MissBee
21-04-15, 18:53
Hi all,
I'm new here and really need some advice.
For the past year or so I've been experiencing symptoms of anxiety. I don't know what has triggered it. The worst symptoms of my anxiety is an urgent need for the toilet (number 2). As soon as I have experienced the first sign of anxiety and panic rising in my chest, the toilet issues follow closely after and this makes the anxiety ten times worse as I am panicking about finding a loo in time.
When I do go it is usually diarrhea (so sorry for tmi) and it doesn't matter if i've just gone, it seems like the stress hormone affects my bowels directly. It seems to be particularly bad when I'm in unfamiliar places or long car journeys and after having some really bad experiences lately, my brain now seems tuned in to these situations as 'dangerous' and the anxiety creeps up on me even more. I have no control over it. It doesn't affect me at home or work as much, just in places when I know getting to a toilet could be tricky.
It's getting to the stage where it's interfering in my life and I'm reluctant to go places. I have a holiday coming up in a few months and I'm terrified about how I'm going to cope. I haven't seen a doctor and I'm not wanting to take medication, I'm more interested in trying to learn some techniques or therapy to try and help me manage and control the anxiety. I even thought about getting some incontinence pants in a bid to try and feel more in control and hopefully the anxiety wouldn't affect me as much. But this isn't really an appealing option - I'm not even 30 yet :(
Does anyone else suffer from these sorts of symptoms and how do you manage it?
I'm new here and really need some advice.
For the past year or so I've been experiencing symptoms of anxiety. I don't know what has triggered it. The worst symptoms of my anxiety is an urgent need for the toilet (number 2). As soon as I have experienced the first sign of anxiety and panic rising in my chest, the toilet issues follow closely after and this makes the anxiety ten times worse as I am panicking about finding a loo in time.
When I do go it is usually diarrhea (so sorry for tmi) and it doesn't matter if i've just gone, it seems like the stress hormone affects my bowels directly. It seems to be particularly bad when I'm in unfamiliar places or long car journeys and after having some really bad experiences lately, my brain now seems tuned in to these situations as 'dangerous' and the anxiety creeps up on me even more. I have no control over it. It doesn't affect me at home or work as much, just in places when I know getting to a toilet could be tricky.
It's getting to the stage where it's interfering in my life and I'm reluctant to go places. I have a holiday coming up in a few months and I'm terrified about how I'm going to cope. I haven't seen a doctor and I'm not wanting to take medication, I'm more interested in trying to learn some techniques or therapy to try and help me manage and control the anxiety. I even thought about getting some incontinence pants in a bid to try and feel more in control and hopefully the anxiety wouldn't affect me as much. But this isn't really an appealing option - I'm not even 30 yet :(
Does anyone else suffer from these sorts of symptoms and how do you manage it?