Stress can absolutely cause physical illness in children. DS7 used to throw up several times a week when he was in a rigid classroom environment in an IB primary years program with a teacher who tended to use shame to get her point across (even though she was a gifted-certified teacher. . . sigh) DS is HG+, has some sensory issues and tics, and is a little behind peers in his fine motor skills. The rigidity and shaming were overtly harmful for him. It took us awhile to get to the root of the problem.
We moved DS to another school with a more relaxed approach to education and a part-time gifted pull out program that was geared more toward the social and emotional needs of gifted students. The vomiting stopped immediately and his tics slowed WAY down. Trust your gut on this one.
