I’ve always known there was a connection between my physical state and my mental state. This was most obvious whenever I had a big test or presentation in school: my digestive system would tell me. I don’t want to go into too much detail, but in my family, we always knew that if someone had a nerve-wracking performance coming up, they could most likely be found in the bathroom some time before the big event. Sometimes I’ve appreciated this because I haven’t actually felt the nervousness or stress as an emotion. I’ve wondered if it somehow that nervous energy gets channeled into my stomach or how my body is processing its food. It’s hard to know exactly how that connection works, but a recent study shows some evidence behind this mind body connection ― and how talk therapy (a behavioral and cognitive activity) can help reduce what’s going on in the stomach.

The study was done by researchers at Emma Children’s Hospital Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam, Holland. They randomly assigned children, ages 7 to 18, to talk therapy sessions or to meet weekly with a pediatrician. The children who went to therapy were treated with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) that was tailored to the needs of each child. Techniques included relaxation exercises and strategies to distract kids from stomach pain or change the way they thought about their pain. The children who met with a pediatrician were given information about diet and nutrition and prescribed medication if necessary.

After one year of treatment, both groups noted significant improvement, but it is interesting to note that more children improved via the CBT method than with medication and dietary changes. This is notable because somewhere between 8 and 25 percent of kids suffer from chronic abdominal pain ― pain that does not seem to have any direct medical cause, such as celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease. 

Source: Randomized controlled trial published in Pediatrics Oct. 14, 2013: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/10/09/peds.2013-0242