farting
Stomachache. Portrait of sick young man with beard in casual white t-shirt grimacing and suffering from pain in belly, severe abdominal distress. indoor studio shot isolated on orange background

Excessive Farting and Burping Could Be Signs of Depression, Study Says Let It Out, Bro

If you’re depressed, the best thing you can do is let it out. And we aren’t just talking about your feelings or your tears. A new study has found a link between mental illness and excessive burping and farting.

Scientists with the Research Institute of the Rome Foundation in Raleigh, North Carolina, surveyed 6,000 people across the U.S., UK, and Mexico about their gassiness, bloating, stomach distention, and bad breath as well as their mental health.

The results showed that those who copped to farting most often also reported lower quality of life and higher levels of stress and depression.

“They [belches, farts etc.] clearly have a negative effects [sic] on people’s physical and emotional well-being,” lead author Olafur Palsson, a clinical psychologist with the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, told Gizmodo in an email.

What the study doesn’t reveal, however, is if there’s a causal relationship between farting and depression, meaning: does depression cause more gastrointestinal distress? Or does gastrointestinal distress make a person depressed?

All we know for sure is that if you’re depressed and full of hot air, you’re not alone. So don’t keep that shit bottled up inside. Let ‘er rip; it’s for your health.

Cover Photo: Khosrork (Getty Images)

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