Worry & Digestion

In the past few weeks, I’ve written about mind and gut connections and the importance of Spleen and Stomach health for our general well-being. This thread of thought continues for me as I look back at the last week of life and reflect on the frequency of worry. I’ve noticed myself worrying and sometimes ruminating on those little puzzles in my life that I haven’t solved yet. For me, this kind of rumination often happens at night, when I instead want to be winding down for the day. Some little unresolved thought snags my mind and gets stuck.

In Chinese medicine, rumination is understood as the depleting practice of getting stuck on a thought and thinking about it many times over without actually making any progress toward the solution. For example, you might have an idea about how to word the difficult thing you need to say to a friend or coworker, and you think about this for a long time. Day after day. Without actually doing it. Just ruminating.

Rumination, or worry, stresses your body and mind, but especially strains your Spleen. Five Element Theory, which I’ve talked about here and here, associates worry with the Spleen and the Earth element. The Earth element is also associated with nourishment, abundance, fertility, and digestive health. Excessive worry can lead to disharmony within the Earth element, particularly of the Spleen, and can result in digestive woes.

Chinese medicine sees digestive health as the foundation of all health. When our digestive system is weakened, so is our immune system and our cognitive clarity. The Spleen is central to digestion, as its key role is to transform and transport the nutrients we eat throughout our bodies.

How do you feel - physically - when you are ruminating a lot in your life? Do you have a tendency to overeat, skip meals, or crave rich food you do not normally eat? Maybe you notice a sick feeling inside, nausea, constipation, gas, bloating, or difficulties with digestion when you are particularly stressed or worried.

I find that this connection between chronic worry and digestive health - especially Spleen health (or Spleen disharmony, rather) - inspires me to tend to my worried mind even more intentionally. My whole health is counting on it and so is yours.

Are you struggling with chronic worry, a ruminating mind, or mysterious digestive issues? You can reply directly to this email or find a time to chat with me about how Chinese medicine might be able to support you. You are also welcome to leave a comment below.

Warmly,

Artemisia

innervillagehealth.com

Schedule a session here

Related Resources

• You might like to try EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) as a possible intervention when you find yourself ruminating. EFT technique makes use of gentle, rhythmic tapping on the body at acupressure points, which are based on the Chinese medicine system of channels and meridians along the body. While tapping, you speak out loud, acknowledging your stress or worry and resolving to let it go. There are lots of different youtube videos and practitioner guides online.

• Consider keeping a worry journal, only for the worries you get hung up on. Write about them there, with as much intensity as you want. Then close the journal and leave them there.

• I also really like to reference The Work of Byron Katie when worries are related to another person. She has a unique way of encouraging us to look at our troubling thoughts and face them with honest reflection.