Can anxiety cause loose stools?

[BrokenGirl]

My HA has been quite high lately and I've been freaking out over one or two things so I'm feeling fairly anxious a lot of the time.
Last Monday I went to the toilet and it was diarrhea and it improved over the following few days. But still my stools have remained very soft since then. And of course this is causing my anxiety to go higher which is probably not helping my bowels. This mornings bowel movement was very soft, just slightly better than diarrhea.
Does this sound like anything bad/sinister?
My partner told me yesterday that when he was stressed at work last year his bowel movements were soft every day, and this went on for months.
I just want to know if it's possible that it's my anxiety making my stools so soft (and I can feel slight cramping from time to time too)

[usman081]

Yes anxiety impacts stomach. In fact for me this was one of the earlier symptoms and i suffered badly for a month or so before i started treatment for my anxiety. Since then stomach is better but not to tell that i moved on to other physical symptoms and this keeps on changing

[Fishmanpa]

Simple answer is yes. The gut/bowels and the brain share a very special connection and the fact you're posting on a sub-forum pertaining to these symptoms (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/articles/symptoms#Digestive_systemNausea) on an anxiety site further affirms this.

Positive thoughts

[venusbluejeans]

yep it can

[Carys]

Of course !!!

[BrokenGirl]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm just wondering if anyone could tell me whether it's usual for this to go on for a long time. My stools have now been very loose and soft for about 11 or 12 days I'd say. I don't suffer from IBS.
If you stay in a fairly anxious state for a while (days/weeks) can it keep your bowels like this? I'm just scared it's something more serious.
I know I've read in the past than diarrhea/constipation can be a sign of bowel cancer and I can't get that out of my head!

[KK77]

I'm just wondering if anyone could tell me whether it's usual for this to go on for a long time. My stools have now been very loose and soft for about 11 or 12 days I'd say.

That's not a "long time", BrokenGirl. I thought you'd have said 1-2 months. Without being crude, this is where the phrase "to shit yourself" comes from. There is a very close link between anxiety and bowel habits.

Your anxiety/stress is fuelling this problem.

[Carys]

KK77 is absolutely right, the first thing that happens when you have panic episodes is that the bowels try to evacuate, it is to make you lighter to run. If you are highly anxious much of the time then sometimes this process doesn't happen fully, if you know what I mean and it may just be 'soft and not normal' stools instead, gut flora get disturbed, food isn't as well digested and the stomach acids may also be affected. The GI tract is heavily affected by anxiety, hugely so for some people. 11-12 days really isn't long at all.

[anom]

In a way its almost expected

I've got some current ongoing issues which are sending me into a downward spiral of depression/anxiety/stress everything. Yet my stools are ..generally ok

The last time I went to my doctors for this (I knew I'd almost certainly be referred)..I was sat in the reception waiting for my name and within 5-10min of trying to hide my anxiety/shaking I could tell I needed the toilet out of the blue. Result was the first loose stool I'd had in about 5 weeks! Then by the end of the day it was almost back to normal again

[BrokenGirl]

Things are worse today (very loose stools, cramps) so I rang the doctor and spoke with her. She said not to worry yet but if things haven't settled down after a month to go back in to see her then.
I asked her could it be anxiety and she said possibly, or it could also be viral, which can take a few weeks to clear up properly.
This is driving my anxiety crazy - I'm finding it so hard to stay calm. And I know that's probably making it worse :weep:
If only we had an off switch for anxiety......

[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.