The feeling of butterflies fluttering in your stomach is common if you are an avid anxiety sufferer. You may experience it often before going for an interview or before a big event in your life. It is a type of palpitation or spasms in the stomach which may not be serious issue in most cases. It is just a mild nuisance and discomfort that you have to bear with. Actually it is a response of your body to some stressful situation.
Stomach flutters are short lived and they disappear soon; however such episodes may recur from time to time.
Finding the underlying cause is important especially when twitches and jerks in the stomach persist repeatedly, as this may distract your attention and hamper your routine activities. Once you know the reason, it becomes easy for you to control and treat them.
What Causes Fluttering In Stomach?
- Emotional upsets: Anxiety and fear are leading causes for the jumpy feeling in the stomach which we often refer as flutter. Fear and anxiety can express itself into physical symptoms. The body responds to such situation by releasing hormones adrenaline and cortisol.They interact with different organs including stomach. The smooth muscles of stomach may go into spasm giving rise to what you experience as butterflies in the stomach. Besides, there is decrease in blood circulation as well as secretion of acid in the stomach.
- Pregnancy: Fluttering sensation in stomach and abdomen is common among pregnant women. The movement of fetus is often responsible for flutters. It may begin as early as 13 weeks of pregnancy when the fetus reacts to external noises or even when he hiccups.
- Indigestion: Indigestion often produces gasses in stomach. It can irritate the vagus nerve which innervates stomach as well as the heart. Therefore irritation of vagus nerve can cause palpitation in heart and stomach.
- Starvation: Stomach secretes juices for digestion of food. However, the juices and enzymes may cause harm to the stomach wall and irritate the lining of stomach when you do not eat food or starve for a long time.
How To Stop Fluttering In Stomach?
In most cases fluttering in stomach is temporary and subsides on its own. There is no need for any medicine to treat the condition.
In few situations such as in pregnancy, the woman has to bear with it. She has to get mentally prepared as the kicks and movements of baby are going to increase as pregnancy progresses. Most of the woman after a period of time may not feel it as discomfort; rather they enjoy the kicks and fluttering sensation.
If anxiety and fear frequently cause gastric disturbance and flutters, finding ways to reduce anxiety often relieves fluttering in stomach. Change in lifestyle, meditation, yoga, are often helpful in reducing repeated flutters.
Eat healthy diet which does not produce gas and indigestion. Avoid too much of caffeine containing products. Avoid excess of tea and coffee.