Newbie with serious anxiety issues

[MissBee]

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?

[Logan_Five]

It's classic 'fight of flight', MissBee. Your mind is getting itself ready for an event which is untrue in reality, but it feels very real. Naturally, you'd be able to run a lot faster, if your bowels were empty or you'd been sick. I tend to get quite loose when anxiety is bad too. Panic attacks can be a horrible thing when you don't know what they are, but they can be beaten and dealt with. Deep breathing exercises and relaxation help immensely, as does talking to someone. :)

[MissBee]

Thanks for the reply :)

I can see from this forum that this is a very common symptom of anxiety. I wonder if anyone has any tips on how to control it? I try to calm myself down with breathing exercises but once the anxiety is there I find it really hard to ignore the urge for the loo. It's really starting to interfere with my daily life now :(

[Logan_Five]

It sounds like you have something quite specific. CBT might help as a way of changing your thought processes when faced with certain situations. Defo ask your GP about this. GP is always a good first point of contact, even if it's just for a chat to offload. :)

[MissBee]

Well I've booked an appointment with my work counselling service. I don't know if they'll be able to help. I hope so. It's a free service and might help me to work through some of the issues. I have never done anything like this before and feel a bit stunned at the minute. Can't believe it's come to this. But my toilet troubles are genuinely taking over my life. I am passing up opportunities to do things and I need to nip this in the bud.

Not sure what I'll say other than...'i get anxious and feel like i'm going to sh*t myself'. Dreading it tbh.

[Logan_Five]

They are there to help and not pass judgement! That's not their job. :)