Physical Health Symptoms due to panic attacks or chronic anxiety

I've had nervous stomach & like a "spacey"feeling from time to time. Sometimes I keep a journal about feelings - good or bad - whatever comes to mind.Just writing it out eases my nervousness. Or talking to someone who just listens & doesn't judge me helps get out my nervous energy. Walking (especially in the sunshine) and also deep breathing slowly through my nose helps. I also ask god to take care of me and I try to do one small kindness for another person. I hope some of these suggestions help. I hate to hear that you're suffering & you're in my prayers - send a prayer for me too! Thanks, Bettyann.

Hello friend, and thank you! I just got up from meditating/praying, opened up the computer and there was your kind note!! I don't believe in 'accidents'...so I doubly thank you. I circle you with a golden healing light. My worst times are early mornings when I first wake up and thoughts go amuck...but I KNOW that will eventually NOT be a problem. Thank you so much for answering..

I have had GI problems since I was in 6th grade (I'm 24 now) and over the years I developed a lot of anxiety because of it. I started avoiding situations and preferred to just stay home because I didn't want to have an episode in public. A little over a year ago I went through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and that helped me tremendously with the mental aspect of having GI problems. It's not traditional therapy where you sit on a couch and talk about how you feel ... it's actually doing the things that make you anxious and learning how to cope with the anxiety. And the more you expose yourself to the things that cause the anxiety the more you "acclimate", so to speak. I highly reccomend CBT to anyone who has anxiety. I still have GI issues but I'm SO much better at dealing with them.

Dear Shaela, THANK YOU for this comment! This really interests me and appeals to me, mostly likely because it seems to fit in with my own spiritual/metaphysical beliefs of 'facing' it, letting it be and then dealing with it...'staring down your dragons with love'...I will definately look into this. =)

I'm the same way as you ... would prefer not to take medication unless absolutely necessary. Check out the show Obsessed on A&E (if you don't have cable it's available on Netflix). It follows people going through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ... although they have OCD rather than anxiety. A little more on my own personal experience - I got to a point where I refused to be driven by anyone, I cut a lot of foods out of my diet, and I had a lot of anxiety when it came to eating in public. One of my "exposures" was riding the bus while eating a snack that I would never dream of eating (my therapist made me eat Fritos). For another exposure my therapist picked me up and drove me to a restaurant for dinner but didn't tell me where we were going. At the restaurant I had to eat something I had formerly cut out of my diet because I thought it made me sick. Through the course of CBT I realized that the foods I cut out of my diet weren't making me sick and I actually feel better if I eat more of a variety. Essentially the exposures are designed to make you have an "panic attack". But your therapist is with you and realistically talks you through it. And once you're in the "panic attack" you need to stay in the situation until your anxiety comes down. If you escape when you're anxiety peaks you're reinforcing your safety behavors (i.e. when I feel like X, I can do X to relieve it - in my case, I felt anxiety eating in a restaurant so I would just pick up my food to go and eat at home instead). Every time you do that provoking activity the anxiety is less severe. CBT is hard work and it's a commitment ... but I can't even tell you how worth it is is!

Dear Betty Ann, I feel as if we are old friends. I was hoping someone like you existed so I would not feel so all alone in my misery. Just knowing you are not alone is half the battle. Mine is a long story so I wont bore you except to say I understaand and would like to keep in touch. I'll reveal more in time. ...Grams

I dont know if it helps but i created a fear fighter - app for dealing with panic symptoms; hope its useful, greetings, g

Constant worry over your health is very common for those who suffer from anxiety.
I , myself have simply learned to accept this illness as a part of me.
I do still worry that something is "wrong" despite all the tests and doctor visits.
Our brain can mess us up when it takes control over our thoughts....
I have found therapy to be very helpful.
We need to UN-LEARN the negative thinking and negative worry.

Dear Grams... I am SO SORRY that I have not replied until now...I did NOT receive a notice until this morning!!--Dec 7th...So please forgive what must have seemed like no appreciation for your nice and kind post.. Are we allowed to somehow give personal Email addresses. I would not want everyone to have access to it... Anyway...THANK YOU again for your post.
Have a really good day. Betty Ann

I completely agree with what you are saying, Amberjune...I hesitate it expressing all of my own personal beliefs about ANY kind of illness itself because I do not want to offend anyone else's beliefs... And you so hit in on the head about what you said about the dreaded "wrong": word... this can be SUCH a big hang up... I'm so glad you brought that up. I so very much appreciate your post. THANK YOU. Again...I didn't receive a notice that I even had any responses until this morning. So I apologize for that.