Nervous Stomach: Symptoms, Feeling, Anxiety, Treatment, And More

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Do You Have a Nervous Stomach?Medically reviewed by Michele Cho-Dorado, M.D. — Written by Adrian White — Updated on March 16, 2023

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Causes
Prevention

In some cases, your stress level can cause symptoms ranging from butterflies to an upset stomach to increased bathroom visits. Treatment can include relaxation techniques and herbal remedies.

What is a nervous stomach (and do I have one)?

Having a nervous stomach can be a common occurrence in some people. According to doctors and medical science, however, it isn’t an official or diagnosable condition.

Having a nervous stomach could have to do with your emotional state or mental health, your digestive or gut health, or even a mixture of both. Rarely, it may signal something more serious going on.

Nervous stomach can also just be how your digestive system works naturally during times of stress. As well, it could be just an isolated experience.

Common symptoms of a nervous stomach may include:

“butterflies” in the stomach
tightness, churning, cramping, knots in the stomach
feeling nervous or anxious
shaking, shivering, twitching of muscles
frequent flatulence
stomach upset, nausea, or queasiness
indigestion, or rapid fullness when eating
warmth, fluttering, or bloated feeling in pit of stomach
increased urination and bowel movements

In rare cases, a nervous stomach may strongly affect the bowels. Frequent or uncontrolled urination or bowel movements — and sometimes gagging or vomiting — can be the result of an extreme nervous stomach, but not always.

How do I treat a nervous stomach?

A nervous stomach can often be treated with home and natural remedies, as well as lifestyle changes.

Try herbal remedies

Certain herbs can ease nervous stomach in some people as it’s happening. If you experience nausea or queasiness, ginger root may help. Chew a piece of root, drink ginger tea, eat ginger candy, or sip some ginger ale with real ginger in it for benefit.

Other herbs, like spearmint, peppermint, lavender, or lemon balm, are also well-known antispasmodics: They may stop spasms and tightening of smooth muscle that cause stomach butterflies, flatulence, cramps, and upset. Eat a raw leaf or two from a live plant, pop a mint that contains real mint ingredients, or enjoy these herbs in a tea.

Avoid caffeine, especially coffee

The caffeine content of coffee can fuel nervousness and anxiety, making it worse. What’s more, coffee also stimulates the bowels, worsening bowel symptoms.

Wait to drink coffee until your nervous bowels calm down. Or try less stimulating caffeine drinks like green tea or oolong tea.

Practice deep breathing, mindfulness, and meditation

Mental exercises help you focus on your breath and bring you back to the present moment. This can manage stress and anxiety that cause a nervous stomach. Deep breaths can be especially helpful.

If you like meditation or have any other mental tricks that calm you down, give them a try.

Try calming diffuser oils or incenses

Herbal incenses, or essential oils used as aromatic diffusers, have been known to help some people with anxiety.

Purchase products with calming herbs like chamomile, lavender, vetiver, or rose. Follow the product’s directions. Combine this with some relaxing time and space for yourself when dealing with a nervous stomach.

Find space for yourself to relax

Ultimately, find time and space for yourself to clear your head and take control of your nervousness, even if it must be total alone time. Don’t be afraid to excuse yourself, even from an important event.

If talking to a friend, family member, or loved one helps, do so during this time. Talking with someone you trust can help you overcome anxiety.

Why do I have a nervous stomach?

Most likely, you’ll get a nervous stomach because you’re simply nervous. It can happen to anyone.

The brain and gut are connected via the vagus nerve, one of the largest nerves in the body. This nerve sends signals from the brain to gut and vice versa, increasing digestive irritability and irregularity when stress and anxiety occurs.

If you have symptoms of a nervous stomach on a regular basis and especially if your symptoms are progressively getting worse, you may need to give more attention to your stress levels and digestive health.

In rare instances, nervous stomach may signal an underlying health problem. If nervous stomach is a common experience for you, check in with your doctor.

They will help rule out other issues that may be affecting your stomach, such as:

irritable bowel syndrome
peptic ulcer disease
inflammatory bowel disease
celiac disease
anxiety disorder

In even rarer instances, nervous stomach may be related to gallstones or vagus nerve damage.

Otherwise, nervous stomach is a completely normal occurrence that is easily managed.

How can I prevent a nervous stomach in the future?

Certain treatments are a quick fix for a nervous stomach. However, if it’s a common and troublesome occurrence, here’s some more holistic lifestyle approaches that may be helpful.

Manage stress in your life

A nervous stomach could mean that you’re simply in a nervous state. Are you undergoing a lot of stress lately? Do you have a big event, job interview, or nerve-wracking experience coming up? You could just be nervous about it, and it will pass.

If you’re dealing with chronic stressful experiences and a lot of nervous stomach symptoms every day, on the other hand, finding time and ways to manage that stress is essential. Your nervous stomach could then subside.

Improve gut health

A nervous stomach could be an indicator that you have a digestive condition. It could also mean both stress levels and digestive health need improving. Dealing with lots of indigestion, bloating, and fullness with nervous stomach are strong signs of this.

Try simple changes to your diet like eating more fiber- and probiotic-rich foods, or take fiber or probiotic supplements. Preliminary studies on mice like this one from 2011 have shown that probiotics may help ease anxiety with gut symptoms, via action on the vagus nerve.

Talk to your doctor before making major diet changes and taking supplements — especially if you take medications.

Switch up meals

Try eating smaller meals instead of big ones. Your digestion may be impeded, which could be causing your nervous stomach. It helps to eat smaller, lighter meals with easy-to-digest foods when dealing with stomach butterflies. You can also try eating more frequent meals and snacks on the lighter end, instead of three heavy meals each day.

Leafy, bitter greens like kale, spinach, and lettuce in salads are especially recommended.

Try exercising more

Finding a physical outlet for stress and anxiety may reduce its negative impact on the digestive system. Exercise and physical activity, like yoga, could be helpful.

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesHistoryHealthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

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Medically reviewed by Michele Cho-Dorado, M.D. — Written by Adrian White — Updated on March 16, 2023

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