GUT INSTINCT
What do the butterflies mean?
We’ve all had that instinctive feeling that something’s not quite right. When we’re nervous and the butterflies are doing loop-da-loops in our stomach, or when that big thing we’re stressing about has a less than pleasant effect on our visit to the bathroom.
So why do we feel butterflies? Because our gut and our brain are connected to one another. The gut is home to the Enteric Nervous System, which contains hundreds of millions of neurons (one tenth of the amount in our brain) and our brain connects to this system via the Vagus Nerve, which runs from the base of our brain, down through the chest and into the gut.
When we get nervous or something feels ‘off’, our brain has a fight or flight response. This causes the neurons in our gut to fire up and give us an odd sensation that we interpret as nervousness or fear. It’s what kept our ancestors safe from predators, and our modern brain reacts in the same way when we feel unsure of a situation.
And whilst we may not be able to turn off this instinctive reaction, knowing why we feel it may help us to navigate these situations a little more smoothly.
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