Okay, here we go. Prepare for “gritty.”
H1: Gut Rot’s Got You Down? (And Your Doc’s Probably Clueless)
Right, so the VA sends me another shiny pamphlet on “digestive wellness.” Full of stock photos of yoga instructors and kale smoothies. Makes me wanna hurl—literally. Look, I’ve seen more combat injuries to the abdomen than most gastroenterologists see in a lifetime. And let me tell you, those high-fiber diets ain’t gonna cut it when your insides are screaming.
The 3 AM Brain Dump
Sleep. The Mayo Clinic will tell you it’s “essential for cellular repair and immune function.” (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/how-many-hours-of-sleep-are-enough/faq-20057898) Which, yeah, fine. But what they don’t tell you—because they’re looking at population averages, not individual hell—is the kind of sleep. We’re talking about REM cycles broken up by mortar fire, or phantom explosions. Or, more likely, the sheer, unrelenting weight of what you’ve seen and done. That shit gets into your gut biome. Believe it. It screws with the vagus nerve. Which—big word alert—is the superhighway between your brain and your stomach.
Think of it like this: that nerve is supposed to be sending calm, happy signals. “Hey, digestion’s good! Everything’s smooth.” But when you’re jacked up on stress hormones, that signal turns to static. Inflammation city. And chronic inflammation? Well, hello IBS, hello Crohn’s, hello all the other fun stuff that the GI doc will blame on your “dietary habits.” Which, okay, maybe you are pounding back the chili dogs. But the real kicker is: that’s a symptom.
The “Fiber Fix” Farce
Now, the textbooks will yammer on about increasing your fiber intake. Metamucil for everyone! But consider this: if your gut lining is already shot to hell—which it likely is, thanks to the constant cortisol bath it’s been marinating in—introducing a bunch of roughage is like pouring gravel into a rusty engine. It’s gonna make things worse.
Because, the gut lining, see—single layer of epithelial cells. Super delicate. Subject to what Johns Hopkins calls “increased intestinal permeability” under stress (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/research/advancements-in-research/fundamentals/in-focus/the-gut-brain-connection). Meaning, the walls get leaky. Undigested food particles, bacteria, all sorts of nasty stuff gets into the bloodstream. Your immune system freaks. More inflammation. Vicious cycle.
What Actually Matters (Beyond the Pepto)
So, what do you do? The SSRIs? Another band-aid. Probiotics? Maybe. But they ain’t gonna re-wire your nervous system. Look, I’m no shrink, but the answer, more often than not, is digging into the why. Address the underlying PTSD. The unresolved trauma. The constant state of hyper-vigilance. Because if you don’t fix that, you can swallow all the pills you want, and your gut will still be a war zone. It’s basic biology. Period.
A better place to start? Looking into the relationship between the brain and the gut; there’s some interesting work coming out of places like The Salk Institute studying the impact of neuropeptides on intestinal function. (https://www.salk.edu/news-release/brain-peptide-could-treat-gut-disorders/)
