Stomach Aches in Teen Girls: What They’re Really Trying to Tell You Before It Becomes Chronic

Stomach Aches in Teen Girls: The Emotional Warning Signs Parents Often Overlook

When I look back on my teen years, the signs were always there. They weren’t dramatic. They didn’t come with fainting spells or emergency-room moments. They were quiet, subtle, and easy to dismiss:

• I complained of stomach pain and heartburn but insisted, “I’m fine.”

• I missed school because I felt nauseous but didn’t want anyone to worry.

• I was called sensitive when really I was overwhelmed.

• I tried to do everything right, to make everyone happy, to never be a burden.

  
  

If any of this sounds like your daughter, your niece, or even your younger self, I want you to lean in.

Because no one leaned in for me.

And by the time I became an adult, those quiet signs had grown into chronic symptoms—IBS flares, migraines, shoulder pain, anxiety, and a deep, unexplainable exhaustion.

The Early Symptoms Parents Often Dismiss

Many teenage girls experience stomach aches, nausea, reflux, or unexplained “sick days”—but these symptoms are often early indicators of emotional stress. Common signs include:

• Frequent stomach pain, heartburn, or nausea

• Feeling too sick to go to school but appearing fine later

• Perfectionism or people-pleasing

• Emotional sensitivity or irritability

• Taking responsibility for others’ emotions

• Overachieving academically or socially

• Quietly carrying stress without asking for help

These symptoms are not random. They are messages from her body.

Why These Signs Matter

A teen girl who feels everything deeply often communicates through her body before she has language for her emotions. If she’s anything like I was, she doesn’t know she’s carrying emotional tension—she only knows her stomach won’t stop hurting.

Her nervous system is overwhelmed.Her gut is speaking for her.And she’s trying hard not to burden anyone.

How Ignored Teen Symptoms Become Chronic Adult Pain: My Story

Because no one helped me connect emotional stress to my stomach pain, things didn’t improve with age. They evolved.

What started as mild discomfort turned into:

• Years of IBS and digestive problems

• Daily anxiety that followed me everywhere

• Shoulder and neck pain that interrupted my life

• Fatigue that no test could explain

And yet, I still looked “fine.”I still functioned.I still smiled and took care of everyone else.

This is what happens when early emotional symptoms go unseen.

What You Can Do—Now—to Help Her Heal

If you are raising, mentoring, or loving a girl who keeps saying she’s “fine” while her body says otherwise, here’s how to support her:

1. Ask gentle, open-hearted questions

• “What’s been feeling heavy for you lately?”

• “Is there something you’re worried about but haven’t said?”

• “Do you feel pressure to be perfect?”

  
  

2. Give her multiple ways to express herself

Not every girl can talk immediately. Offer gentle options:

• Journaling

• Drawing

• Movement

• Quiet time

• Crying without shame

  
  

3. Believe her symptoms—even when tests are normal

Her pain is real. Her body is communicating something critical.

4. Help her create small pockets of safety

A girl who feels safe doesn’t hold her pain in her belly.

I Wish Someone Had Noticed Sooner

I wish someone had connected my symptoms to my emotional life.I wish someone had told me I didn’t have to hold everything alone.I wish someone had recognized my sensitivity as a strength—not a flaw.

If you see these signs in a young girl you love, trust them. Honor them. Listen closely.

You might be protecting her from becoming the grown woman still trying to heal from what no one helped her name.

Share Your Story

Have you or your daughter experienced something similar?Share your story below—because being heard is the first step to healing.

Share • Be Heard • Heal

With love and compassion

—Dr. Su