Advice

[Chrisig1986]

What advice can most of you give me with diarrhoea problems, I'm mostly affected at social events and I get really bad anxiety and panic attacks and when I have to go, I have to go. I take imodium instant if I have this problem but just wondering if there is anything else.

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[nomorepanic]

Have you seen a doctor and had any tests etc done to make sure all is ok?

[Chrisig1986]

Hi, yes I've had blood test and done stool samples and all come back ok. Doc just ruled out IBS or intolerance but I'm thinking it's more anxiety related personally.

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[MyNameIsTerry]

I had this at the very start of anxiety and again as I approached a relapse. Being in work and just needing to get to the toilet just in case. Nothing happened most of the time and in the relapse it was more about just escaping being in the big open plan office.

Whilst it's hard to push beyond, like so many symptoms, do you do much socialising? By habituating to more social events through exposure work it could help. And using techniques when in them such as focussing/distraction techniques, grounding, Mindfulness, etc which all helped me.

Do you worry you will lose control and the embarrassment of that? I did and had to overcome it by being in those situations more and learning not to run. It's hard though and take time & repetition.

Working on those things that bring down your overall levels of anxiety will help too so your anxiety/panic has a lower baseline and doesn't reach such intense peaks. This one is a slow burn though as it takes the body (and mind) time to adjust.

[Chrisig1986]

Thanks Terry, yes it only happens when I'm going to a social event or even a day out with the kids which I try to avoid as much a possible especially if it's some place I have never been too. I do worry I might embarrass myself "what if i poo myself, is there any toilets, can they hear me go etc".


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[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, I can imagine how it feels as I was the same over loosing control of my bowels or being sick. But it never happened. I'm guessing it has never happened to you either although like me you might have found yourself in a toilet trying to go "just in case" whether successfully or not. And wind doesn't help either as it cane make you feel like you want to go and you get this when you are anxious.

I know for me it was a combination of reducing my overall levels of anxiety, making myself go into places I feared (like supermarkets, big open plan indoor places where I couldn't easily escape into the outside air where it calmed down) starting small and building up doing it over & over until it bothered me less. But exposure work is hard.

Things like I mentioned above can help you when you are in those situations though so worth seeing if any help you.