Hi. It’s Jenny at AnxietyBoss.com. Our question today is from Pat in San Antonio. Can anxiety cause belching and gas? Most of the health problems of the 21st Century are attributed to two things, excessive anxiety and bad eating habits. Anxiety is the number one risk factor for major disease development, as well as a host of unpleasant and embarrassing symptoms.
We need to relax and eat slowly because belching and gas are two kinds of stomach distresses, which come about when a person eats too quickly and swallows too much air while eating. We all swallow small amounts when eating, but when we’re stressed, we tend to gulp in food too quickly.
Hyperventilation, or rapid breathing, results from nervousness and anxiety, causing air to be gulped in. This excess air returns up through the esophagus and comes out of the mouth as a burp or a belch. Carbon dioxide levels need to be increased to slow the breathing rate, and this can be achieved by either breathing into cupped hands or a paper bag or to breathe through pursed lips.
Physiologically, the body has mechanisms to protect it from the damaging effects of stress. However, if stress is relentless, belching and increased gas can occur, as well as disruption of the digestive processes. Gas and belching is a short-lived reaction, but it can cause discomfort, pain, and even social issues.
Can anxiety cause belching and gas? Yes. It can, but the good news is that anxiety is one factor in your life that you can actually change. There are effective coping mechanisms and therapeutic treatments to help identify the source of your anxiety and also to learn to cope with some of the stress that you can’t seem to get rid of. Try to relax through slow breathing and holding your breath speed to avoid getting extra air entering into your body.
You can also control your eating habits to help avoid severe anxiety reactions like eating oil free food that is easy to digest, drinking lots of water to help keep yourself relaxed and fresh, and taking sufficient amount of sleep to bear with any problem that you might face.
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I have a 12 years old boy, we recently moved to Canada alone, me and him, and he moved to a school, I know the whole thing is stressful, between new place and missing the family and being on our own, at the begging he was ok, but within two weeks of our arrival he started burping and belching . I tried to give him mint and chamomile to calm his tension, but it is the same for a month now with no heart burns only rarely. Should I give him on the counter anti Gas and antacid ? I was worried as I do not want to mess up with his body’s chemistry. I need your advice
Dear Rania,
I’m sorry to hear of your son’s problems with burping and belching. My advice would be to have your son seen by a pediatrician or family doctor, as medical illness with the gastrointestinal system needs to be evaluated first. Only after the medical problems have been ruled out, should you seek the help of a psychiatrist, which usually occurs after the pediatrician or family doctor has referred their patient for a psychiatric consultation.
Regards,
Dr. Carlo
Hi, ive been having this kind of symptom since highschool, I’m a college student now. I just can’t stop burping especially when I’m really anxious and when my heart starts aching, does burping have something to do with chest pain? Is this something serious?
Dear Angel,
The only way to determine if your chest pain is serious is to visit with your doctor. Once the medical causes are ruled out by your doctor, then you may consider an evaluation for anxiety.
Sincerely,
Dr. Carlo
I’m no doctor but I know exactly what you’re going through. I think it’s stress related. I went to a GI doctor recently and I was told that this could be due to stress. Your brain and stomach are closely connected that’s why when nervous you get that feeling in your stomach, they’re linked. So burping can be caused by too much stress. I’m a college student now and I was really stressed last semester and during my break I started to burp uncontrollable with other symptoms that scared me so bad and I ended up getting more stressed with it. With chest pains I was told with all that burping it makes your stomach jump up causing pressure in your chest (which I get). Just to make sure, go to a GI doctor and don’t worry. It’s easier to say than do, I know.
Good points Dee. Thanks for sharing.
NOT ONLY DO I BELTCH ALL THE TIME I CAN NOT BREATH
I HAD TEST THEY CAN NOT FIND ANY THING WRONG
IM WORRYED IT DOSENT STOP i tryed a lot of things
Dear Lenore, please take the anxiety test (https://anxietyboss.com/test/) to see if that is contributing to your belching.
Hi I was diagnosed with agoraphobia, anxiety. I take Prozac daily and have Ativan when needed. My symptoms are extremely gassy and the need to go the bathroom the minute I feel trap and not feel I have access to a bathroom ASAP. It’s very frustrating. Anything for those symptoms?
I am actually going through this myself. It is so hard to try and go to any of my kids school functions or doing anything social. I already have social anxiety so the moment I feel trapped I instantly have to go to the bathroom or become gassy. I still have yet to find any hep or any answers. I’ve been dealing with this for 10 years but it’s getting worse over the last 2 years. Best of luck! There are others out there going through the same. I’m not even 30 yet and feel like my body has too many stomach and anxiety problems
Thanks for sharing. You may want to try some of the techniques used in Anxiety Protocol to get rid of your anxiety and associated gas. You can also consider taking a natural anxiety supplement, such as KalmPro.
