Many years ago, when I went through my own burnout journey, I had a lot of gut symptoms and often walked around looking like I was 6 months pregnant.

No matter what I did (supplements, probiotics, enzymes, or restrictive diets) nothing seemed to help. 

I went for a food intolerance test and the practitioner told me, “I’ve never seen someone react to so many foods.” 

The only things that didn’t give me a reaction were meat and fish. That was it.

For five years, I couldn’t understand why my gut wasn’t healing even though I was doing “everything right”.

But the week I ended a stressful relationship, all my gut symptoms disappeared almost overnight and I went from avoiding everything to being able to eat pasta and bread again with no issues whatsoever.

👉 I finally realized my gut issues had less to do with my diet and more to do with how much stress I’d been under.

Here’s why: If your body is stuck in fight-or-flight mode, no amount of supplements or diet changes will fully heal your gut.

Your stress hormones play a huge role in gut healing – and now it’s one of the first things I look at when I work with clients who are struggling with chronic gut symptoms.

(If you want to find out how I help my clients heal their chronic gut issues even after years of doing all the right things – click here to sign up for my next masterclass. I’m sharing the entire plan for free).

Why reducing stress hormones is the first step to healing your gut
When your body is constantly in fight-or-flight mode, it can't focus on healing. 

Even if you’re taking the best supplements or following a strict diet, your system is over-revved. The cortisol (stress hormone) is too high, and it stops your gut from entering the healing state it needs to repair.

That’s why the first step is to reduce your stress hormones. This doesn’t necessarily mean leaving your relationship, like I did. 

You can start with small changes, like cutting back on caffeine, making sure you get to bed earlier, and eating foods that keep your blood sugar stable throughout the day.

How your mind creates a cycle of gut symptoms
When you're dealing with chronic gut issues, it’s easy to become hyper-aware of every symptom. 

You find yourself constantly thinking, “Is it better today? Is it worse?” Or you start obsessing over what you can and can’t eat, wondering why nothing is working.

But this mental stress keeps your body in fight-or-flight mode, which is what’s making your gut symptoms worse. 

It's a vicious cycle – your mind gets stuck in the stress, which triggers your gut to react, and then your gut symptoms cause even more stress.

Learning how to stop this mental cycle is key to breaking free from chronic gut issues.

The gut-brain connection: why your stress is literally inflaming your gut
The gut and brain are connected by something called the gut-brain axis. This means that when your mind is stressed, your gut feels it too. 

In fact, chronic stress CREATES inflammation in your gut (and everywhere else in your body) and that inflammation can lead to conditions like leaky gut, food intolerances, and more.

When you reduce mental stress, you not only calm your mind, but you also take a huge load off your gut, allowing it to heal.