. While there haven't been many human studies yet, the ones that have been done have shown evidence that probiotics do have an anxiolytic effect in humans as well. These findings are promising and could lead to more clinical trials with probiotic treatments in humans. The hope is that the bacteria in the GI tract could be targeted for therapy related to anxiety disorders. A combination of probiotic treatment and traditional therapy could be very beneficial.
So there's what I've learned so far! This has truly been the most interesting research project I've ever done. While I know it's impossible to do a true study on myself, I believe that I have already been applying what I've learned, without even realizing it! Which is so cool! Over the summer I started drinking Greens every day. Since then, I've noticed a decrease in the frequency of my "stomach flare-ups" as I call them, as well as a decrease in my anxiety. Yes, I still get anxious... but I couldn't tell you the last time I had a panic attack. And that is truly amazing. It turns out that Greens are a probiotic. After all the research I've done for this paper, it really makes sense that this drink could have helped me in those areas! Even if I can't count this as "real research," I feel great about it. Anything that can have any effect on all my issues is a life saver to me.
I know that I'm not "cured," but if you could only feel and understand the relief that I have experienced over the last few months! I haven't felt this healthy (both physically and mentally) in a long time and I am so grateful. I plan on researching this topic more, for sure. Maybe I'll even have my GI microbiome tested to see if it really has just been pesky bad bacteria messing with me all this time. Because this is just my hypothesis right now haha Anyway, I'm excited to see where this takes me!
Sorry if you thought that was boring. I just had to share it because I think it is SO COOL! And I just can't stop smiling about the whole thing... so yeah :) I hope you all have a great day!
Again, feel free to message me if you want more of the information that I gathered or the sources that I've been learning from! I'd be happy to talk with you! :)
kenna.m.4life@gmail.com
