The energetic causes of constipation and diarrhea
No, this is not the most glamorous topic, but judging from the response from the videos I posted on Instagram about this, I’d say there is a lot of interest in this topic and few people are talking about it.
It seems like digestive issues are the norm these days. Everyone is chronically stressed, eating processed, chemically laden food, and not exposed to nature or adequate sunlight. Our gut microbiomes are very imbalanced and this can lead to a whole slew of digestive issues.
Most women are chronically constipated, which I define as having less than one bowel movement a day. This is a big deal.
When we don’t poop regularly, we feel plugged up, which makes for a physically and energetically uncomfortable situation. We feel stuck.
On the other hand, constant diarrhea can be truly debilitating and stressful to say the least.
So let’s dive in and discover why women are far more likely to be constipated than men and what happens when we’re dealing with the opposite problem— chronic diarrhea. First things first— the physical causes.
Physical causes of constipation
From a purely anatomical point of view, the female colon is 10 centimeters longer than a man's, forcing some of her colon to reside in the pelvis sharing space with the bladder and reproductive organs. This means it takes longer for feces to make their way down your pipes. If you’re dehydrated, this makes it even harder to go to the bathroom.
A weak pelvic floor can also cause constipation independent of your fiber intake. If you’ve had a baby recently, pelvic floor physiotherapy is highly recommended. Things can really shift during pregnancy and birth.
Hormonal fluctuations can cause fluid retention, bloating, constipation, and slowed digestion. The main culprit is progesterone, which is the hormone that women produce after ovulation and is very high during pregnancy. Progesterone in general causes digestion to slow down meaning our transit time, or time to poop, might take longer.
A sedentary lifestyle can also contribute to chronic constipation. Unfortunately, we live in a world that values working until burnout and doesn’t support self-care like regular exercise. If you’re not moving, it’s more difficult for your poop to move down your pipes.
Finally, low water and fiber intake. We need to eat at least 25-30 grams of fiber daily, most likely more if we compare the fiber intake to indigenous cultures. We live in a modern wasteland when it comes to fiber in our food. Most grains are refined— white bread, pasta, pizza, rice crackers, and sugar galore.
In severe cases, neurological conditions like Parkinson’s or serious connective tissue disorders like Ehlers-Danlos, or chronic digestive diseases like IBD can also cause constipation, so if this applies to you, please seek professional help from a licensed practitioner.
Physical causes of diarrhea
Severe diarrhea is defined as more than 10 loose stools a day, moderate diarrhea is less than 10 bowel movements a day, and mild is considered a few loose stools a day.
Pathogenic infections are the most common, which include parasites, pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella, Listeria, and Campylobacter, and viruses like rotavirus and enterovirus.
Likewise, dysbiosis or any chronic digestive issue can also cause chronic diarrhea such as IBS and IBD.
Women may also experience temporary diarrhea during menstruation due to the rise in inflammatory prostaglandins. See my previous blog post about this topic here.
Energetic causes of constipation in women
In general, women are really good at managing other people’s problems whereas men are good at solving problems.
This means women end up taking on other people’s problems and energies as if they were their own, especially those related to family, relationships, and work.
So what often happens is that women use their own creative energy to solve and manage other problems rather than manifest what they want to truly have in their own lives. They end up feeling stressed and unfulfilled and the body will almost always let you know that you’re using their female creative energy to manage other people’s problems instead of creating for yourself with some sort of symptom. When the colon feels overwhelmed by these foreign energies, things can get backed up and you end up feeling constipated.
Women are also designed to hold onto things— babies AND a whole bunch of other energies. Think about it, women are great at holding together families, groups of friends, companies, schools, and society at large whether she wants to or not. Part of this is societal programming, and part of it comes from family programming.
From an energetic anatomical point of view, the lower colon and pelvic region are associated with the 2nd chakra which is all about emotions, feelings, female creative energy, and sensuality. The rectum is associated with the 1st chakra, which is all about grounding and releasing energies you don’t want.
Energetic ways to relieve chronic constipation
Grounding so that you can release and let it go
Meditation
Regular movement
Get out in nature and the sun regularly
Think about what is difficult for you to “digest” right now. This could be transpersonal themes like cruelty in the world that you are unconsciously absorbing.
Imagine putting what you don’t want (energies, emotions, beliefs) into a bubble outside of your aura and pop it.
Adopt the mantra “not my problem”. If it’s not your problem to manage, let the person who’s truly responsible deal with it.
Energetic causes of diarrhea
I’m not just talking about Montezuma’s revenge, although that can be some really nasty energy.
Tell me one time when you had diarrhea and you felt in control. It’s nearly impossible. Therefore, a major cause is the inescapable feeling of being out of control. You’re desperately trying to micromanage and control things that are not your responsibility and your body will respond with resistance by giving you a nice dose of diarrhea.
Another energetic cause I see is anxiety. When our energy is projected too much into the future, we inevitably become anxious, mostly because we cannot control the future despite all our efforts. This emotional and energetic anxiety sends signals to our brain, which via the vagus nerve, sends signals to our gut microbes which consequently produce neurotransmitters that amp up our anxiety. The gut microbes, mostly bacteria, can also send signals and neurotransmitters they produce up the vagus nerve to the brain where the brain sends signals to the intestines to release all contents quickly. This is called the gut-brain axis which has been well-studied. This is why we have a gut feeling or butterflies in our stomach when we’re nervous. Learn more about the gut-brain axis here.
Speaking of gut-brain axis, microbes have their own energetic signatures. As I mentioned above, pathogens are a major cause of diarrhea, and these microbes are alive and conscious, with the exception of viruses but that’s up for debate from an energetic perspective as it has its own genetic material and therefore programming. Bacteria tend to relate energetically to our beliefs whereas parasites often present themselves when we are adopting emotions and beliefs that aren’t ours. On the other hand, viruses connect into energies and forces like fear that we may be matching to (ahem, like coronavirus).
Another interesting thing to consider is modern Rosicrucian philosopher Rudolf Steiner believed one of the astral body anchor points is in the liver. Others believe it’s behind the navel. The other astral body anchor points are in the center of the head (cave of Brahma) and the heart. Interestingly, the vagus nerve moves right through these areas (up to the base of the brain, not all the way to the midbrain but you get the idea). Therefore, I posit an imbalance in the astral body chakras that correlate with the anchor points within the physical body can also send signals via the vagus nerve causing microbiome imbalances, anxiety, and eventually diarrhea as a way to “eliminate” this unwanted energy. I believe this could be a major cause of anxiety in which unhealthy emotions are trapped within our dream space that we aren’t able to process or heal within our dreams or imaginal realms. This is probably a topic for a book, but I’ll just drop this here for you to ponder for now.
I will say I’ve also seen imbalances in subtle elements within the first and second chakras and gastrointestinal system in general. The most obvious is an excess of water, and in some cases fire (you know you have an excess fire when you have diarrhea that burns). I’m finding that in most cases, earth and often wood elements are very healing for digestive issues.
Finally, you can have chronic diarrhea because you have the opposite problem that women who are chronically constipated have— you have a hard time holding onto the things that matter to you. You may feel like you are not worthy of having what you truly desire.
Energetic ways to relieve diarrhea
Work on staying present through mindfulness practices
Healing the astral body anchor points and astral body imbalances
Balance the subtle elements in your first and second chakras
Embody the feeling of worthiness
