Does this freak you out, too?

[kaiilyn_23]

When your stomach makes noises? When my stomach makes weird noises I get super paranoid that it means something's wrong... because stupid Cougar Town.. yeah I was watching, then guys stomach made a rumbly noise & then you know. That actually scared me pretty bad & now I'm really afraid whenever my stomach makes noises. Is it just me?

[paulinek]

No it doesn't bother me, my stomach makes weird noises all the time, it's just the natural digestive process. I've never seen cougar town but i'm guessing someones stomach rumbles then they were sick?? If so, i wouldn't pay any attention to the stomach rumbling - alot of medical type things on TV aren't particularly accurate and are just done for effect (remember the episode of neighbours years ago where daphne gave birth in her tights?!) My stomach didn't make any funny noises the last time i was ill.

[turbokinetic]

Kaiilin23;

I was terrified of my belly sounds at the worst part of my phobia. My stomach is very loud and active for some reason. That's just the way I'm built.

I had seen things on TV and read stuff about all the terrible ways things go WRONG with one's stomach and every time I heard sounds from my belly, a wave of anxiety would follow. "This has got to be what I just saw on TV! It's happening to me now!"

Once I made the decision to GET PAST emetophbia, I began to read more about how things are SUPPOSED to work inside me. As I gained an understanding of how all the parts of my body relate and work together, all the sounds and feelings inside fell into place. I was sensing my own body doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

I've posted about this before because it's one of the things I still think about alot. I still have the awareness even though I feel 'recovered' as an emetophobic.

My mind has turned this around completely. Now I don't feel anxiety from belly sounds. Instead I have a feeling of peace and warmth. Those sounds represent all the good nutrition soaking into my system from my food. It's the sound of my stomach doing it's favorite thing to do. Sometimes when I'm resting I really hear it because there's no other movement to cover the sound. Without thinking I rest my hand on my belly and feel its gentle motion. Stress leaves me and I become still and for a few minutes, nothing matters but the comfortable, warm life energy inside me.

Hope you can relate to this, it's meant to be completely positive.

Sincerely,
David

[Lieke]

I also feel very uncomfortable whenever my stomach is being noisy. My boyfriend usually tells me it's my stomach being happy

But, question for David, why does it make so much noise? and why is it worse at some times?

[turbokinetic]

...My boyfriend usually tells me it's my stomach being happy ....

He's right! I bet it makes him feel good to listen to it.

Why does it do this? Get ready for a biology lesson! As your food digests, it doesn't just push through constantly going from one end to the other. To maximize the amount of nutrients that your body soaks in, it constantly keeps your food moving. Every last bit of it gets to touch your intestine's lining as much as possible. That lining is like a soft absorbent sponge that soaks in the good things in your food. Your small intestine divides the food into many small separate segments. It constantly moves and pushes the food back and forth between these segments. Only a small amount moves "down" at a time, but it is constantly moving back and forth at all times.

Now about the noises? The only one reason you can HEAR this happening is because there are bubbles of air mixed with your food. As the segments of food are moving around, the air bubbles are moving around with them. It is these bubbles that you hear and feel.

When you swallow air but don't burp it out, the air gets pushed down into your intestine and then you are set for a lot of belly sounds. We all swallow air, and some foods create gases as they digest. It is totally unavoidable.

Your stomach rests when it hasn't had food in several hours. While it's resting, air can get trapped in larger than normal amounts. Then when you start to eat, your system fills its self with food and begins to digest it. All that air breaks up into many bubbles all at once and that gives you a huge amount of noises! Next time you go for a long time with little or no food, be aware of this when you start to eat again. Usually I get about 5 minutes into my meal when it starts. It's pure happiness.

The thinner your belly is, the more you will hear. This is because thin people have less insulating the sounds in their belly from the outside world. Those of us with a flat belly have just a layer of muscle between their inner workings and the outside world.

