By Deborah Bamisaye
“How can you be blaming me for causing it? Are you trying to say, I don’t love myself? Make it make sense now!”
I know! You don’t have to tell me! Yes, it can be uncomfortable to acknowledge that our habits may contribute to digestive discomfort. But this recognition is empowering, you don’t blame yourself, just learn to do things better.
Bloating and constipation are so common that many people quietly accept them as normal. A tight abdomen after meals; skipping bowel movements for days; the uncomfortable heaviness that seems to come and go without explanation: For some, these symptoms have become routine – managed with quick remedies, ignored, or simply endured.
You and I understand the modern lifestyle now; you already know the ‘I don’t have time…’ phrase in almost everybody’s mouth. This causes:
1. Eating quickly or while distracted or doing other things alongside.
2. Taking low-fiber, highly processed diets.
3. Dehydration masked by caffeine intakes.
4. Chronic stress with minimal recovery
5. Prolonged sitting
6. Suppressing bodily urges due to busy schedules. You know now!
These behaviors don’t immediately cause dysfunction. Instead, they subtly influence gut motility, microbiome diversity, muscle coordination, and nervous system tone.
So, you see, bloating and constipation can be viewed as adaptive responses – the body adjusting to repeated inputs.
Let’s learn more!
The Gut–Brain Connection
Do you know that the digestive system is deeply connected to the nervous system through the gut–brain axis? Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system (“fight or flight”), which slows digestion and alters motility.
Chronic stress can:
i. Slow bowel movements
ii. Increase abdominal sensitivity
iii. Disrupt gut bacteria
iv. Impair coordinated muscle contractions
This explains why bloating and constipation often flare during emotionally demanding periods. Listening to your body means recognizing these patterns instead of overriding them.
The Power of Listening
Listening to the body is not mystical – it is practical.
It involves:
1. Eating slowly and mindfully
2. Drinking adequate water consistently
3. Increasing fiber gradually and appropriately
4. Moving the body daily
5. Responding to natural elimination urges
6. Managing stress through rest, breathwork, or downtime
7. Observing symptom patterns rather than suppressing them immediately.
Often, when we adjust inputs, the body recalibrates. Not every case of bloating or constipation is lifestyle-related. Medical evaluation is important if symptoms are severe, persistent, painful, or accompanied by red flags such as unexplained weight loss or blood in the stool. But for many people, subtle daily shifts restore balance.
Dr. Wale Okediran, writing in the Tribune Online health column, explains that bloating can arise from various causes including gas retention, indigestion, food intolerances, or constipation itself. He advises simple lifestyle measures such as adjusting diet, increasing water intake, and regular exercise; but also underscores that persistent or unexplained bloating may require medical evaluation to rule out more serious underlying issues.
On the ‘Doctors On Air’ health programme, Dr. Ozuomba Sixtus, a consultant family physician and Head of the Family Medicine Department at General Hospital Lagos, discusses how bowel irregularities and bloating affect quality of life, noting that these symptoms are real and significant. He encourages people experiencing ongoing struggles to take their symptoms seriously and seek appropriate guidance.
Health is not just the absence of discomfort; it is alignment between behavior and biology. By paying attention to recurring digestive patterns, we move from reacting to symptoms toward participating in our own regulation.
The gut does not demand perfection. It responds to consistency and when we truly listen, it answers back with balance.
A shift in perspective achieved? You think it’s time to act? Of course! Let’s give it a GO!
English