Working With The School
The school plays an important role when kids develop physical symptoms of anxiety. Clinicians work with the school nurse and sometimes the psychologist or school counselor to set up a protocol for keeping the childs absences from class as short as possible. For instance, the recommended amount of time to wait before encouraging the child to go back to class might be as short as five minutes.
As much as we can, we urge them not to contact the parent or send the child home if theyre saying that theyre nauseous, adds Dr. Domingues, if we know that they are feeling this way because theyre anxious. The shorter the break can be, the better it is, because the longer theyre out of the thing thats making them feel anxious, she says, the harder it will be to get them back in.
This sort of symptoms can appear in a wide-range of children, but theyre most common in the grade-school years, notes Ms. Greenspan. As kids get older and transition into adolescence and adulthood, they are more likely to manifest their anxiety symptoms in other ways.
When Constipation Is A Regular Problem
Regardless of what constipation treatment you use, give yourself enough time to sit on the toilet when you need to go. Holding in the urge can make your constipation worse. Set aside a regular time of the day when you know youâll be left undisturbed for several minutes.
Also, donât ignore the problem. Untreated constipation can lead to real problems, such as hemorrhoids and tears in the skin around the anus that make you bleed. If you strain too hard, you might even cause part of your intestines to push out through the anus â a condition called rectal prolapse that can sometimes require surgery.
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse : âConstipation.â
American Gastroenterological Association: âUnderstanding Constipation.â
American Academy of Family Physicians: âConstipation.â
Feldman M. Sleisenger and Fordtranâs Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 9th ed. Saunders Elsevier 2010.
American Academy of Family Physicians: âLaxatives: OTC Products for Constipation.â
Legato MJ. Principles of Gender-Specific Medicine, Volume 1. Academic Press, 2009.
Cleveland Clinic: Constipation: Management and Treatment.â
UpToDate: âConstipation in adults .â
Johns Hopkins Medicine: â FODMAP diet: What You Need to Know.â
Harvard Health Publishing: âTry a FODMAPSs diet to manage irritable bowel syndrome.â âProbiotics may ease constipation.â
Mayo Clinic: âConstipation,â âPrebiotics, probiotics and your health.â
Causes Of Anxiety Chest Pain
Anxiety is a response to the expectation of a future threat. This often leads the body to go through many symptoms that can lead to chest pain. These may include:
Hyperventilation: The process of inhaling too much oxygen and at an increased frequency can cause quick muscle contractions in the lungs. This also leads to a significant contraction of the blood vessel in the lungs, potentially leading to chest pain.
Bloating: Anxiety can lead to the formation of excess gas, with hyperventilation contributing to this problem. Bloating can cause increased pressure on the lungs and cause chest pain.
Psychosomatic pain: This is when a person experiences pain, but there is no tangible evidence or reason for pain to exist. It is due to the individual simply believing chest pain is there when there really isnt. This can be a common feature in those who suffer from chronic anxiety attacks.
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Binge Drinking Causes Acid
Moderate drinking will not hurt your digestive system, but binge drinking increases acid production in your stomach, and can cause heartburn and aggravate other digestive disorders.
Binge drinking is defined as drinking 8 or more units of alcohol in 1 session for men, and drinking more than 6 units in 1 session for women.
Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety
In fact anxiety is associated with a host of physical symptoms, including headaches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, along with a racing heart, shakiness or sweating symptoms older people experience when theyre having a panic attack.
All these physical symptoms are related to the fight-or-flight response triggered when the brain detects danger. All of them have a purpose, notes , a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. When she talks to kids about anxious headaches or stomach aches, she explains the role of each. For instance, she says, your stomach hurts because your digestive system is shutting down to send blood to other areas of your body. You dont want to be digesting food at that moment because youre trying to either flee danger or fight danger.
Dr. Domingues assures children that these symptoms are not harmful theyre just their emergency system responding to a false alarm. But its important to understand that kids arent necessarily inventing their symptoms, and the danger may feel very real to them. Dont assume a child who spends a lot of time in the nurses office at school is doing it intentionally to get out of class. Their acute anxiety may be causing them pain.
Headaches and stomach aches related to anxiety are still real feelings, and we want to take them seriously, says Ms. Greenspan.
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What About Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a stress-sensitive gut disorder that affects 10-15% of adults. It is a functional disorder, which means tests of the intestinal tract look normal and healthy, yet the bodily processes are irregular or different to usual. Having a nervous belly is different to IBS. A nervous belly occurs only when you anticipate a nerve wracking event, but IBS is chronic and occurs for 3 months or longer.
IBS can create terrible abdominal discomfort such as cramping, diarrhea or constipation that interferes with normal daily activities. Although there is no clear cause, the symptoms are very real. These symptoms can come and go, flare up or become chronic causing great distress because you never know when they will arrive and ruin a day.
