Can anxiety and depression cause gastrointestinal dysfunction?
Nov 14, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Yang Ziqi
Introduction
In general, anxiety and depression may cause gastrointestinal dysfunction, but the severity varies among individuals. Daily care should focus on maintaining emotional stability, and stress can be relieved through listening to soothing music, taking walks, or talking with others. Diet-wise, choose light and easily digestible foods, eat regularly, avoid overeating, and limit raw, cold, spicy, greasy, and other irritating foods.
Generally, anxiety and depression may cause gastrointestinal dysfunction, but the severity varies among individuals. The detailed analysis is as follows:
Under conditions of anxiety or depression, emotions can affect gastrointestinal function through the nervous and endocrine systems. Prolonged anxiety or depression may disrupt the neural regulation of the gastrointestinal tract, leading to abnormal gastrointestinal motility and imbalanced secretion of digestive fluids. This can result in discomfort such as bloating, abdominal pain, acid reflux, belching, loss of appetite, or alternating diarrhea and constipation—common manifestations of emotionally induced gastrointestinal dysfunction. Fluctuations in mood often exacerbate or trigger recurrence of these symptoms.
In daily care, it's important to maintain emotional stability and relieve stress through methods such as listening to soothing music, taking walks, or talking with others. Diet-wise, choose light, easily digestible foods, eat regularly, avoid overeating, and reduce intake of raw, cold, spicy, greasy, and other irritating foods. Maintain a healthy sleep schedule, avoid staying up late, and ensure sufficient sleep. Engage in light physical activity after meals to promote gastrointestinal motility. If gastrointestinal discomfort occurs frequently or worsens, promptly adjust your emotional state and seek professional help when necessary, addressing both emotional regulation and gastrointestinal care.
