This week we sit down with Dr. Claire Brandon, one of only a handful of GI psychiatrists in the country, to talk about something most of us learned in med school and then promptly never thought about again: the gut-brain axis.

Why does stress wreck your stomach?
Why do chronic GI conditions come with anxiety and depression attached?
Why does “it’s all in your head” miss the point entirely?

We talk about serotonin living in your intestines, inflammation affecting mood, why doctors struggle with gray areas, and how radical acceptance might actually be more powerful than another test.

We also get into what happens when medicine can’t “see” the problem and why that makes everyone uncomfortable.

Then, in true Knock Knock Hi fashion, we pivot from neuroscience to fecal transplants… and somehow land on a heated (but respectful) discussion about whether people should have kids.

Takeaways:

Your Brain and Gut Were Connected From Day One: Literally from embryology. This isn’t a trendy concept. It’s foundational biology we’re finally paying attention to.
Inflammation Doesn’t Stop at the Intestines: Autoimmune conditions, chronic GI disease, and mood disorders are more intertwined than most patients (and doctors) realize.
Invisible Symptoms Create Real Anxiety: When medicine can’t “see” the pathology, everyone feels unsettled, including physicians.
More Testing Isn’t Always the Answer: Sometimes decreasing hyper-focus on symptoms can actually reduce suffering.
The Gut Microbiome Is Just Getting Started: From depression to Parkinson’s research, we’re only beginning to understand how bacteria influence the brain.

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What Is a GI Psychiatrist? with Dr. Claire Brandon