I took a fair bit of biology in school and as you may tell from my posts; it's fascinating to me. The more I learned about how I'm put together - the better I felt about myself and the less I worried about things.

Hope this was helpful and not gross or disturbing. The only way to explain what you asked was to break it down into its basics!

Peace,
David

[Rebecca85]

I think it's funny when my tummy makes noises. If I put my hand on my abdomen, I can also feel bubbles moving around in there! My tummy makes both happy and sad noises.

[Lieke]

David, thank you so much! specially the part about the air building up when you haven;t eaten for a while, because thats the worst part for me, eating when I'm really hungry followed by those noises.

i have to read it a couple of more times, and then try to give it a positive connotation, I just want to be friends with my stomach.

[turbokinetic]

I think it's funny when my tummy makes noises. If I put my hand on my abdomen, I can also feel bubbles moving around in there! My tummy makes both happy and sad noises.

Yes mine too! Most of them are happy, though. Thank goodness!

I can hear someone else's belly sounds and my mind remembers what mine feels like when it makes that noise.

Peace,
David

[turbokinetic]

David, thank you so much! specially the part about the air building up when you haven;t eaten for a while, because thats the worst part for me, eating when I'm really hungry followed by those noises.......

LOL! Some days when I have been too busy to eat lunch, I know what to expect at dinner. It's something I look forward to, actually. It represents a need being filled within me. Think about the sense of well being you get when you eat well. It's rewarding to eat good food, it brings you strength and health; and the sounds your belly makes digesting should just remind you of this.

David

[emmalinda]

This reminds of whenever i go to a quiet place where theres people around, like to the movies, or to get my eyebrows waxed, or my hair done where it makes the loudest noises ever!!! so embarressing. Lying in bed is when you can mainly hear it the most though. Its like your tummy is talking to you !!

[Rebecca85]

Am I the only person that talks back? Lol

[emmalinda]

my tummy kept interrupting me when i was talking to my friend until i finally told it to shutup. and would you believe it, it did *-*

[turbokinetic]

Am I the only person that talks back? Lol

Lol that's good!

I don't know how; but mine can indeed hear. Otherwise, how would it know the room was DEAD SILENT. That's when it always explodes in a loud cacophony of growling, bubbling and rumbling!

Never fails when the instructor in class is about to make a pause for "effect" to let a profound point sink into the students - I feel it building up... Then about 3 seconds into the pause it cuts loose!

David

[Pinkone]

Tummy rumbles dont bother me its more dizziness, and nausea. Sorry bout that for you though...

[prettyfish13]

Normally it doesn't, but I had a s*v* last week, bad things happened, and the whole time my stomach was gurgling. Now I'm scared stiff everytime it makes so much as a peep. *sigh* Like I needed one more thing to worry about.

[hairyfairy]

The last time I had a SV, when I was 7, my stomach was making a racket, so I do get anxious sometimes if it seems to be making more noise than usual, especially if there`s a bug doing the rounds. As a rule it`s just hunger.

[Julia31]

The last time I had the flu my stomach was making noises so yes that does freak me out. Normally though it's just gas and I've stressed myself out for nothing LOL Funny how the mind can play tricks on you. It also happens when I'm hungry and then I'm scared to eat for fear that it's not really hunger. Why in the world do you get so hungry before the flu anyways? What a cruel thing for the body to do to you.

[McMorbid]

Actually, at times, yes.
Sometimes (mostly after eating something) my stomach will begin to gurgle. It will keep on gurgling for a while until the nausea sets it. So, whenever it begins to gurgle, I become somewhat frightened. Like most things with emetophobia, I believe this is another symptom that you have to conquor with mental power; having to assure yourself that you're fine.
I really do hope you can overcome it soon!

[Abbi.P]

Television always seems to mess with us! I was watching an episode of Two and a Half Men, and they all got stomach bugs. And one of the characters said he felt pressure in his years, then, well, you know. And then he said it was all better. So now every time my ears pop and feel pressure, I get nervous.