What causes the feeling of having a pit in one’s stomach? Is it your fight or flight kicking in? Is that a hormone?
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The answer to your questions is….yes.
That feeling comes from the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) sending a signal to the adrenal glands to release stress hormones like epinephrine and cortisol. These hormones travel through the body telling everything else “Hey, we’re in emergency mode, get prepared”. Some body parts like skeletal muscles, your lungs and your heart load up on blood and start working harder. The stomach and digestive tract, on the other hand, close up shop. No need to digest and poop when something is trying to eat you (evolutionarily speaking).
This restriction of blood flow to the stomach causes that uneasy feeling. It is a signal to your conscious mind, saying “We’re closed, no eating for you”.
Sometimes that pit in your stomach is just your body’s way of reminding you that nerves and anxiety are real.
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