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Can Stress Cause Bloating? Why It Happens and How to Stop It

Written by Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC on September 24, 2025

Written by Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC on September 24, 2025 — Reviewed by Hilary Watts

• How Does Stress Cause Bloating?|
• Stress and IBS|
• Other Causes of Bloating|
• A 5-Step Guide to Reduce Bloating|

We’ve all felt that uncomfortable belly stretch after a big meal. Occasional bloating is normal—but for nearly a third of Americans, it happens far more often 1. And when bloating shows up regularly, stress is often part of the picture.

If you’ve been under pressure and noticed your gut acting up, you’re not imagining it. Research shows that stress can trigger the feeling of bloating and actual abdominal distension (swelling). In people with IBS, the connection is especially strong: Stress shifts the gut microbiome, fuels excess gas and inflammation, and makes the gut more sensitive to pain. The result? More bloating and discomfort.

The good news is, there are proven ways to calm the cycle. In this article, I’ll walk you through how stress contributes to bloating and share simple, evidence-based steps—dietary, lifestyle, and supplemental—that can help you feel better.

How Does Stress Cause Bloating?

Stress can disrupt the normal gut microbiome, creating intestinal dysbiosis (an imbalance in the gut) and bacterial overgrowth—both can lead to digestive symptoms, including bloating 2. The sensation of bloating and actual belly swelling (distension) may be partly due to excess gas production, though the exact mechanism hasn’t been confirmed by research 3. 

Additionally, it appears that stress can create an increased perception of bloating, though the exact reason is not well understood 3. Stress may trigger inflammation in the gut, which may make pain signals stronger and make bloating feel worse. 

When Bloating Means More Than Just a Full Stomach

Most of us get a little bloated after a heavy meal—that’s normal digestion at work. But when bloating is frequent, painful, or disruptive, it’s often a sign of something deeper going on in the gut.

Bloating can show up on its own, but it may tag along with conditions such as 1:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
• Chronic constipation
• Indigestion or dyspepsia
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying)
• Gallbladder or pancreatic dysfunction

Outside of medical conditions, bloating can also be triggered by chronic overeating, certain food intolerances, or stress-related shifts in the gut 4.

The key is frequency and impact: occasional bloating isn’t usually a problem, but if it’s causing discomfort or interfering with your daily life, it’s worth looking deeper into the root causes.

A Closer Look at IBS and Stress

Because IBS is one of the most common gut disorders linked to bloating, much of what we know about stress and the gut comes from IBS research. Studies show that all IBS patients report more bloating than people without IBS, and nearly half also experience visible abdominal distension (swelling) 5.

Stress is a major amplifier here. It not only worsens hallmark IBS symptoms—like constipation, diarrhea, cramping, and abdominal pain—but it is also tied to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and reduced quality of life in IBS patients 6 7.

Research suggests this relationship happens through the gut–brain axis. Stress can change the microbiome and increase gut sensitivity via hormones and neurotransmitters 8. Interestingly, IBS patients don’t necessarily produce more gas than healthy people—instead, their gut nerves overreact to normal changes, which makes their bloating feel more intense. Researchers call this phenomenon visceral hypersensitivity 9.

In short, IBS research shows us just how tightly stress and the gut are connected—and why stress management is such an important part of reducing bloating.

Beyond the Gut: Other Causes of Bloating

If you’ve already tried adjusting your diet or supporting your gut and still feel bloated, you’re not alone. Sometimes bloating has less obvious causes outside the digestive tract—and stress often plays a part.

The following common health factors can all contribute to bloating:

• Hypothyroidism 3
• Type 2 diabetes 10
• Autoimmune gastritis 11
• Obesity 3
• Hormonal changes from the menstrual cycle 12
• Certain medications 12

When you add stress, which can affect how your muscles and nerves function, it can change the way bloating feels in your body. For example, you might experience:

• Abdominal muscle dysfunction: If your diaphragm or belly muscles contract abnormally after eating, your nervous system can interpret this as bloating 13. Gentle exercises that retrain these muscles may ease the sensation.
  
