Calm a Nervous Stomach

Being nervous is never fun or easy. You may feel your heart beating fast, your palms sweating, and experience a churning, cramping nervous stomach. Some people only experience these symptoms when they’re giving a presentation or are especially stressed out, but others are overcome with nerves from common, everyday activities. Regardless of when these symptoms arise, learning how to manage your anxiety and calm a nervous stomach can help you conquer your nerves.

Steps

Managing External Causes

1. Assess your nerves. In order to know how to best calm your nervous stomach, it is a good idea to evaluate your symptoms. This will help you understand what kind of nervous stomach you have and focus on finding the best ways to calm yourself down. The most common nervous stomach symptoms include:
   • Feeling a knot in the pit of your stomach.
   • A fluttering, butterfly feeling.
   • A rolling, churning feeling.
   • Feeling nauseous, queasy, or bloated.
   • A tight, warm feeling in your stomach.
2. Rehearse beforehand. Sometimes you can relieve some nerves by simply feeling more confident in a given situation. Whether you are giving a presentation, going on a first date, or interviewing for a job, practicing beforehand can you feel less anxious. Try to imagine the situation you are nervous about and see yourself successfully and confidently meeting your goals. Do some research so that you feel knowledgeable about the topic, and be sure to go over any talking points you have. Just don't plan everything super specifically as this will give you even more to worry about.
3. Talk positively to yourself. Before an activity that gives you a nervous stomach, many people also experience racing thoughts. These thoughts are usually negative and only cause even more anxiety and cramping. Stopping these thoughts completely with techniques like meditation can take a lot of time to master. A quick, effective fix for racing, negative thoughts is to turn them into positive affirmations. For example, try repeating to yourself:
   • “I am enough and I can handle this."
   • “I am the best candidate for this job. I am qualified and professional.”
   • “I want to succeed, and I am going to succeed.”
4. Don’t rush. Feeling rushed will only make you feel more panicked and anxious. If you give yourself enough time to gather your materials and get to a place early, this can help you feel on top of things and in control. This extra time will also give you longer to calm down and use the restroom, which will help your nervous stomach. Just keep in mind that if you get to a place more than 15 minutes early, you should plan on waiting outside the venue because arriving too early can be an inconvenience.
5. Avoid caffeine. Caffeine is a type of stimulant and will amplify the effects of adrenaline in a stressful situation, as it activates your sympathetic nerve system and can induce a "fight-or-flight" response. Certain sources of caffeine, like coffee and energy drinks, are also known to cause stomach irritation. Cutting back on caffeine before any stressful situation will not only put less stress on your nervous stomach, it will also help to eliminate any nervous adrenaline jitters. Try drinking an ice-cold glass of water instead; ice water will help you feel refreshed, wake you up, and keep you hydrated.

Managing Your Nervous Stomach

1. Learn some breathing techniques. Focusing on your breathing and taking deep, relaxing breaths is one of the easiest ways to calm a nervous stomach. Most people, when they are nervous, have a tendency to take shallow, rapid breaths that speed up your heart rate even more, pumping more adrenaline to your body and fueling your anxiety. Learning to calm your breathing will help you breathe more efficiently, reduce the effects of adrenaline, and calm your nervous stomach.
   • Try breathing in through your nose, then exhaling through your mouth.
2. Use Use Aromatherapy for Relaxation. Aromatherapy uses essential oils, which are derived from various herbs, fruits, bark, and flowers, to positively affect your mood. Lavender and lemon are two of the most popular oils used for relaxation and stress relief. You can either keep these scented oils in burners throughout your house, or you can also purchase aromatherapy massage oils with lavender or lemon for personal use. You can either take light sniffs of the oil or apply the oil to pulse points on your body, like the wrists.
3. Eat foods that calm the stomach. To help offset a nervous stomach, there are specific foods that contain enzymes and other properties that can relax the digestive tract. If you are really nauseous and don’t feel like eating at all, seek these ingredients out in the form of a mint or lozenge so you can just let it melt in your mouth:
   • Honey is soothing and helps coat the stomach lining.
   • Mint and peppermint, which contain properties that relax smooth muscles like the stomach.
   • Ginger and candied ginger, which contain pyrochemicals that help fight nausea.
   • 1 teaspoon of baking soda dissolved into 1 cup of hot water. The sodium in baking soda draws out digestive juices into the stomach, which then aids food’s passage through the small intestine.
   • Papaya, which contains protein digestive enzymes that have anti-inflammatory properties.
4. Try to relax your body one part at a time. This is also known as progressive muscle relaxation. When you are feeling tense and your stomach is in a knot, try standing still with your eyes closed. Assess where you feel the most tension in your body, and focus on letting this tension go. Take deep breaths as you relax your arms, your legs, your back, your neck, your torso, and your stomach. Focusing on your body instead of your thoughts can help calm you down. Doing this technique repeatedly can also trick the body into releasing this tension throughout the body, including the stomach.
5. Treat your symptoms with medicine. While you never want to take medicine if you can avoid it, sometimes a nervous stomach can be so extreme or persistent that it becomes necessary. If the non-medicinal techniques aren’t working for you, there are some medications that can help calm the stomach. Common over-the-counter examples include:
   • Tums
   • Pepto-Bismol
   • Rolaids
   • Alka-Seltzer
   • Emetrol
   • Mylanta
   • Similac

Tips

• If you continue to suffer from a nervous stomach despite utilizing the techniques here or taking over-the-counter medication, visit a doctor to rule out a physical cause like bacteria, acid reflux, lactose intolerance, or irritable bowel syndrome.
• Try talking to someone about what causes your nervous stomach. Reach out to a therapist, a family member, a trusted friend, or a significant other. They might be able to come up with some ideas to help with your nerves, and just opening up about your worries can make you feel more relieved.
• If it is a problem that you can't solve at the moment, picture yourself solving it with a positive outcome.

Warnings

• Be sure to read the labels of any medication you take, even over-the-counter medication, and follow all directions. Always follow the directions, even if you think you know better.

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Sources and Citations

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