Back in the 1800s, there was a guy named Alexis St. Martin. He worked at a fur trading post. One day, he got shot in the stomach by accident. He didn’t die, but he ended up with a permanent hole in his stomach. This accident showed doctors something really interesting: our feelings can actually change how our stomachs work.
A doctor named William Beaumont did some experiments with St. Martin. He found out that when St. Martin felt annoyed or upset, his digestion would slow down. It was as if St. Martin’s feelings were directly talking to his stomach.
When Your Emotions Play Tug-of-War with Your Stomach
Think about how you feel when you’re super nervous, like before a big test. Maybe your stomach starts to feel funny, or you can’t even think about eating. Or when you’re really sad, and you either can’t eat at all or you just want to eat everything in sight. People with certain mental health issues often feel these stomach problems too. It turns out, a lot of the feelings we have are connected to our stomachs.