Irritable bowel syndrome is tightly associated with stress and anxiety with greater psychological distress resulting in greater symptoms. The stress doesnt cause IBS, but rather aggravates the symptoms.
It is now thought that continual distress or chronic stress activates the immune system. The body thinks the stress is a real threat and prepares to fight it. This ongoing immune activation affects the gut. Having the immune system activated for so long can change the composition of the gut microbiome, which may then create further physical symptoms.
Many people with IBS are prescribed medications, that ironically enough, further inflame the gut. But a study on a new psychological treatment has found some promising results.
How To Tell If Your Headache Is Caused By Anxiety
Tension headaches are often diagnosed in relation to a persons overall health and lifestyle. Only a medical professional can officially diagnose a tension headache, but there are some questions many ask themselves to begin to identify the cause of a headache.
- Do I have migraines?
- Am I feeling stressed or anxious?
- Do I have any other symptoms of physical illness, like a fever?
Because self-diagnosis is not recommended, a visit to the doctor isnt a bad idea. This is especially true, as many symptoms of anxiety mimic those of physical health problems .
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How To Calm & Get Rid Of Nervous Stomach
If you have been looking for cure for nervous stomach, there are some natural ways that you can look into. Given that the condition is mainly relayed out because of the mental state of a person, it is important that you first work on your mental health and then opt for the varying ways to calm a nervous stomach.
To help you with better remedies, we have sorted through some of the best options. Lets take a look, shall we?
What Causes A Nervous Stomach
If you are wondering what could be the possible causes behind the condition of nervous stomach, it is believed that the same is often because of the situation that one is stuck in.
For those who suffer or struggle with anxiety, it has been found that nervous stomach is quite a common occurrence. Being nervous in a situation is what often causes a nervous stomach.
The vagus nerve which is one of the largest nerves in the body is responsible for connecting our brain and gut, so any kind of unsettling situations can send signals to and fro, causing the issues with the anxiousness that you could be experiencing.
Apart from the simple form of nervousness, it believed that there could very well be a number of additional issues that could be causing the problem in the first place.
Since the condition is not diagnosable, there could be some underlying health and gut issues that could be contributing to the nervous stomach that you have been experiencing. Some of them include:
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Indigestion
- Food poisoning
If you find yourself experiencing the symptoms for an extended period of time, it is best suggested that you do see a doctor to rule out any of the possible underlying health conditions that could be contributing to the condition.
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What Can Parents Do To Help
The first thing our experts suggest is something parents should not do, or at least try not to do: Let kids avoid things they are afraid of. It can be very tempting when children are complaining of a headache or stomach ache to let them stay home from school, or skip the party or the game theyre worried about. But avoidance actually reinforces the anxiety.
If were allowing them to avoid it, says Ms. Greenspan, then theyre not able to learn that they can tolerate it. The message needs to be: I know it hurts, I know its uncomfortable, but I know you can do it.
Another things parents should not do is ask children leading questions like Are you worried about the math test? Questions should be open ended, to avoid suggesting that you expect them to be anxious: How are you feeling about the math test?
If the problems your child is having are disrupting their ability to go to school consistently or concentrate at school, participate in activities, socialize with peers they might have developed an anxiety disorder that should be treated by a mental health professional. The treatment favored by most clinicians for anxiety disorders is cognitive behavioral therapy . CBT helps kids as young as 5 years old identify their anxiety and learn skills to reduce it.
The techniques clinicians teach children to calm down body and mind can also be deployed by parents, for children with less impairing symptoms.
Simple Strategies Can Reduce The Headaches Upset Stomach And Shortness Of Breath That May Be Triggered By Emotional Stress
You’ve had headaches on and off, or possibly nausea, or muscle pain. It could be emotions, rather than a physical illness, driving your symptoms.
Blame your autonomic nervous system. This is a system in your body that you don’t consciously control, but that regulates things like your heart rate, breathing, urination, and sexual function. It’s also the system that reacts when you are under a physical threat. The autonomic nervous system produces your fight-or-flight response, which is designed to help you defend yourself or run away from danger.
When you are under stress or anxious, this system kicks into action, and physical symptoms can appear headaches, nausea, shortness of breath, shakiness, or stomach pain. “Doctors see it all the time patients with real pain or other symptoms, but nothing is physically wrong with them,” says Dr. Arthur Barsky, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
In today’s world, with the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic toll, many people may be noticing new physical symptoms without realizing what’s causing them. “This is a terribly stressful time,” says Dr. Barsky. “There is stress about what our lives are like, the ominous threat of getting the virus and getting sick. It’s already clear that the pandemic is heightening anxiety and sense of stress.”
