How Stress and Fear Relate to the Gut Symptoms You Experience

Hot mess gut symptoms can be triggered by many things – one of the most common triggers is stress and fear.

And golly, what’s more stressful and fear-inducing than an uncertain future? As humans, we like to be safe. Even if the perceived safety is a delusion, we will do almost anything to keep ourselves feeling safe. When that curtain of delusion is suddenly taken away, and we realize how vulnerable we truly are, it can cause extreme fear and anxiety.

One of those ways that the curtain can get stripped away is whenever the economy slows down. The big “R” word has been thrown around some lately – you know, recession.

If you’re like many people, hearing that word causes your head to start to spin into the “what if” cycle of despair (and your legs to start high tailing it to the nearest bathroom perhaps, if one of your hot mess gut symptoms is urgency and diarrhea). We begin to view our whole situation as something awful happening to us that we are doomed by. Our fear causes us to shrink in and focus inward, instead of outward.

I talk a lot with my clients and audience about becoming the vibrant soul that you were created to be through healing your gut and shifting your perspectives on life. In order to transform into that vibrant soul, one of the things that we have to do is start acting like that version of ourselves now. Let me ask you – whenever you envision that version of yourself, does focusing inward and shrinking back in fear sound like things that version of yourself would be doing?

Probably not.

I recently got some great advice from a mentor of mine, Colin Boyd, who suggested that – instead of viewing this economy as something that is happening to us – what if we thought of it as something that is happening for us? What if this is the set of circumstances you have been waiting for that will propel you toward the growth you’ve been working so hard to accomplish?

Reducing Stress, and In Turn Gut Symptoms, Through Mindset Shifts

Tony Robbins does a great job of breaking this down, too, in a tool he calls 3 Decisions.

1. What will this mean? Will this mean you’re set for failure, or will it mean you’re going to be launching toward the vibrant soul version of yourself? You get to choose!

2. What will be your focus? Stock portfolios, real estate investments, and other assets may reduce in value during the (historically, relatively short) duration of the recession. Your skills that you were gifted with and have worked to cultivate are the only thing that cannot be taken away from you or reduced in value – so they become your most valuable asset. If you use your skills and expand out of fear and into faith and focus on others, you have an opportunity to lead others through their fear. How cool is that!

Your gut health is actually a skill that you can (and actually need!) to hone and improve during this time also. If you struggle with a hot mess gut, we already know it reduces your impact in your life and the lives of others. Improving your gut health right now is something you need to lean into and focus on, for several reasons:

• Healing your hot mess gut will increase what you’re physically able to handle at work or home.
• When you improve your gut health, your mental health also improves via the gut-brain axis.
• The mindset coaching I include in my signature program, Gut Rehab, is a key ingredient in transforming from Hot Mess Gut to Vibrant Soul – and will not only help heal your gut, it’ll also shift your perspectives in other aspects of your life.

3. What will you decide? Will you focus on the opportunity in these circumstances, or will you fold and be the victim?

Think for a moment about yourself 4 years from now. What will you be like? Will you look back on this moment and realize that this was the beginning of the most transformational time in your life? Decide and commit to that decision right now that today you are going to start doing what it takes to make that a reality.

Next Steps

If one of those steps for you is to take action on healing your gut and shifting your perspective, I invite you to schedule a Nourished Clarity Call with me by clicking here.

We don’t always know what the entire journey will look like, but we know what the first steps in front of us look like. Commit to taking those steps, and you’ll be amazed at where you’re at a short while from now.