THE BOTHERSOME BLOATING BELLY

Amelie has been uptight all day. She has been pushing hard for weeks to complete her big advertising strategy presentation. It is due today, but she still isn’t ready. When Amelie had first been assigned this file she was flattered, it was for an important client, but increasingly she felt overwhelmed. Adding to today’s deadline pressure, Amelie keeps having to make endless runs to the bathroom. Each time she carefully avoids her boss’s office as she knows he is furious with her delay. She doen’t need to run into him until her work is done.
The pressure of the deadline makes it hard to concentrate. She can only take shallow breaths. It feels like a cold hand is squeezing her heart. And as if that isn’t enough, her stomach, right under her rib cage, doubles her over in pain. Maybe it is indigestion. Or maybe her chili con carne lunch had gone off. She massages her aching belly, but it only makes it worse.

By the time Amelie finishes the presentation, no one is left in the office. Relieved, she prints up her work and carefully lays it on her boss’s desk.

It is after eight by the time Amelie gets home. She quickly stir-fries beef cubes with autumn vegetables. Feeling starved, she eats standing up then washed her dishes. Without warning she begans to feel even more pressure in her stomach than she had felt earlier in the day.

Does she have the flu? No fever. Amelie decides to ignore the pain because in less than an hour, all her old high-school friends will be at that new downtown bar. Her best friend Coralie said she’d save her a seat, and Alex, her dear friend who always makes her laugh, will be there, but most of all, Jonathan is coming!

When Coralie told her that he finally broke up with that blond – the one no liked anyway—she decided that this reunion was her big chance. She has dreamed of this moment for years. Regardless of how her stomach feels, she has to show up tonight!!

The more she thinks about what she will say to Jonathan, and, of course, what she should wear, the more the lump in her stomach grows. It is as if the giant mass of food in her belly has turned into a heavy stone pushing out against the walls of her stomach. The pain is hard to ignore.

Amelie lays out the new jeans she had bought earlier this week just for this occasion. They had fit like a glove then. But now, the zipper will not close. Amelie’s stomach is swollen like a hot air balloon. She tugs the sides together. Sucks in her stomach. Lays on the bed. Pulls. Nothing.

Sadly, she puts on her old overalls and the huge shapeless sweater her grandmother had knitted for her. Amelie hopes this might pass for eccentric or trendy but deep down, she knows she just looks sloppy.

Bothersome bloating: what is the origin of it ?

Although rarely talked about even with friends, this annoying syndrom of the bloating belly is extremely common. What is not talked about is that this bloating is mainly caused by stress. With knowledge, awareness and adaptation, it is possible to say goodbye to the bloated belly and finally release that terrible pressure on the stomach for good.

Findings on the swollen upper belly:

The nagging pressure that Amélie felt in this story is one that is often a persistent and perplexing issue for many people. That feeling of swelling, of a lump in the stomach, or the unexplained bloating that usually grows worse by the end of the day, is often a point of real distress for many people. The bloating can be exacerbated with the consumption of red meat or any other animal protein.

What is often ignored and almost always misunderstood, is that the stomach not only digests food, but it also digests emotional pieces. When you are feeling stressed or under emotional strain, your stomach reacts and signals you in many ways, bloating being one of those signals.

Here are two simple tips for easing the physical symptoms that can bring almost instant relief.

First: place a hot water bottle on your stomach, especially in the evening. You will find this creates a wonderful relaxing effect rather quickly.

Second: take 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in some water before your evening dinner.

In the first level of ANDA Courses, you will learn how to understand and address many of these common and often misunderstood issues including the bloated belly syndrome. Once you learn the causes and effects, and how your own body acts and reacts, you will be able to figure out how to adjust your behaviors and readjust your choices to live life without these concerns that dominate and over-shadowing your well-being.

Taking these first ANDA Courses will teach you to understand your ‘Body Language’, which is the way in which your body speaks to you. Your body whispers before it shouts. By learning the language of your body when you hear the ‘whispers’ you know how to make the necessary changes before your body starts ‘shouting’. This is a language that few truly understand.

And, while it is true that you cannot change your DNA, you can change its expression by altering and changing external signals, like your nutrition, your environment, as well as understanding how to regulate your own thoughts and emotions for balance and health.