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What Causes Nervous Stomach
Have you noticed cramping, tightness and fluttering in your stomach during stressful situations? Itis usually reported by people when they are in situations of stress or anxiety. The digestive system is susceptible to emotional changes, stress, anxiety and depression. In fact, some doctors have suggested that stressful situations trigger the stomach to produce more stomach acid, which causes symptoms that resemble heartburn. Some of the key triggers are:
- Stomach ulcers and acid reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome
- Changes in digestive enzymes
- Food allergies and the intolerance of specific foods
- Eating foods that spicy, oily, high in fat, as well as fast foods
- Eating foods rapidly and not chewing the food thoroughly
- Eating late at night and eating heavy snacks at night
- Sedentary lifestyle and limited exercise, smoking in excess and alcohol abuse
- Depression, emotional stress caused by relationship issues and academic pressures and other mental illnesses, as well as hormonal changes
- Sickness during pregnancy in the morning
- Medications and antibiotics side effects
- Motion sickness, gastritis, Helicobacter pylori infection, Crohns disease, viral infections and stomach flu
- Malabsorption, loss of intestinal flora, low blood sugar and vitamin deficiency
Some Other Causes For Stomach Pain
While it is certainly possible for an anxiety stomach ache to pop up now and then, there are all sorts of other medical conditions that might make you feel sick to your stomach. Thorough medical testing might be needed so that you can rule some of these out. Here are some other possible causes of stomach pain.
Indigestion After Eating
This is likely one of the more common causes of stomach pain, and if you get acid reflux, then you should be able to figure it out relatively quickly. Some people have it their whole lives, while others only develop it when they get older. You might have a particular love of spicy chili, but where you could gulp down a whole bowl of it when you were twenty, at the age of sixty, your body might rebel at the idea. If you notice that your stomach problems pop up only when you eat certain foods, then anxiety is not likely related.
Gallbladder Inflammation Or Gallstones
If something is happening with your gallbladder, then you can certainly expect some pain as a result. The sort of pain that you get from something like overeating or gas is not going to feel much like gallbladder issues. If you have gallstones then sharp, shooting pain is likely to occur rather than the dull ache from when you have one too many helpings of food. If you have sharp pains in your stomach, then you should see a doctor without delay. It’s best to get yourself checked out, especially if the discomfort is unlike anything that you usually experience.
Drugs
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Solutions: Four Herbs To Calm Your Nervous Stomach
We all know the feeling we get a little queasy or bloated, there’s a tight knot in the pit of our belly or those nervous butterflies. Sometimes, our body rejects whatever we just ate, other times, nervousness and the body’s response to occasional stress can show up as symptoms in our gut, as everything in our body is interconnected.
How To Ice Stress And Anxiety
Its no secret that too much stress and the resultant anxiety can create many unpleasant physical as well as emotional symptoms increased heart rate, abdominal distress, hyperventilating, palpitations, dizziness, headaches, and a sense of free floating fear are examples. You can probably add your own brand of distress. While stressors may be the trigger, there is a direct link to stress and anxiety with the functioning of the vagus nerve.
As you may know I started my career doing research on many illnesses and medical solutions. It created a need to know all the potential answers for treatment. So when one of my clients asks for alternative options for some problem theyre facing, I don my Sherlock cap and search.
Recently, Bryanna told me she was having palpitations. It wasnt surprising. So many of my clients have expressed more feelings of anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. They each had their particular body distress.
The vagus nerve connects to different organs in your body, Its a component of the parasympathetic nervous system, which oversees a vast array of crucial bodily functions, including control of mood, immune response, digestion, and heart rate. When the vagus nerve is not stimulated, you can experience a range of unpleasant results from rapid heart rate and palpitations to generalized anxiety and stomach problems.
The first two vagal toning exercises for palpitations were so easy. Lay on your back, and
Cough!
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Ways To Cope With Stress And Anxiety
Theres proof that keeping your stress under control can help you prevent or ease IBS symptoms. Hereâs why. Your gut has what you can call a brain of its own. Its the enteric nervous system. And its the reason you get butterflies in your stomach when youre nervous. This âsecond brainâ controls how you digest food. It also constantly talks with your actual brain. This connection may help you manage your IBS.
What you can do on your own
You can zap tension by simply doing something fun, like talk to a friend, read, listen to music, or go shopping. You might also try:
Exercise. Walking, running, swimming, and other physical activities can reduce stress and depression. They also help your bowels contract in a more normal way instead of overreacting.
Mind-body exercises. Meditation, relaxation breathing, yoga, tai chi, and qi gong can all trigger your bodys relaxation response.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction classes and meditation. You can find courses offered online and in person, often at universities. They help you learn to manage stress by changing the way you think. Or you can learn to meditate online, in a class, or from a book.
Relaxation exercises. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing can help you restore calm. You can also learn about visualization, where you imagine a peaceful scene.
When to consider therapy
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