The hidden connection between stress and digestive problems
By Marina Rodríguez Conesa · 13 noviembre 2025
Before I tell you what this is about stress and digestive problems, I introduce myself. I am Marina Rodríguez, a psychologist specializing in digestive pathologies in Malaga.
This specialism did not begin in a classroom, but in my own experience as a patient with these conditions – SIBO, histamine-related problems and intolerances – and in my professional experience helping others manage health problems.
For years I have focused my work on people who suffer from bad digestions because I know the frustration of finding you really wrong and that the tests go well, not feeling listened to or seeing that your efforts do not work.
Your nervous system and your emotions have a lot to say here. If you don't attend to them, you leave out a part of the factors that influence those difficult digestions.
The Mystery of the “Second Brain”
Everyday symptoms such as bloating after eating, diarrhoea or constipation, gas, abdominal discomfort or reflux have come to be seen as normal, even though they may indicate that something is not working as it should.
The tissues that will form the nervous system and digestive system are born from the same place and develop in parallel. That's why there are neurons in the digestive tract and the intestine is referred to as our "second brain".
Brain and intestine communicate, among other ways, through the vagus nerve. And communication is not unidirectional: information also travels from the digestive system to the nervous system. Emotions have expression in the organism, although we do not always notice it.
When alert mode slows digestion
Stress is a normal physiological response to challenging stimuli. A little activation can be natural and useful, but if it stays in time the body wears out.
When we are stressed, a mode of alertness is activated that slows down processes such as digestion, tissue repair or rest. It is sometimes necessary; daily it prevents the body from functioning normally.
The motor migration complex, SIBO and dysbiosis
Prolonged stress can affect bowel movements that clean the intestine between meals. If this cleaning stops, substances that may favor the overgrowth of bacteria accumulate.
Associated diagnoses include dysbiosis, different types of bacterial overgrowth, Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome and intolerances.
If you have one of these diagnoses, it is important to understand the role that sustained alertness can play.
Stress, worries and psychological help
We often imagine stress as something far away or extreme. However, much is born of how we perceive the everyday and the interpretation that we do of what happens to us.
Daily concern, sustained alertness and alteration of digestive functioning can form a circle. Asking you how you're reacting to stress is a good starting point for breaking it.
Attending to digestive well-being also involves listening to the mind and nervous system. A specialist professional can help you understand the pattern and make changes tailored to your case.
