Why Do We Feel Nauseated and Physically Sick When We Get Bad News?

“What the hell is going on with my stomach?” You may say, but these feelings can be explained by very natural and biological reasons.

When we look scientifically to understand how bad news has physical effects on our body, we encounter very interesting results. Our brain perceives the pain we feel not only as an emotional wound, but also as a physical wound. How?

The brain’s stress response and fight-flight mode

When we receive bad news, the “amygdala” in our brain, which plays a critical role in perceiving fear and threat, is alerted, and when danger or threat is perceived, our body’s ancient fight-flight response is activated.

This reaction causes the secretion of stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol in our body. Hormones also increase our heart rate, stretch our muscles and prepare the body for action.

However, the “threat” we face in our modern life is usually not a physical attack, but an emotional shock. However, the body reacts as if there is a physical danger, and as a result, physical symptoms such as nausea and dizziness occur.

So why is the digestive system affected by this situation?

The increase in stress hormones disrupts the normal functioning of our digestive system, just like everything else. The brain tells the digestive system: “Now is not the time to digest food!” It sends the signal and slows down digestion.

Stomach acids increase and sometimes a feeling of butterflies in the stomach occurs or causes cramps. That’s why you get that weird feeling in your stomach when you get bad news.

Our brain perceives pain as a real physical injury.

Our brains aren’t actually very good at distinguishing between physical pain and emotional pain. Research shows that the parts of the brain that process physical pain also become active when we feel emotional pain.

Therefore, when you lose a loved one or learn that a job has gone badly, your brain perceives this situation as a physical injury and creates discomfort in the body.

How can we cope?

So, is it possible to avoid these symptoms? Difficult, if not completely impossible. It can be useful to try calming methods such as meditation and breathing exercises to manage the body’s reaction. Social activities, such as talking with friends or taking up a hobby, also help the brain cope with stress more healthily.

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