Anxiety and nausea

thebatman · ‎12-11-2014

Hi, I'm 21 years old and I've suffered from anxiety from the around the age of eight. During this time my anxiety continues to change my symptoms, as my resilience builds against current symptoms. Because of this, each time I'm faced with the question - is this anxiety, or am I actually ill this time? As of the past month or so I've been feeling extremely nauseous from time to time, and I've also been light headed and feeling panicked. I made the mistake of googling 'what causes nausea?', and this has now increased my nausea and vertigo severely because of the possible illnesses that could be the root of my symptoms. I was previously unaware that anxiety could actually cause nausea or vertigo, so I suppose a large portion of me is worried that I am suffering an actual illness. It seems when I start to feel nauseous, it gets worse, because it consumes my each and every thought. It has now gotten to the stage where I don't want to leave my bed, and I'm struggling to eat anything at all, in fear it will make me sick. My question is: has anybody else experienced this? and if so, how did you get over the nausea or the feeling as though you're about to faint?

Thank you.

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thebatman · ‎12-03-2015

I'm overwhelmed by the number of responses I've received - thank you all so much 🙂

I still struggle with this symptom daily, though the severity has lessened since I originality made this post. I suppose it helped me knowing that others felt like this.

That being said, I do still have this issue and I'm not sure that it will subside anytime soon.

As for medication; I'm glad it has worked for some of you, however I'm terrified of medication so I refuse to take it. (I'm a genius, I know lol).

I'm just working on taking one day at a time, and trying to remain positive. (Though, I have a new symptom now yay).

Hope you are all able to come to a peaceful mindset with your anxiety, thanks x

Indycatt · ‎03-04-2015

Wow! As I was reading I thought I had wrote this myself! I have all the exact same problems and still struggle to function in life 😞

Ender · ‎04-04-2015

Hi Beltane, my girlfriend has the same exact symptoms and conditions as you. She has extreme nausea everyday and sometimes accompanied by headache. She went to two different GI doctors and found nothing physically wrong. She has tried many different anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants and nothing seem working for her. She's very cautious on what she eats and avoid those that might worsen the nausea. Yet, the nausea still persists every day that sometimes it's too intense that she cannot sleep at night. I really want to help her get over the nausea because it's very debilitating. We might have a chat with the psychiatrist about it.

Liv1993 · ‎12-04-2015

I'm 21 and my anxiety began when I was 17 due to an unhealthy and what I now realise was an abusive relationship.

Nausea is the primary symptom of my anxiety. I went to doctors and specialists had all the tests done in the world to work out if there was anything medically wrong with me and everything came back clear. It was so hard for me to understand because my symptoms were 100% real. I lost 20 kilos because feeling sick all day every day meant I couldn't eat. I had to drop out of uni and stopped going out as this made my nausea worse. There was a period of time where I couldn't leave the house. I couldn't remember a time where I felt happy, safe and well. But with a lot of hard work and time I am now back to functioning as normal as possible. I worked with a psychologist to identify my triggers. Although I wasn't keen on the idea I started an anti-anxiety medication which I now have no regrets in the world about taking. I thought I'd be washed out and brain dead on it but it just helped me feel myself again. I got out of my relationship and although at the time it seemed an unimaginable thing to do, i now view it as the best decision of my life.

My only advice to you is keep going. If you can identify what triggers or worsens your nausea you can start to address it. Also accept the fact sometimes there isn't a reason for how you feel and rather than analyse it over and over in your head accept it, remind yourself there's nothing wrong it's just anxiety. Challenge yourself by sticking through situations where you feel sick and it's hard. I learnt that giving in to how I felt and just coming home to bed was reinforcing my anxiety and in turn making it worse.

I feel like I can really identify with nausea and anxiety so if you need someone to chat to about it don't hesitate to contact me

Hspar2 · ‎26-04-2015

A little while ago I started to get nauseous randomly and started to convince myself I was sick, whether it be food poisoning, gastro, some organ shutting down, anything at all. I began avoiding meat on the chance I got food poisoning, I didn't eat out and even started aggressively washing my salads in case they had bacteria that would make me sick. As I have identified it as a symptom of anxiety it has become slightly easier, however it is still my number one symptom and can be debilitating. It is certainly a step by step process, as I expose myself to more situations I used to avoid than it gets slightly better. Its frustrating because I never used to be like this, and in a way some of the anxiety is coming from me mourning the person I used to be and how 'normal' i felt. Now all I can think about is sickness and death and it is incredibly intrusive.

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chewenod · ‎04-06-2015

Hi, I'm 22 and have had the same problem since I was about 15. I'm sorry to hear you're experiencing this because it's so frustrating!

My nausea tends to fluctuate with my level of anxiety so I recommend treatingthe cause, not the symptom and working towards lowering your anxiety. I also developed a list of "safe" foods to eat (usually staples) and gradually expanded it. Also I recommend havinga big glass of water when you wake up in the morning to settle your stomach.

Plus the usual stuff you would do for standard gastric distress. Less coffee, less spice etc; seems to help. The vertigo may be low blood sugar as well?

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Doolhof · ‎04-06-2015

Hi Hspar2,

Thanks for sharing your post with us. I am wondering if you have talked with your Dr about your anxiety? He or she will be able to assist you with ideas and strategies to help you overcome all that you are experiencing.

It may help to speak with a counsellor as well. I'm not sure of the advice and information supplied to you from Beyond Blue, but there is certainly a lot of information here at this site to help you understand and conquer anxiety.

During our lives, circumstances change all of the time and we need to find ways to adapt and make the most of what we have around us.

You may find that you will never return to the "You" of your past, but you can become a stronger person emotionally and mentally. You can grow through your experiences and learn so much about yourself.

Hope some of this helps. Cheers from Mrs. Dools

Doolhof · ‎04-06-2015

Hi Chewenod,

I just want to welcome you to the Beyond Blue community and thank you for your insightful post.

It is wonderful when people can reach out and offer suggestions of help and advice to each other.

Sometimes it is the simple things that can help to improve our lives, but we don't always think of them.

So thanks again for sharing your tips on how to manage anxiety. I hope you are travelling okay.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools

katesb · ‎14-04-2016

Hello, this is my first time on Beyond Blue...

I've suffered from an eating disorder for the past 4 years now which has lead to anxiety and mild depression. For the past year I have been having episodes of sudden nausea and vertigo/vomiting that come on very quick and only last a day or a few hours. I didn't know what was causing this until I changed my doctor the other day and she put it down to anxiety!

I feel so much better now knowing what was causing it and hopefully can go up from here to getting to the bottom of it all... You have to go through blood tests and breath tests etc to find all the small things that may be off balance but it's definitely worth it!

Strong100 · ‎09-05-2016

It seems I feel nausea when I feel so tense that my breathing becomes more shallow.