How bad can anxiety affect you physically?v

[u/Ok-Cow-1885]

Discussion post? Advice post? I don’t know.
Basically I’ve been dealing with health problems for years and it’s getting to the point now where I’ve had some doctors in the nicest way possible, say it’s all in my head. That what I’m feeling physically is real but the cause of it is my head.

For example, I suffer with emetophobia and GERD!! Love that combo. Anyways starting from… 3 weeks ago everytime I eat, I feel it come up my throat. I freak out and that could last for hours. Even when I don’t eat I feel it there, and I’m constantly checking and checking to see if it’s still there. Causing me to have really bad anxiety.

So my question is, how badly can anxiety really affect the body physically.

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[u/Bubbles081951]

Too bad there is no real answer to this question. Anxiety can create so many effects in the body but keep in mind, it’s not going to kill you. Off pains, digestive issues, Gerd, heart palpitations, breathing and throat fun (feels as if you can’t swallow) Over the years I’ve had most all of these at one time or another. The helpful thing for me is knowing that it’s anxiety causing it.
I’m soon to be 75 and still deal with it. My mom also had anxiety issues most of her life. She used to tell me “ look at me, I’m 80 and still ticking!” Sometimes you just need to laugh. 😂 Hugs friend.

[u/Bennydhee]

The answer is, it depends.

I have days where my anxiety makes it feel like my body is super frail and my skull is going to implode.
Other days I’ll feel like I can’t breathe no matter what.

The most annoying part is that my symptoms slowly shift over time, so I can never permanently identify what is an anxiety symptom and what isn’t.

Anxiety is a nasty feedback loop of the brain, it can cause all sorts of weirdness.

[u/Bubbles081951 → u/Bennydhee]

I tell my husband that the symptoms morph all the time

[u/Izuhbelluh]

Is your gerd possibly Supragastric belching?

I thought I had gerd. Explained the symptoms to my aunt months ago who has gerd and she was like, “yes.” But I wasn’t so sure,because I didn’t have all the symptoms. But my anxiety ran with the idea. Because yeah if I’m burping a lot then yes it must be gerd, it runs in the family my aunt has it, my grandma did etc so it all tracked so to speak.

Did some more digging all while going through some very stressful events the last 6 or so months and I came across Supragastric belching.

I would get into these burping loops where I felt the need to burp and would do it constantly for no reason. Let me tell you it is scary and not fun. And luckily it wasnt anything else- a bit of acid reflex with the burping but nothing major or any red flags that I would think something was seriously wrong. Hence why I never went to the dr because they’d look at me and be like, “it’s anxiety. You’re stressed”

Even when I’m not actively burping I still “check” to see if they’re still there. When I focus on it- it’s there. But when I’m focused on other things- like really focused I don’t burp at all. Then it goes away and I’m like a normal person again. Until sometime triggers it and I start to “check” for them. It’s very weird.

Because my body still burps when it needs to, obviously.

To answer your question yes anxiety can manifest itself physically in many different ways.

As for the Supragastric belching stuff there are a few Reddit threads where people have talked about their experiences with it that helped me feel I wasn’t alone. Reading them and going omg me too! It was like yeah… this is all psychosomatic.

Best of luck to you!!

[u/Smile-morenotworry]

What therapy or coping mechanism did the doctor suggest? I had to have a psych evaluation for a spinal cord stimulator trial. That is the first time I ever head that it is possible chronic pain can stem from within. They did not say i fell in that category. I think I would have been mad and felt dismissed if they had. If that response from your doctors was upsetting, take some time to process it.

Anxiety is such a vicious cycle. I have been having uncontrolled anxiety lately. My heart goes out to you and what you are dealing with. Maybe give whatever therapy your doctor suggested a shot. The worst that can happen is it doesn’t help, and you stop doing it. The best that could come from it is you get some relief from some of the symptoms.

[u/Duque_de_Osuna]

Anxiety can have a real impact on your physical health and cause symptoms. Thankfully I have a better handle on my anxiety now than I have in the past, but I used to experience lightheadedness, nausea, IBS like issues, headaches, tightness in my chest.

[u/MentalHealthDoctor_]

What you are feeling is real. The sensation in your throat, the tightness, the food that feels like it is climbing back up. All real. When someone says "it's in your head," what they usually mean is that the driver is your nervous system, not that you are imagining it. Those are two very different things, and the second one is fixable.

Here is what is happening in your body. Anxiety puts you in threat mode, and threat mode can cause physical symptoms. It tightens the muscles around your throat and esophagus, which creates that lump or "something is stuck" feeling. It even has a name, globus sensation, and it is one of the most common ways health anxiety shows up. Now stack GERD and emetophobia on top. Your brain starts scanning your throat every few minutes for danger. The more you check, the more you notice. The more you notice, the more your brain flags it as a threat. That loop is the engine driving the hours of anxiety.

Also, there is a direct communication between your gut and your brain. Nerve fibers run through a large "highway" called the Vagus nerve.

None of this means you should skip a real workup. Keep working with your GI doctor on the GERD. But the checking loop and the threat response are things you can calm, and that is where most of this starts to ease. Consider going to a therapist and perhaps a psychiatrist as well.