Can anxiety cause loose stools?

[fruitandnutlover]

Stress and anxiety most definitely play a big part in upsetting the digestive system. I’ve had IBS on and off for 18 years. The last 4 months have been particularly stressful for me and my digestion is just completely out of whack. I went to see a gastroenterologist last month who said I had anxiety induced IBS. Just wish I could get it under control, it controls my life. I can kind of live with the anxiety, have had it most of my life, it’s the physical effects of it which I struggle with. Anxiety/stress/physical symptoms then back again to anxiety/stress etc, viscous cycle which is very hard to break. I do try listening to some gut related hypnotherapy on YouTube, it does help somewhat.

[BrokenGirl]

It's been about 2 weeks now and my stools are still soft and also fairly thin, which is really worrying me. I'm feeling slight cramps as well from time to time, but nothing major.
If it is anxiety causing this (and I'm trying so hard to believe it is), can it also make them thin?
I don't want to sound disgusting but the first bit of my stool is the fattest bit ( almost normal ) and the rest of it is very thin. What can cause this? Or how can anxiety cause this?

[Honeynut]

Anxiety can cause that. It happened to me and I googled it and actually found out it’s pretty much a myth that thin stools are a sign of cancer or anyhing morbid. I read many things about soft stools breaking apart easier and appearing amaller and thinner and also if you’re anxious it affects the muscles of your stomach and bowel which can constrict the size. It’s much more likely to be anxiety induced ibs. If it doesn’t go away you can have a stool test done to check for anything awful but unless you start seeing blood, I wouldn’t panic.