Gastrointestinal Diseases and Mental Health

The brain is the most powerful muscle in the human body. It controls everything we do, every breath we take, so it makes sense that it could be related to gastrointestinal issues. The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion, so anger, anxiety, sadness, joy can all trigger stomach issues.

The Investigative Clinical Research Group in Annapolis is dedicated to finding answers to the questions we have about gastrointestinal health. They are passionate about finding and providing the best treatment possible for their patients and everyone involved in their ongoing clinical trials.

The brain has a direct effect on the stomach and intestines. Conversely, the gut can notify the brain know that something is not right, which can affect mental health. So, anxiety can cause an upset stomach, and an upset stomach can result in anxiety. It is a seesaw, going up and down, until one side decides they have had enough, and nobody wants that.

Gastrointestinal issues can appear with no apparent catalyst to ignite them. These are the situations where it has to be taken into consideration that something wrong in the brain is, in fact, the cause of these mysterious symptoms. This is why clinical research studies like the ones done by the ICR Group are absolutely necessary.

It is one of those Razor’s Edge situations where the line between the brain and the gastrointestinal issues is negligible. Understanding how thin this line is the first step. There are times when the stomach will flutter a bit when someone is nervous, the whole “Butterflies” thing.

Some people say a lot that it is all in your head and if you just picture everyone naked in the audience that you will not be so nervous and then the butterflies will fly away. This is not necessarily true. Psychology and physiology go hand and hand, and psychosocial factors can affect movement and contractions in the gastrointestinal tract. The symptoms of IBS are nearly identical to those of anxiety and depression. This may result in an incorrect diagnosis, which leads to an incorrect treatment, and it goes on from there.

Evaluating these symptoms through clinical trials will hopefully help doctors provide more accurate diagnoses in the future. The doctors at the ICR Group are determined to find the right diagnosis, and that is why the work that is being done at the Investigative Clinical Research Group is so important. For more information about ongoing studies, please visit www.icrmd.com.