Executive Summary
Mental stress does not cause stomach ulcers. However, it can aggrevate an ulcer that is already forming or prevent its healing. It could be due to unhealthy lifestyle that may result from mental stress: Smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, overuse of NSAID painkillers, or low immunity due to stress.
First the good news: mental stress does not cause stomach ulcers. But before you heave a sigh of relief, let me warn you that it is, well, complicated. Read the full article to understand how stress affects stomach ulcers.
Stomach Ulcers
Your stomach secretes strong acids for digesting food. To prevent getting damaged by this acid, the stomach cells secrete mucus that lines the inner walls of your stomach.
Some factors erode the mucus lining, resulting in a stomach ulcer, which is a sore with painful swelling and occasionally, bleeding. To be more precise, it is called a peptic ulcer because such an ulcer can be formed in the stomach as well as the early part of the intestines—duodenum.
I will not discuss the symptoms, diagnostic tests and treatment of peptic ulcers as many authority websites cover them, the links to which I have given at the end.
Causes of Stomach Ulcers
If stress does not cause stomach ulcers, what does? Experts agree that there are three factors:
Bacterial Infection
Nearly 50 to 75 per cent of people have Helicobacter pylori bacteria in their gut—that infection comes through food and water. How do they survive the harsh stomach acid? They live inside the mucus layer and produce an enzyme that neutralises stomach acid.
For most people, these bacteria cause no trouble. However, in some individuals, the bacteria grow in numbers by overwhelming the immune system occasionally. Their increased enzyme production forces the stomach to make more acid causing damage to the stomach lining.
Nearly forty per cent of stomach ulcers are linked to H. pylori. When you take proper antibiotics, such ulcers heal.
Sounds too fantastical? All the world’s scientists also thought so until Dr Barry Marshall decided to prove this by drinking a concoction made of H. pylori and developed stomach ulcers in his own stomach! Then, he took antibiotics to get rid of the bacteria and the ulcers. For such a risky but pioneering work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 2005.
Painkillers Called NSAIDs
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are medicines used for controlling pain, fever and inflammation. Some common NSAIDs are aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and diclofenac.
NSAIDs decrease the protective mucus layer thickness; they also reduce the blood supply to the stomach. Together, these factors make the stomach more susceptible to acid damage and prevent the body from healing it. Read on this website: How NSAID Painkillers Cause Stomach Ulcers.
In many countries, people take them casually for minor problems without a prescription; but these are powerful medicines and have long-term side effects, such as stomach ulcers. About fifty per cent of stomach ulcers are caused by NSAID overuse. Be warned about using them casually!
Stomach Cancers
A few per cent of stomach ulcers are caused by cancerous stomach tumours that increase acid secretion.
Thus, mental stress is not a cause of stomach ulcers. However, it increases the risk of stomach ulcers. So how is mental stress linked with stomach ulcers?
How Stress Increases Stomach Ulcer Risk
We have to use our words carefully now. Mental stress and stomach ulcers seem to be correlated as many people with highly stressful lives have stomach ulcers.
Mental stress can speed up the development of stomach ulcers. It can also worsen an ulcer already present or prevent its healing. This is possible if mental stress, which increases stress hormones in the body, does not lead to stomach ulcers by itself but it may cause certain behaviour patterns that eventually lead to ulcers, such as:
- Stress increases stomach acid secretion, which can worsen an already-forming ulcer.
- Highly stressed individuals may resort to NSAID painkillers to reduce their aches and pains. Read on this website: How NSAID Painkillers Cause Stomach Ulcers.
- People under stress may smoke more, which increases the chances of developing ulcers but the mechanism is unclear.
- Stressed people may resort to excessive alcohol consumption, which can worsen acidity (heartburn) through various mechanisms. Read on this website: Does alcohol worsen acidity?
- When one is stressed, stress hormones are released reducing the body’s immunity, which can trigger an H. pylori bacterial surge or prevent an ulcer from healing.
Stress Ulcers
Some illnesses and surgeries can cause physical stress, which can lead to a different type of ulcer called stress ulcer. While this is also a stomach ulcer, its development, progress and treatment are different from those of the stomach ulcers discussed above. Mental stress cannot cause them; only physical stress can.
Summary
- While mental stress does not cause stomach ulcers, it can speed up their development, worsen their condition, and prevent their healing.
- Learn stress reduction techniques such as mindfulness.
- Consider adaptogenic supplements for stress reduction.
- Avoid NSAID medicines, unless necessary or recommended by a doctor.
- Stop smoking and reduce alcohol consumption if you have stress. They form a lethal combination.
To Read More
- Cleveland Clinic: Can Stress Give You a Stomach Ulcer?
- MedicalNewsToday: What’s to know about peptic ulcers?
- US News: Does Stress Cause Stomach Ulcers?
- Kauveri Hospital: Does Stress cause ulcers?
First Published on: 20th June 2023
Image Credit: jcomp on Freepik
Last Updated on: 28th February 2024