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Thanks! Our writers are excellent with answering questions about anxiety.
Hi, I am currently a 19 year old college student. A few months ago I started burping and feeling the need to burp and when I think about it I do it more. Now recently when I eat I cough, burp, and just feel uncomfortable because of the feeling in my throat. I’ve been told it’s anxiety because there’s nothing physically wrong. I’ve become dependent on water to eat because it seems to help a little and now I can’t eat without a drink. I was wondering what I can do to stop this :/
This burping could be a compulsion, in reaction to some obsessive thoughts about eating or swallowing. Or maybe you are experiencing a lump in your throat when you become anxious, and this makes you burp or makes you drink in order to eat. If this is indeed anxiety, then the first step is to find out your anxiety levels by taking the anxiety test (https://anxietyboss.com/test/). After you take the anxiety test, then the results will give you an indication of how severe your anxiety is, and then suggest an initial plan to reduce the anxiety, based on your answers on the anxiety test.
I have acid reflux and burp up foam stuff (that’s stomach acid I think) and I burp a lot because I’m worried about my acid reflux, I feel going to the doctor will help, I also have spoken lymph nodes that are big and came for no reason and I’m worried about them also, I can’t stop worrying
Swollen not spoken autocrrect
I’m sorry to hear of your acid reflux and swollen lymph nodes. Please follow-up with your medical doctor to manage your acid reflux and to assess the lymph nodes. If you still have worries despite getting these medical problems under control, then I would recommend that you see a therapist or get a copy of Anxiety Protocol for self-help.
Hello doc,
i am 30 year old male and facing burps problem since from 4 years i have removed my gall bladder in 2010 bcoz i have small polyps in gall bladder–biopsy of my gall bladder shown no thing maligant—–i almost burps daily now i have visited almost 20 docs and done alot of tests—liver function test,hepatites tests,tyroid test,typhoid test,3 ultrasounds,cbc test,2 stool tests,endoscopy and also done colonscopy and i donate blood to my nephew almost all of the test is done before donating my blood— every thing is normal i feel heavy in my left side chest some time my breathe stops and then i burp alot and also i have panic attacks like heart attack done almost 10 ecgs and echo every thing is clear i used alot of medicines ppi but didnot help me–tomorrow again i have an appointment with cardiologist—-one of my doc mention acid reflux to me and also ibs bcoz i have in digestion problem to and loose stool——–i am tired of constant burping its ruined my life—is there any thing that i stop heaviness in my chest and also stop the burping——-i am thinking about nissen or Linx surgery bcoz i am fase up i feel scary every time and specially when i travel in plane i feel hot senation and heaviness in my left side chest like heart attack then burps starts for hours———any advise please
I’m sorry to hear of your chronic symptoms. I would recommend that you talk with your gastroenterologist and cardiologist, and ask them if there are any organic, medical causes for your symptoms. If they say that your tests are normal, then you may benefit from a consultation with a psychiatrist who can communicate with your specialist doctors and come up with a coordinated treatment plan.
Thanks doc for your kind response,yesterday i visit to my cardiologist and i just give him all the details few dys back i have some problem because of some spicy food its hard for me to take breathe…….he do an ecg for me ist which was normal thn he say walk on stairs for 3 mins and then he do for me an ecg which has some minor problem of one late beat though he say its not bad but we wanna focus on it and my cardiologist say that we will fix 24 hour holter ecg device let us see if that is normal u didnot need to be worried and if it show some problem or irregular beats then we will do further test——i am in japan and using Takecab 10 mg daily for reflux before going to my cardiologist i take one tablet my gastro doc advise me to eat it after meal but i use it before break fast and go to cardiologist where he see sinus pause i think before the ecg finish 1 beep before its not to much but you know docs they wanna do further check up and it good for me if there is some problem treatment on time will save the life——–i have done plenty of ecgs before echo which is normal then why this show like that i have super burps when they are doing ecg for me and also feel bloating stomach………… but more test will make it more clear is it bcoz of acid or heart thanks for the reply doc
But if the tests turn out normal, then a psychiatry referral is in order, to look at an underlying psychological cause, such as anxiety.
