Triggering (ED): Sucking in stomach

[Brandon]

Not sure where else to put this, but I'm starting to realize that I have a real problem with sucking in my stomach. I've been doing it since I was in high school (last I remember), and it's mostly in public. It's safe to say that I'm self-conscious about my body and I've never really thought of it like that until now, and as a result...I spend the majority in public sucking in my stomach. It doesn't matter if it's a guy, or the most attractive female -- I pretty much have my stomach sucked in at a consistent rate. It all is starting to make sense because one of my old friends told me that I was "fat in all the right places," and that's probably because I had my stomach sucked in.

It almost feels like I forgot what it's like to not suck in my stomach. Sometimes I find myself thinking about whether my stomach is in it's natural size or if I'm pushing it out too much or sucking it in.

Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but I have other issues and I'm wondering if sucking in my stomach could be a cause of any other problems.

Anyways, what are the consequences of sucking in your stomach for extended periods of time? I did about 5 seconds of research (I have to take a dump and go to work), and a guy said that if anything, sucking in your stomach is good but I'm wondering if there could be problems with sucking in the stomach.

Thanks for reading. I'll be back at 11 tonight.

[TheOtherMichelle]

I don't know about physical side effects, but it's definitely damaging to your self esteem to go around thinking people won't like you if your stomach is out. You're not fat and you need to believe that. You are you, and you're special. Your stomach doesn't define who you are.

[aloharocker]

Honestly, I do the same thing. I'm not a doctor, so I don't have any solid facts here, but it can't be good for your breathing. Constantly contracting the muscles in your abdomen would restrict your diaphragm and lung capacity. It's also probably not too good for any of the organs in there...

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

When you suck in your stomach you lose some of your breathing capacity because your diaphragm and lungs are slightly (not fully) contracted. I suppose the impairments would be due to insufficient oxygen, although if your lungs aren't damaged from toxins or defects, you may be fine. It'd be more problematic when you're more active because you cannot take in full breaths.

I'm tired so I'll have to ponder over this point although you could look it up before I answer later on. The human lung does not expel 100% CO2 that it takes in, which is normal. A basic human anatomy and physiology textbook could easily answer why (it's better understood with diagrams, hence why I won't explain it now as I'd have to find proper diagrams). My point is, since your lungs are always slightly contracted, you may have a greater CO2 build-up. As you can imagine this does affect intake of O2 and oxygenation of hemoglobin (although it can carry some CO2 as well, not as much as O2). In the end, if you're tired, it'll take you longer to recuperate and could be damaging overall.

There has been a case of a man laughing for ~34 hours, causing death and when laughing, you have more breath intakes but it becomes painful and his muscles became incredibly tired. Although you probably won't reach the same fate as he did, point is it can cause detrimental effects and may tire your muscles.

[x_sepi_x]

I do the exact same thing hun. It's so natural to do it, I wouldn't be able to stop. I don't think it has any effects. If it does, it's psychological effects will most definately out-number the physical ones. It really 'hurts' me in the head, self esteem is a major issue for me and its just getting worse.
Hopefully it won't have any major damage.
Take care

[Iridescence]

Im really sorry to hear this. Even though its damaging to your self esteem, I do the same thing. Ive been bullied about being fat so I suck in to make it seem less obvious. Though I'm almost pretty sure that it doesnt have a lot of physical side-effects besides just losing some of your lung capacity.
I hope you dont continue to do this because its never good. Especially for your self esteem. I hope you have a good day!

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

After sleeping, I thought about this for a bit and the reduced lung capacity will screw you over. You can function with it but there's a chance that since you muscles get more tired either from constant contraction and less oxygen, you may hunch forward a bit so it's easier but that presents a negative image to people. You may also work muscles not meant for respiration, such as your pecs and shoulder muscles. This is because the pleural cavity (area where lungs are in) goes up to your collarbone. Below is a basic diagram showing where the pleural cavity reaches.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/e...lsize/9749.jpg

Your lungs are asymmetrical both in length and width. You may experience slight slanting to one side as a result (i.e. pleural cavity asymmetry). This wouldn't be noticable to yourself but it is to others.

If you already have breathing problems from whatever damage, it'll be amplified by sucking in your stomach constantly. Although it's the only physical side-effect I can think of, it's a major one that will affect your overall physiology and health.

[EndureEmo]

i do the same thing, i started it in my first year of high school, and now its just a habbit. i usally never think twise about it but i think it might be most of the female population doing this ;s i do it even when no one is around. And the only time i dont suck in is when i look in the mirror to see if there is any change, becoz i am tryying really hard to eat right and weigh my self every morrning.. and people dont have to tell me weighing your self all the time is unhealthy for your mind frame, but i like to know. ;] .. but im sure lots of people suck in

[EndureEmo]

ohkayyy, i was looking on the internet about things like this today, i found it was interesting, i think its not sucking in your stomach.. it could just be your possture.. because the video i saw was showing the possture of slouchhing, and than a proper one, and it had looked like she had dropped 5 or so kilos and i was thinking about it and i think thats what i do

[Guru]

Any time I have to take my top off I suck in my stomach. It strengthens your abs. That's a physical plus.

[Jack]

I was concerned about this too as I do it rather a lot, I don't really need to anymore but it's just a relic from when I was feeling like you do now. Anyhow, all the articles I read suggested it was actually a good thing to do because it tones and improves your abs and eventually your muscles become so used to it that they do it automatically. Plus I noticed that it seems to give me a better posture.

