What Is the Gut-Brain Axis And How Does Anxiety Play a Role?

The PedsDocTalk Podcast: Child Health, Development & Parenting—From a Pediatrician Mom

Dr. Mona Amin

Medicine, Kids & Family, Health & Fitness, Parenting

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ever wonder why your child’s “mystery” stomach aches keep coming back even when every test comes back normal?Dr. Ali Navidi is a GI psychologist who specializes in the gut-brain connection in kids. He’s on a mission to change how we understand and treat chronic belly pain, nausea, IBS, and other gut issues that don’t always have an obvious medical cause. In this episode, we break down what every parent should know about the gut-brain axis. How the “little brain” in the gut talks to the “big brain” in the head and how stress, anxiety, and past experiences can turn real stomach sensations into ongoing pain cycles. We cover: Gut-brain connection in kids and why stomach pain is real, even with normal test results How parenting responses and visceral hypersensitivity affect chronic belly pain Why this often goes undiagnosed and how anxiety plays a role Proven treatments for gut-brain disorders, from targeted CBT to clinical hypnosis To connect with Dr. Ali Navidi follow him on Instagram @gipsychusa, check out all his resources at Gipsychology.com and schedule a free consultation here: www.GIPsychology.com/free-consultation/ We’d like to know who is listening! Please fill out our Listener Survey to help us improve the show and learn about you! 00:00 - Welcome to the PedsDocTalk podcast 02:16 - Meet Dr. Ali Navidi, GI psychologist 03:35 - Why GI psychology was created 05:45 - How gut-brain issues show up in kids 06:21 - Explaining the gut-brain axis for parents 08:15 - What is functional abdominal pain? 10:14 - Why kids’ pain is real, not “all in their head” 13:00 - Why kids feel anxiety in their stomachs 14:00 - PTSD of the gut explained 16:11 - Stress, IBS, and real-life examples 18:13 - Visceral hypersensitivity: why pain feels worse 19:43 - How parents’ reactions shape pain cycles 22:39 - Teaching kids coping skills early 27:26 - IBS, vomiting, and gut-brain examples 30:12 - How to respond when your child has pain 33:18 - Treatments that actually help (CBT & hypnosis) 36:34 - Final advice for parents: kids don’t need to “just live with it” 38:38 - Where to find help with GI psychology 40:00 - Closing thoughts and takeaways Our podcasts are also now on YouTube. If you prefer a video podcast with closed captioning, check us out there and ⁠subscribe to PedsDocTalk⁠. Get trusted pediatric advice, relatable parenting insights, and evidence-based tips delivered straight to your inbox—join thousands of parents who rely on the PDT newsletter to stay informed, supported, and confident. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠! And don’t forget to follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠@pedsdoctalkpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram—our new space just for parents looking for real talk and real support. We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on the ⁠PedsDocTalk Podcast Sponsorships⁠ page of the website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	But because their brains are conditioned to find threat in the body,
0:06.0	and remember, the brain translates threat into pain.
0:11.0	Yeah.
0:12.0	You remember that, that's another important one out there.
0:16.0	The brain translates threat into pain.
0:24.2	Welcome. translates threat into pain. Welcome back to the Pied Stock Talk podcast. I'm Dr. Mona and thank you for making the show
0:29.5	a top 30 parenting podcast in the United States. Your downloads, reviews, and shares of the
0:34.5	episode helped make that happen. And today we're talking about something
0:38.8	that might completely change the way you think about your child's belly pain. Here's the deal.
0:44.2	When a kid shows up in my office with stomach aches, I don't just think constipation or reflux.
0:49.3	Of course we rule those out. That's the medical side of the differential diagnosis,
0:55.1	which is just your doctor speak for. Here are all the possible causes we have to consider. But here's the part
0:59.4	most parents don't know. Mental health is always on that list too. Because the gut and the brain,
1:05.0	they're in constant conversation. And in kids, that connection is supercharged. Anxiety doesn't
1:10.2	always say, I'm anxious.
1:12.3	Instead, it shows up as belly aches before school, nausea that appears on the weekdays,
1:17.0	or constipation that magically only happens on school days.
1:20.5	This is not all in their head.
1:22.6	It's real.
1:23.5	It's physical.
1:24.0	And it's why I'm so excited to bring you this conversation with Dr. Ali Navidi,
1:29.1	GI psychologist and co-founder of GI psychology. He's going to explain how the mind-gut connection
	...

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