Learning to Feel Again
Digesting Your Feelings
For the last ten years, I have been on a journey to unlearn survival skills that no longer serve me. This for me involves not being able to sit still, we called this having ”ants in the pants” in the family. It wasn't until a practitioner asked me, “How long have you had this level of anxiety?” that I realized this inability to sit still was not normal for most people.
Don’t get me wrong, every weakness shares a strength or ability that serves us at some point.
For me, this looked like gymnastics, dance, jumping, soccer, high intensity interval training (HIIT) , all of which served me well in managing my feelings. The problem with this level of movement becoming my normal is that when those things were interrupted, I didn’t know what to do with that anxiety. This crossed into eating issues–bulimia and then drug use to manage the bulimia, and so on and so forth.
🌿 Sitting in Feelings & Digestion: The Mind-Gut Connection
The Gut Feels What the Heart Feels
Your gut has a nervous system (the enteric nervous system) that’s deeply connected to your brain.
When you suppress emotions like anxiety, grief, or anger, your body often expresses it through digestive symptoms like bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or nausea.
Sitting in Your Feelings Can Calm the Gut
Being present with your emotions—naming them, journaling, crying, talking it out—can activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which helps with digestion and absorption. Avoiding or ignoring emotions keeps your body in "fight or flight," which shuts down digestion.
The Body Digests Better in Peace
Calm nervous system = better stomach acid production, enzyme release, and peristalsis (movement of food).
Mindful eating and emotional honesty go hand in hand. You literally digest life better.
Physical Symptoms Are Messages
If your digestion is off, ask yourself:
“What am I not emotionally digesting?”
“Is there something I’m avoiding or need to feel?”
If your digestion has been off for a long time, it will take consistent time to recover. Be gentle with yourself and have realistic expectations.
Set up a FREE introductory call to begin your recovery in strategic steps with me!
Use the link below to schedule a 20 minute chat to discuss your goals and learn how partnering with me will help you achieve them.
Remember we are all BIOINDIVIDUAL, what works for one does not work the same for another.
For more info on packages and classes with Angie’s Real Food look here:
https://angiesrealfood.com/