hello doc, thanks for your response today i get the result of my 24 hours holter ecg result its 99%..as i work with it my routine work for 10 hours and i discuss with a doctor about my health problems but he say 99% is a good result and even he say to me if i wear it by own i am doc my result may be the same with u —-i strongly believe that 1 percent is bcoz of my health anxiety and my reflux problem as i am always worried and lot of stress well i will follow your kind suggestion and my next step will be psychiatrist—-but i discuss with my cardiologist that i wanna do echo as i have 3 years back one but now i want to do it again he say me u didnot need it but on my insist he will say ok next month bcoz of busy schedule of my cardiologist——after that i will definetly go for the next step that is psychiatrist——bcoz i have lot of stress and also have reflux problem i bup alot thanks once again doc
Good luck, and wish you good health.
hello doc ,
sorry again i will take few minutes of you—-today have general check up in my company in which they run for me an ecg in which they say borderline ecg bcoz they see some tachycardia in it i was nervous and feel un well after that as i was nervous at that time…..after shortly of that like 2 hours when i come back to home i go to the doc who do an endoscopy for me and doing treatment of my reflux i go to his clinic and discuss with him about my company ecg shown tachycardia he also run for me the ecg which was completely normal and he say it to me that there is no tachycardia shown in ecg now i am confused i have 24 hours holter ecg last week which is normal no tachycardia shown then why in the company ecg they say borderline ecg after 2 to 3 hours in the clinic my ecg is normal————Sir what you will suggest doc what should i do more plz
I recommend that you stick with the opinion of one doctor…the doctor who knows you the best. Usually, it’s a family doctor or general practitioner who is the one that compiles all the data from all your specialists, and then is able to synthesize the data and translate it for you. If you go to different doctors, they will invariably give different opinions. You need that one doctor to compile all the recommendations and summarize it for you.
Hello Doctor,
Sorry to disturb you again-after using 6 months Lexapro 10 mg daily will make a big difference-my anxiety is fine like85%–now i feel better then before but some time now to i have chest heaviness–and also some time i burp when ever i have burps i feel heaviness in my left chest which makes me scared—-after visiting to lot of docs and plenty of test i am still thinking is it related to heart problem—i didnot become panic like before—-but you know sir if you feel heaviness in left side chest which make you disturb whats going on there? after doing 2 echos and 16 ecgs holter ecg for 24 hours didnot show any abnormality—–i am our weight and trying to loose some weight——-but i am thinking to go again to my cardiologist for further examination what you suggest for more heart tests? i am thinking i should talk to my cardilogist for nuclear stress test or stress echo ?i need to figure it out as my gastro doc tell me i have reflux problem and also i have severe gas problem now my chest is heavy and have lot of gas to—mostly i say to my self that its because of gas and acid—but some time it makes me worried———what you suggest sir
Regarding your chest symptoms and gas problems, you will have to follow-up with your specialists. Good luck.
Dear Rania,
How’s your son now . Even I have the same problem. …Constant burping since 3 months . Had been to several doctors, all tests even endoscopy done. Now taking homeopathic medicine but all in vain. …..Please tell how’s your son . Is he better now a. If yes which medicine was helpful .?
Vrinda, the point of this article is that anxiety and stress is a major contributor to belching and gas. See a psychiatrist for an evaluation.
i having a gas problem in every night i try a lot of thing but didn’t work i saw on the internet it works some but I’m still working on it can you plz tell me more tips?
If it is stress and anxiety- related, then you have to address these. Take the anxiety test on this website to find out your level of stress and anxiety, then follow the recommendations.
Belching and nervousness
Yes, that is what this article is all about!
i’m writing to let some folks like me to calm down a bit as there are many like us i guess, i suffered through extreme stress & my job too is in the oilfield where extra stress is added in life, 3 years back all of sudden i started burping like little ticks & over the time it got worse & bigger burps, i cant lie down on bed straight it gives me strange obstruction in my throat & i start burping, went through all possible tests like endoscopy,Barium swallow, & some related to Spinal cord to see why i have trouble in lying down, its all clear, My doctor then referred me to psychiatrist , & i was stubborn to believe that i could have anxiety issue & was afraid of Anxiety pills, in the end when all did’t work out, i accepted the Anxiety disorder & recently been on medicine, (Stomach related + Anti-Anxiety pill) & it seems its working & i’m feeling better, though burps are not gone but i feel like i’m coming back to life, SO YES I STARTED TO BELIEVE BURPS & BELCHING CAN COME FROM ANXIETY & STRESS.
Glad you are under the guidance of a psychiatrist who recognizes belching and gas as a symptom of anxiety.
so far so good, just praying to get rid of this painful problem, can this burping lead to heart issues ? recently i feel pain on my left side at times when i burp out, very worrysome