• Pelvic floor dysfunction: Pelvic floor muscles control bowel and bladder function. When they’re overly tense (or too relaxed), bowel movements can be disrupted and bloating worsens 14. Stress often makes this worse, but pelvic floor physical therapy or biofeedback have helped many people regain balance and reduce symptoms 15.

Your 5-Step Guide to Reducing Stress-Induced Bloating

Although much of the following research on relieving stress and GI symptoms was performed on those with IBS, we’ve found the following therapies to be helpful for clients with other conditions that result in bloating and abdominal distention. 

Step 1: Lifestyle Changes

Stress Management 

Stress-reduction techniques may reduce the fight or flight response that happens during times of stress. When the fight-or-flight response—also called the sympathetic nervous system—is activated, it becomes physically and mentally more difficult to focus, relax, or sleep, as both the body and mind are signaling that you’re in danger and need to take action to survive. 

Fortunately, there are simple ways to bring your nervous system back into balance and get out of fight-or-flight mode. Many of these not only reduce feelings of stress but also relieve stress-induced bloating that may be related to the gut-brain axis. For example, a systematic (methodical) review showed that the following approaches can ease IBS symptoms, including bloating 16: 

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): CBT has the strongest evidence for easing IBS symptoms like bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and pain. It can also improve quality of life, anxiety, and depression. Internet-based CBT works as well as in-person and can lower costs.
• Mindfulness Therapy: Mindfulness practices can reduce IBS symptom severity and bloating, and improve coping and quality of life, but the benefits may fade over time. It can also help with stress and mood.
• Hypnotherapy: This therapy can provide meaningful relief for many patients, especially for bloating, pain, and bowel issues. It can also improve mental health and daily functioning, though results vary by individual and format.

Exercise 

Physical activity is beneficial for reducing stress 17, improving gut motility 18, and supporting overall wellness. For the best results, aim to engage in moderate physical activity for two to three hours per week 19. This includes activities like:

• Fast walking
• Easy cycling
• Water aerobics
• Basketball, tennis, volleyball, and other sports

If you’re new to exercise or returning to it after a while away, a great way to get started is to walk for 10 minutes a day and increase your walking minutes as you build exercise tolerance.

Step 2: Change Your Diet

An elimination diet can be a powerful way to calm gut inflammation and identify which foods may be driving your bloating. If you’d like more details on how to approach this, see our full article on elimination dieting here.

Many of my clients find that a Paleo-style diet is a good place to start. Paleo emphasizes whole foods with more protein and healthy fats, and fewer refined carbs. It limits or removes some common culprits behind bloating and distention without being overly restrictive. These include:

• Sugars
• Ultra-processed foods
• Gluten-containing grains
• Dairy

For help navigating a Paleo diet, download my Paleo Diet Guide.

If Paleo doesn’t bring improvement after 2–3 weeks, you may want to consider a low FODMAP diet. FODMAPs are fermentable carbohydrates found in foods such as onions, garlic, beans, and apples. In a healthy digestive system, they’re usually well-tolerated and are good for the gut. However, for individuals dealing with IBS, SIBO, or gut inflammation, these carbs can feed unwanted bacteria and contribute to gas and bloating.

A meta-analysis (high-quality study of studies) found that a low FODMAP diet ranked first for improving bloating and distention, and reducing abdominal pain in people with IBS 20.

For a simplified guide, download my Low FODMAP Diet Guide.

Symptoms should start to improve around 2–3 weeks on a low FODMAP diet. If they do, it may not be necessary to continue following a strict low FODMAP protocol to maintain symptom relief—84% of 180 participants in one study still experienced relief from their digestive symptoms after reintroducing some high-FODMAP foods 21. 

