Being multiply neurodivergent means that I deal with a lot of stressors in my life. And I know I’m not alone. Now that I understand I’m neurodivergent, it’s not just “nerves” that makes my stomach upset and suppresses my appetite. I realize now it’s my “flight” response due to an overwhelming amount of stress. Let’s unpack the connection between your nervous system and your stomach, because GI issues affect a lot of nerodivergent people. They’re pretty common actually.
A regulated nervous system balances rest and digestion with activity and periods of hunger signals that are then sated with food. However for neurodivergent people, especially those of us with autism, ADHD, or both (AuDHD), our nervous systems aren’t always regulated. I’d hazard a guess and say that those with late diagnoses (whatever that means for you), may simply have lived with an uncooperative GI system.
When our nervous system is disregulated, we often have what’s commonly called a “f-response” (fight, flight, freeze, fawn). Knowing what your usual response is can help you connect that to gastric symptoms.
Freeze – This is a shutdown. Your body goes into hibernation mode and stores all the nutrients it receives. Your body releases cortisol, which is a stress hormone and stimulates the appetite.
Fawn – A combination of Flight and Freeze. Your body could follow either model or some combination thereof.
Flight – Your body releases adrenaline, which is an appetite suppressant, and uses stores to “feed” itself.
Flight – Operates very much like Flight.
Put food in a stomach that’s not prepared to digest it such as eating when you’re in flight or flight mode, and your stomach isn’t going to handle it well. This can happen when we try to eat and our sympathetic nervous system is activated.
Anxiety, cPTSD, trauma, all of these can keep our sympathetic nervous system active far longer than the actual event.
So how do we get back to the base line? The first goal should to be regulate your nervous system. Self-soothing behaviors, co-regulation with another person, are all good places to start. If you’re familiar with yoga, meditation, mindfulness, or other techniques, those can help, but trying to start something new when you’re not regulated can be difficult and add to your stress. I’ll talk about that in a future blog or podcast.
One technique I’ve been doing is grounding myself by finding 5 things I can see, 4 things I can touch, 3 things I can hear, 2 things I can smell, and 1 thing I can taste.
How does this work? Let me demonstrate as I’m writing this blog.
From where I’m sitting, I can see…. my cats, the fan, the television, the door, and my partner’s paintings that hang above the tv. I can touch… the cat that’s sleeping between me and the laptop, the laptop keys, my fuzzy blanket, the wall behind me. I can hear…. the ac running, the clack of the laptop keys, my partner running water as he does dishes. I can smell ….. nothing really as my nose is stuffed up from pollen. But I can remember the smell of fresh cut hay and the leather of a tack room, two scents that remind me of horses and things I enjoy. I can taste … the Diet Dr. Pepper I’m drinking.
The important thing about this practice is not to let it stress you out. If you can’t smell/hear/taste the number of things, that’s okay. If you get mixed up on what sense goes with which number, that’s okay too. I try to do them in order of ease, with the most things being the easiest sense to use where I’m at.
How does this affect the GI system? It calms it. It activates your parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). Hopefully it relaxes some muscles, maybe even calms the nerve impulses that create IBS.
Will this cure it? Nope. But it is a tool, one of many to use, to help ease stomach issues that can cause stress and further disregulate our nervous system. And most of all, reassure yourself that whatever your body is feeling, it is a body and it is okay to feel whatever it is. To me, that has the largest regulation factor of them all.