5
Oct

Get A Move On! Week 1: Trust Your Gut!

I’m thrilled to introduce the new Get A Move On! cards, the cards that are designed to help you get “unstuck” when you’re feeling lost, confused, or unsure. Each of the 52 cards (plus two instruction cards) features an image and a phrase, and these whimsical hand-drawn (with crayon and pen, by me, Dr. Susan Bernstein) images is meant to get you inspired and moving.

Each week, I’ll be blogging about a different card from the Get A Move On! deck of cards. So, this week, we start with the card that says:

“Trust your gut.”

It’s such simple advice. But boy, have you ever not followed your gut? And boy, the consequences you pay for that, right?

Today, I want to remind you to trust your gut.

And I also want to introduce you to just one of the 52 whimsical images in the new The Get A Move On! deck of cards I created. If you ever get stuck, lost, or confused, you might wish you had a coach to guide you. Well, another option is to draw one of the cards from this deck and follow the wisdom. The Get A Move On! cards are designed to help you get unstuck, by reminding you that you have everything you need inside of you to get free, get clear, and get moving!

So, really, is it worth it to trust your gut?

Why should you pay attention to what your gut is telling you?When you feel a gut instinct, that’s a form of embodied intelligence. This claim is backed up by the research of pharmacologist and former National Institute of Health (NIH) scientist Dr. Candace Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion, who helped to demonstrate that, in fact, the entire body participates in human emotional life. While a scientist at the NIH, she and her team identified the so-called “molecules of emotion.” These combinations of proteins on the surface of cells form receptors, sensors that collect chemical information carried throughout the body by other molecules called ligands.

Pert’s team discovered a particular naturally-occurring ligand in the body, called a neurotransmitter, and discovered its function in emotional processing. Prior to her research, the dominant idea was that neurotransmitters were found only in the brain. However, her discovery was that these neurotransmitters were abundant in the human gut and also travel throughout the body. These neurotransmitters are the chemicals that convey the message of emotional states to the brain, through the nervous system.

Therefore, according to Pert’s research, the entire human body has the capacity to transform sensation into emotion. As a result, Pert’s research asserts that your entire body is a vehicle for conveying information about what you like and dislike. This is an important point. For when you are confronted with difficult or large-scale decisions (for example, in the case in major career change), you may literally feel choices at a sensate level. Such signals are crucial during transitions, you may feel ungrounded, and need the internal reassurance of your well-being.

The connection between the gut, emotions, and behavior has also recently become clearer through the research of Michael Gershon, author of The Second Brain., who looked at the role of the enteric nervous system, or gut. From his research, one might infer that “trust your gut instincts” may, in fact, be very wise advice for a person facing a major transition.

According to Gershon, the enteric nervous system of the gut actually acts like a brain, as it sends and receives impulses, responds to emotional states, and records experiences. The enteric nervous system contains many of the same neurotransmitters that are found in the upper brain, including dopamine, glutamine, norephinephrine, and serotonin. The brain can send message that upset the gut, and vice versa.

Developmental biologists have demonstrated that during early embryogenesis, a tissue formation known as the neural crest divides into two sections. One becomes the central nervous system, while the other becomes the enteric nervous system. Later in development, the vagus nerve forms a link between these two systems.

For example, when you encounter a frightening situation, stress hormones are released by the central nervous system, signaling a fight or flee reaction. This chemical reaction triggers sensory nerves in your stomach, accounting for what many people term, “butterflies.” During periods of extreme stress, your upper brain signals the gut to cease functioning. Hence, a scared animal, when running from danger, does not pause to (um, excuse me…but this is true) defecate.

When your upper brain detects a fearful situation, the vagus nerve triggers an increase of production of serotonin circuits in the gut, which can cause stomach upset and even, well…diarrhea. Sometimes fear stimulates nerves in the esophagus, so that your swallowing reflex is blocked, leading to a feeling of being “choked” with emotions.

Can your gut’s brain learn? Gershon has investigated this question. One particular instance seems to support that this is, in fact, possible. He describes a male nurse at a military hospital who cared for a group of paraplegics. Since their lower spinal cords had been severed, their bowels would become impacted. At 10 am each morning, the nurse administered enemas to these patients. When this nurse left, his replacement decided to give enemas only after impaction had occurred. However, even without enemas, at 10 am the following morning, all of the paraplegics had bowel movements.

According to Gershon, it appears that your gut reflects the emotional states of your head’s brain and can be felt if you pay attention to the sensations of your gut. So, when I’m working with people undergoing career transitions (or any transformation, really), focusing awareness on gut states can help them to check in and get clearer about their emotional responses to various options.

So, now, do you have enough information to help you trust your gut a bit more? I hope so!