However, if your symptoms do not improve, you may need to consider a different, more targeted diet. It’s important to note that everyone’s food triggers may be different, and it may take some experimentation to figure out what might be causing your bloating or other gut symptoms. 

Once you eliminate all of the suspected triggers from your diet, you can start adding foods back in, one at a time. Introduce a new food every 2–3 days, and watch to see if you experience any bloating or distension. This will allow you to identify your unique gut triggers without having to restrict your diet too much. 

Working with a qualified clinician can be invaluable when navigating an elimination diet—they can guide you through the proper reintroduction of foods, helping you avoid getting stuck in a long-term restrictive eating pattern. 

Step 3: Introduce Probiotics

Probiotics can be highly effective for reducing bloating and distension in people with gut conditions like IBS 22 and chronic constipation 23. They work by rebalancing the microbiome 24 and calming stress-related imbalances 25, both of which support healthier digestion.

In people with IBS, probiotics don’t just ease bloating—they may also reduce abdominal pain and diarrhea 26.

One note: Prebiotics (fiber supplements that feed good bacteria) aren’t always as helpful as probiotics. For some people, they can actually worsen gas and bloating, so they’re best introduced carefully 27.

Step 4: Targeted Supplement and Dietary Treatments

If your bloating or belly distention aren’t resolved with dietary and lifestyle changes alone, it may be time for a more targeted approach, such as:

• Supplements: Beyond probiotics, a number of other supplements can play a role in reducing bloating—especially if diet and lifestyle changes alone haven’t brought full relief. Options like digestive enzymes, peppermint oil, and magnesium may help with gas, abdominal pain, or constipation-related bloating. Each works a little differently, and the right choice depends on your underlying triggers.

• Intermittent Fasting: One study showed that intermittent fasting successfully reduced bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and anxiety in people with IBS 28. Intermittent fasting means concentrating your meals within a certain period of time each day, usually an 8-hour window. 
• Elemental Diet: If fasting isn’t appropriate for you, an elemental diet may resolve stubborn IBS-related symptoms, like gas and bloating, in just two to three weeks 29. An elemental diet is formulated to be easily digested while reducing inflammation in the GI tract and helping with nutrient absorption. The elemental diet is easy to incorporate and can be used alone or alongside another diet.
• Medications: Rifaximin is a popular antibiotic that’s used to treat dysbiosis and infections in the GI tract. It’s considered safe by healthcare practitioners because it’s not absorbed into the bloodstream and has fewer side effects. Rifaximin is highly effective at reducing IBS symptoms, particularly bloating, and it may take as little as two weeks to work 30. Furthermore, rifaximin may offer long-term relief from bloating, even after finishing the course of antibiotics 31.

Step 5: Physical Therapy

People with bloating related to pelvic floor dysfunction or bowel endometriosis may benefit from seeing a physical therapist who specializes in pelvic floor therapy. Manual (hands-on) physical therapy can break up adhesions (scar tissue) that constrict organs and lead to distension and bloating 32. 

As previously discussed, pelvic floor biofeedback may help alleviate bloating, lessen constipation, and improve overall well-being 15. 

Summing It Up: Does Stress Cause Bloating?

Research says that stress can contribute to bloating in people with GI disorders and other conditions. The gut-brain axis provides a powerful pathway of communication between the brain and digestive tract, allowing stress to increase inflammation and dysbiosis in the gut. 

Fortunately, you can take basic steps to improve your symptoms of bloating and abdominal distension. 

Stress reduction, dietary changes, probiotics, other supplements, and even physical therapy can improve bloating. For more guidance on discovering and treating the cause of your chronic bloating, as well as improving your digestive health, reach out to our clinic today.

The Ruscio Institute has developed a range of high-quality formulations to help our clients and audience. If you’re interested in learning more about these products, please click here. Note that there are many other options available, and we encourage you to research which products may be right for you. The information on DrRuscio.com is for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.