[Thirteen]

See, I happen to do the same thing, but it depends on what I'm wearing, too. Most of the time, I don't do it in public, but if I'm with my boyfriend, and he's running his fingers along my stomach or something, I'll suck in. I can't help but to do it. I feel insecure, even moreso in intimate situations.

Honestly, maybe you could try pinching yourself when you go to do it next time.

[Ashes2493]

I do that all the time, too. So much so that I feel weird if I don't. I do it because my mom kinda forced me to. When I was younger and I didn't she would come over and poke me in the stomach and say, "Suck it in, your belly is sticking out." I'm thinking, 'thanks mom, you are really helping my self esteem.' (sarcasm)

I don't think there is anything wrong with it, I would think it would help your posture and strengthen your ab muscles.

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by TheOtherMichelle

I don't know about physical side effects, but it's definitely damaging to your self esteem to go around thinking people won't like you if your stomach is out. You're not fat and you need to believe that. You are you, and you're special. Your stomach doesn't define who you are.

I wouldn't say it's damaging to my self-esteem because the damage has already been done. Keeping my stomach at a natural state may help me feel better physically, but I don't think it'd make a difference emotionally. I'd actually think it'd make the situation worse because I would walk around thinking that whenever someone looks at me...it's because they notice my big stomach rather than other imperfections. I'm bald so people already notice for that, but that's something beyond my control; big stomachs is a result of lack of healthy diet and exercise and that is something within my control. You haven't seen me naked before (and perhaps that's a good thing :P) and therefore can't really say things like oh, I'm not fat -- it's all psychological and that I'm special because I think that's corny as hell to say and completely untrue. I'm not special...I'm just like everyone else. My stomach doesn't define who I am but it does define how physically attractive I am. In today's society, big stomachs generally mean unattraction. I know that having a big stomach is not the only indicator of physical attraction and therefore don't believe that just because I have a big stomach means no one will like me; I know people will still like me. I just don't feel comfortable being in a natural state because my stomach is one of the major things that I don't like about myself. The rest of my body I think is fine, but if I got rid of my stomach...I think a lot of people, including myself, would be content with the rest. So that's why I suck it in to try and live my life like I didn't have a big stomach. Of course, that's just a general answer.

Originally Posted by aloharocker

Honestly, I do the same thing. I'm not a doctor, so I don't have any solid facts here, but it can't be good for your breathing. Constantly contracting the muscles in your abdomen would restrict your diaphragm and lung capacity. It's also probably not too good for any of the organs in there...

That's what I'm afraid of because I feel that my breathing is very constricted when I walk. I believe that's why I get exhausted when I walk sometimes more than others and then when I get exhausted, I have trouble breathing because I wouldn't want people to hear me deep breathing because they would know. So not only do I sometimes struggle to walk to the point that I develop charlie horses in my legs, sweat beating down my face, and my mouth wide open, but I literally have trouble breathing because I try to get oxygen but I can't get enough without making a lot of noise. My dad deep breathes all the time, especially in movie theaters, and that's why I don't sit near him anymore. It's rather annoying and I don't want to be like that.

Originally Posted by The Sexiest Man Alive

There has been a case of a man laughing for ~34 hours, causing death and when laughing, you have more breath intakes but it becomes painful and his muscles became incredibly tired. Although you probably won't reach the same fate as he did, point is it can cause detrimental effects and may tire your muscles.

Maybe I should clarify. I don't do it all the time but just when I'm around people. And even then, I don't do it all the time when I can shield it. For instance, when I'm sitting down and it's hard for someone to notice, like in class where people are directed towards the teacher, I won't suck it in. Or driving a car. Unless I'm getting a blowjob while driving, people are mostly focused on the road while I'm driving. So it's all random, and it can last anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours. I guess it also depends on what I'm wearing, and that's why I avoid wearing underarmor with that stretchable material because I'd probably stop breathing at that point. Lol

[strawberryfields]

Wow, this is actually really informative, ive done this for many years and im glad to hear that im not the one freak doing this :-)

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Jack

I was concerned about this too as I do it rather a lot, I don't really need to anymore but it's just a relic from when I was feeling like you do now. Anyhow, all the articles I read suggested it was actually a good thing to do because it tones and improves your abs and eventually your muscles become so used to it that they do it automatically. Plus I noticed that it seems to give me a better posture.

I noticed that also when I googled this up but just thinking about doing it, your breathing is somewhat constricted. If it's constricted, less oxygen enters the body, less metabolism of glucose will occur, so there is a lactic acid build-up and weakened muscles. It makes me then wonder how can the muscles get strengthened when they're getting less oxygen? Furthermore, even though the sucking in can become reflexive, it takes energy for muscles along the upper pleural cavity near the shoulders to take on the role of respiration. All the articles that said sucking in the stomach is good for improving abs don't mention respiration at all. It makes me wonder if I'm over-thinking it and am wrong or if I'm right but it still could strengthen abs just in a less efficient way.

[Revolution]

Offhand, I don't think it's physically damaging, even with some of the effects people have found, I don't think that's the largest problem. I feel it's more a symptom of some withheld self esteem problems, but I don't know you, and I'm not a doctor.
I do the same thing like...all the time. Lol.

[ThatBoy]

I actually didn't think anyone else did this at all (which is stupid really). Reading through this thread has actually made me feel better about it tbh!

[x_sepi_x]

Dint we all?? lol i never knew it was so commen.