The Gut-Brain Axis: What Happens When Your Body Knows Before You Do

I’ve had gut issues for over 30 years.

IBS. GERD. Bloating. Intolerances. That tight, uncomfortable feeling that seems to come from nowhere. For a long time, I just accepted it as part of my life. I managed it. Tried to live around it. But it’s only in recent years that I’ve started to see the full picture.

Not just the symptoms—but the story beneath them.

The Weight of Early Experience

Childhood years can be hard for some—and mine certainly were.

I don’t hold blame. We were all children trying to survive our early years. But unfortunately, those experiences don’t just disappear. They shape us. They stay in the body, especially in the gut.

I was bullied—physically and verbally—for being different. The name-calling started in primary school and carried on through high school. I avoided certain streets, took longer routes to class, dreaded simple things like being sent to the shop.

At home, there was conflict. I remember the tension, the arguments between my parents, and my sister crying. I became the one to comfort, to carry it all. I learnt early on to put my needs aside. To stay alert. To keep others safe.

All of that stayed with me. I didn’t realise it then, but I was living in survival mode, and my gut was right there with me—absorbing it all.

The Relationship That Confirmed It All

Years later, I entered a relationship that lasted eight long years.

Something never felt right. My partner was always on his phone, always hiding the screen, pulling away from conversations. There were endless late “work meetings,” excuses, emotional distance. He stopped engaging, and I started shrinking.

My gut twisted daily.My senses were heightened.But I said nothing.

I’ve always avoided confrontation—it’s one of my coping strategies. So I stayed silent. I carried the unease. For years.

Then, after it ended, I found out he’d been cheating for five of those eight years. He’d used me financially to support his children. He’d lived a life of taking from others, and I had been one of many.

The pain was deep, but it didn’t surprise me.Because the whole time, my gut already knew.

Now, I don’t look back with regret—not on the relationship, and not on my childhood.These experiences shape us. They program how we respond, how we relate, how we hold ourselves.

And over the last few years, I’ve been learning how to map these traumas, understand the reactions that come from them, and rewire them gently, one by one—with sound,with gong meditation,with breath,with shamanic transcendence therapy techniques.

The Gut Remembers What the Mind Tries to Forget

Science now confirms what many of us have always felt: the gut and brain are connected. The vagus nerve is the bridge, constantly passing messages between body and mind.

When we live in long-term stress or trauma:

• The gut slows down

• Digestion weakens

• Inflammation rises

• The microbiome shifts

• And food, once neutral, becomes something to fear

This is the gut-brain axis in action—and for those of us with a history of bullying, trauma, anxiety, or neurodivergence, this system becomes easily dysregulated.

Traditional Chinese Medicine also has its own understanding of this. In TCM, the spleen and stomach are responsible for digestion—not just of food, but of life itself. The spleen is especially vulnerable to overthinking, worry, and rumination, which are seen as the emotional roots of digestive distress. According to Chinese Mecicine, emotional strain literally weakens the body’s ability to transform and transport energy.

So from both modern and traditional views—the gut holds our story.

Why Sound Has Helped Me Find Peace in My Belly

Out of everything I’ve tried—and there’s been a lot—sound has been the most effective.

It bypasses the thinking mind and goes straight to the body. Whether I’m humming softly, flumi-ing my gong with my eyes closed, or lying back in a soundbath… the tension eases. My gut softens. Something inside lets go.

Here’s why it works:

1. Sound Stimulates the Vagus Nerve

The vagus nerve controls digestion and our ability to shift into a relaxed state. Humming, chanting, or listening to low-frequency vibration tones the vagus nerve, helping us move from fight-or-flight into rest-and-digest.

2. Vibration Travels Through the Gut

Sound physically moves through the body’s tissues. It penetrates the belly, the diaphragm, the fascia around the organs—gently releasing stored tension, and encouraging flow without force.

3. Sound Offers a Wordless Healing Space

Some things don’t need to be talked about again. Sound gives us access to a healing space where the body can process without reliving. It’s non-verbal, non-invasive, and deeply safe.

This Isn’t Just About Digestion. It’s About Who We Are

Our gut is more than an organ—it’s a centre of intuition, emotion, and safety. And for those of us who’ve spent years pushing down fear, carrying other people’s emotions, or doubting our own instincts… the gut is often where the truth settles.

Every twist.Every flare-up.Every sleepless night.

It’s not just random—it’s the body remembering.

Let’s Leave You with This

If your gut is sensitive, anxious, reactive…If your digestion mirrors your emotional world…If you’ve carried fear, betrayal, or shame in silence…

You are not alone.You are not broken.You are remembering.And you are allowed to heal.

Sound has helped me reconnect to a part of myself that I didn’t know how to listen to.And now, finally, I do.

One note. One hum. One breath at a time.