GI issues can affect the development and treatment of schizophrenia, but living with schizophrenia can also increase your chance of experiencing stomach discomfort or more serious GI challenges, like IBD.
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental health condition. It’s classified as a psychotic disorder because its features experiences of altered reality perception, like hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, and delusions.
Psychosis is just one part of living with schizophrenia , though. Like other mental health disorders, schizophrenia can lead to a variety of physical and behavioral symptoms. For many people, gastrointestinal (GI) challenges are common.
Nausea, indigestion, and bowel changes can be an indication of psychological stress, and persistent inflammation in your central nervous system (CNS) from schizophrenia may affect how your GI tract functions. Keep reading to learn more, including co-treatment options.
Can schizophrenia cause mild stomach problems?
Yes. Schizophrenia can contribute to mild stomach discomfort, like nausea , and can increase your chance of developing chronic GI challenges like Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Schizophrenia is a condition that causes inflammation in your CNS, and its effects on the brain can result in a variety of stomach symptoms. This happens because your CNS and your GI tract are directly connected through a communication network of nerves, lymphatic tissue, and blood vessels known as the gut-brain axis, or gut-brain connection.
What is the gut-brain connection?
The gut-brain connection refers to the two-way communication network shared by your GI system and your CNS. It’s a complex, interconnected system of nerves, blood vessels, and lymphatic tissue that allows the sharing of important substances like neurotransmitters and immune cells.
Your brain communicates with your GI system’s neural network, the enteric nervous system, signaling it to produce hormones and other molecules for use in other areas of the body. These substances enter the bloodstream through the lining of the intestines, traveling to your liver and spleen before entering the rest of the circulatory system.
Eventually, many of these molecules travel to the brain itself, crossing the blood-brain barrier to influence your CNS function, closing the GI-CNS loop. Check out this article to learn more.
Due to this direct connection, what affects your brain can cause changes in your GI system, and what affects your GI system can alter your CNS function.
Any psychological stress can cause stomach upset. When you’re nervous, for example, it’s natural to experience nausea or “butterflies” in your stomach. Another example would be feeling bad about a mistake, and the thought of it afterward makes you sick to your stomach.
Common psychological stress-related stomach issues include :
Does schizophrenia cause stomach problems, or do stomach problems cause schizophrenia?
The two-way connection between your GI system and your brain creates a “chicken and egg” scenario. Which came first: stomach issues or schizophrenia?
It’s true that CNS dysfunction can cause GI symptoms. But, a growing body of research suggests GI dysfunction, like imbalances in your gut microbiome , can contribute to the development and progression of schizophrenia in people predisposed to the condition.
For some, this may mean stomach issues are present before the first episode of schizophrenia psychosis.
The role of antipsychotics in causing GI issues
Antipsychotics are medications that help relieve symptoms of schizophrenia and psychosis by regulating neurotransmitter pathways in your CNS. They’re the drug class of choice for managing altered reality perception that may significantly affect daily life.
Constipation can be a symptom of psychological stress, but it’s also a common GI side effect of antipsychotics. According to a review paper from 2021 , more than 50% of people prescribed antipsychotics experience constipation.
Can schizophrenia cause gastrointestinal disorders?
The psychological stress of schizophrenia is just one way it may affect GI symptoms. As a chronic inflammatory condition, schizophrenia can alter how your digestive system functions, leading to more severe GI challenges like IBD.
A nationwide longitudinal study from 2022 found that people living with schizophrenia had a significantly elevated risk for IBD compared with the broader population and were more likely to develop IBD at an earlier age.
In an older review from 2016 , researchers note autopsy findings from 82 people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia showed that 50% had gastritis (stomach inflammation), 88% had enteritis (inflammation of the small intestine), and 92% had colitis (inflammation of the lining of the colon).
Treating schizophrenia and gastrointestinal problems together
Treating schizophrenia and co-occurring GI symptoms often requires a multidisciplinary approach with mental health professionals, primary care physicians (PCPs), and GI experts.
Your psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner will create a customized schizophrenia management plan for you that includes:
- psychotherapy
- medications
- psychosocial supports
For some people, successfully managing schizophrenia may improve GI symptoms by reducing psychological stress and neuroinflammation. A GI doctor or PCP will focus on relieving any uncomfortable GI symptoms and counteracting disease processes related to more advanced GI challenges, like IBD.
Your healthcare teams will coordinate to incorporate psychotherapies that can improve gut-brain communication, like GI cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and gut-directed hypnotherapy .
Keep learning about schizophrenia
Learning more about schizophrenia can help you feel empowered and in control of your diagnosis. If you have a loved one living with schizophrenia, learning all you can about this condition can boost your empathy and increase your ability to provide support.
To learn more about what it means to live with schizophrenia, check out these other Healthline articles:
Takeaway
Schizophrenia is a mental health disorder featuring symptoms of psychosis, but physical symptoms in other areas of the body are also common.
Two-way communication between your brain and your GI system means schizophrenia can lead to stomach challenges and more advanced GI issues, and GI dysfunction can affect the development and progression of schizophrenia.
Your mental health care team, PCP, and GI specialists will work together to create individualized psychotherapy and medication plans to manage both schizophrenia and GI symptoms.
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