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Physical Health Symptoms due to panic attacks or chronic anxiety
Digestive Health | Last Active: May 2, 2012 | Replies (20)Comment receiving replies
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.
Replies to "I have had GI problems since I was in 6th grade (I'm 24 now) and over..."
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!
ShaelaRuns,
This is excellent advice!! I have watched many television shows where therapists put people with anxiety into a situation where they experience anxiety and they realize they can deal with what they thought was so terrible. CBT is an excellent idea for people trying to overcome their anxiety. I also would recommend for a person to close their eyes, slow their breathing, and go to their happy place. They should imagine a wonderful place and being in a place were they are happy. This technique has really helped me when I was experiencing anxiety. My husband has helped talk me out of anxiety attacks and panic attacks too. He is the best!! This advice you gave to Bettyann is fantastic and excellent advice!! Excellent post!! Thanks for your story and again excellent advice!! Take care and have a wonderful Wednesday night!!
Sincerely,
Michelle
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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. =)