Gut feelings – your second brain

Have you ever “gone with your gut” to make a decision or felt “butterflies in your stomach” when you’re anxious? These gut feelings are signals from your second brain. Hidden in the walls of the digestive system, this “brain in your gut” is revolutionizing medicine’s understanding of the links between digestion, mood, health and even the way you think.

Scientists call this gut brain the enteric nervous system (ENS). The ENS is two thin layers of more than 100 million nerve cells lining your gastrointestinal tract from esophagus to rectum.

The ENS may trigger big emotional shifts experienced by people coping with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional bowel problems such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, pain and stomach upset. For decades, researchers and doctors thought that anxiety and depression contributed to these problems. But studies show that it may also be the other way around. Researchers are finding evidence that irritation in the gastrointestinal system may send signals to the central nervous system (CNS) that trigger mood changes.

If you are suffering with IBS or other digestive issues, mindfulness hypnosis can help you to control your thoughts and your emotions and improve your health.

Gut Feelings–the “Second Brain”
in Our Gastrointestinal Systems

A primal connection exists between our brain and our gut. We often talk about a “gut feeling” when we meet someone for the first time. We’re told to “trust our gut instinct” when making a difficult decision or that it’s “gut check time” when faced with a situation that tests our nerve and determination. This mind-gut connection is not just metaphorical. Our brain and gut are connected by an extensive network of neurons and a highway of chemicals and hormones that constantly provide feedback about how hungry we are, whether or not we’re experiencing stress, or if we’ve ingested a disease-causing microbe. This information superhighway is called the brain-gut axis and it provides constant updates on the state of affairs at your two ends. That sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach after looking at your postholiday credit card bill is a vivid example of the brain-gut connection at work. You’re stressed and your gut knows it—immediately.

Read Gut Feelings–the “Second Brain”
in Our Gastrointestinal Systems

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Read The Brain-Gut Connection

Mindfulness hypnosis can help you to be in control of your thoughts and your emotions. You can learn hypnosis to improve your mood, improve your digestion and improve your health.

Check out Seattle Hypnosis with Roger Moore and call (206) 903-1232 or email for your free consultation.

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