When Your Stomach Drops for No Reason (And Why That’s Okay)

There’s a particular kind of discomfort that many of us know well—the knot in your stomach. It can show up out of nowhere: in the grocery store line, driving home from work, or lying in bed when the house finally gets quiet. You might not even notice it at first. Maybe you just shift your weight or hold your breath for a second. But then it settles in. Heavy. Present. Persistent.

We don’t talk much about this knot openly. Not in a world that teaches us to move fast, stay productive, and “stay positive.” Scroll for long enough and you’ll see advice about hacks to eliminate anxiety, morning routines to banish stress: a quick fix so we can get back to being productive and presentable. It can leave you wondering, What’s wrong with me if I still feel like this? Why can’t I just fix it?

But what if the knot isn’t a problem to be solved? What if it’s a communication—an old, intelligent part of your body doing exactly what it was designed to do?

The truth is that the knot in your stomach often arrives before your thoughts catch up. Your body speaks first. Sometimes it’s warning you. Sometimes it’s remembering for you. Sometimes it's simply saying, “Something matters here.” We tend to treat that sensation like an intruder, something to push aside or explain away. But if you slow down just enough to be curious, it becomes something else: a doorway into understanding yourself.

Allowing the knot to be there doesn’t mean you like it or that you want to stay in discomfort. It means you’re not abandoning yourself the moment things feel uneasy. It means you’re practicing being human—imperfect, emotional, responsive, alive.

And in therapy, this is often where the real work begins.

A therapy space can help you learn how to stay with these sensations safely, without getting overwhelmed by them. Together, you can start to notice patterns: When does the knot show up? What was happening right before? What stories does your body hold that your mind learned to tuck away? Therapy isn’t about erasing the knot. It’s about building the capacity to meet it with understanding instead of fear.

Sometimes we work from the body up—breath, posture, grounding. Sometimes from the emotions inward—naming what was never named. Sometimes from memories that finally make sense when they’re not carried alone. Over time, the knot becomes less of a threat and more of a signal. Something you can listen to rather than brace against.

And the more you learn to stay with yourself, the more your body begins to trust that it doesn’t have to shout to be heard.

You don’t need perfection. You don’t need to perform calmness or force away discomfort. You get to be a human being with real sensations, real emotions, and a real nervous system doing its best.

And the knot in your stomach—uncomfortable as it is—is a part of that story. Letting it be there is not giving up. It’s a beginning.