Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

Can anxiety make your lower ribs/tummy tense?

Can anxiety make you lower ribs/upper abdominal tense? Idk why but for awhile now my upper abdominal feels tense/sore like I just did an ab workout but I didn’t. Like almost as if I’m sucking in my stomach but permanently. Like I try to let my stomach go/relax but it almost feels uncomfortable and not natural like how it did before all of this. It also moves so easily like it’s a weird feeling lol that muscle never use to do that, has anyone else had this happen to them too?

blazed

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 2y

Definitely. Whenever I’m stressed or anxious I find it hard to relax because my body tenses up a lot. This can certainly cause soreness and pain especially when it happens for a prolonged period of time because your muscles are being strained constantly. Mindfulness/meditation can help with this.

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@blazed Thank you! I looked it up and apparently it’s called stomach gripping lo I also have Ibs so that might play a role. I found some yoga poses that help with it and I’m trying to get back into meditation but it’s been difficult for me since I have breathing somatic ocd :/

Mau NL

Date posted: 2y

Have you ever heard from the vagus nerve? You might want to Google it. Besides stress causing you to tense up physically, many stress hormones (but also serotonine for instance) are partly produced in your stomach area. That is amongst others why so many somatic symptoms of mental illnesses are feit in that area.

Mau NL

Date posted: 2y

So there is a direct nerve connecties between brain and the stomach area

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@Mau NL Thank you for that insight! Yeah physical anxiety/ocd symptoms are no joke lol people think it’s all in ur head which yes it is but it becomes physical and people don’t understand. I have breathing somatic ocd so you can imagine this makes me a little nervous and now I’m wondering if I’m not breathing right. I’m on Zoloft 50mg which helps a little like I have no anxiety attacks but I’m wondering why it hasn’t gotten rid of most of my physical symptoms still

Mau NL

Date posted: 2y

@Anonymous Yeah, i can imagine that. But here you are, alive and kicking;-) I think your physical symptoms will slowly fade away when you stop with your compulsions. Ocd keeps you at a certain stress level which means your body produces all kinds of things that are unpractical (lol) in large amounts ;-) And a bit of physical uncomfort is also a normal part of life. I really hope that you find tools to disconnect ocd from bodily sensations. But coming back to the vagus nerve: a friend of mine had a traumatic childhood and during adulthood hè developed Crohn disease. He even had 45 cm of gut operationally removed due to chronic inflamation. When he was like 35, still having Crohn, hè wanted a career switch so hè started to study psychology. For this hè had to have psychotherapy for many hours. Without being a manifest goal, he dealt with his trauma's. And you guess it already: Crohn was nowhere to be found anymore and never came back. So have faith in when you lessen your compulsions, you get more relaxed after a while, and your physical symptoms will become less as well.

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@Mau NL Thank you for that I hope you’re right it’s been so hard trying to stay positive when this has been going on for so long now but I’m starting erp this week with Nocd so I’m hoping it helps

Gabi <3

Date posted: 2y

I’ve been having a similar thing!! At first I thought I possibly pulled an abdominal muscle, since I weighlift, but it hasn’t gone away and can come and go… are you feeling it like under your ribs and in your side-ish area?

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@Gabi <3 Yes!

Gabi <3

Date posted: 2y

@Anonymous Thank you! I was really panicking about this! Glad I’m not alone lol

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@Gabi <3 Look up stomach gripping that might be what it is I mean I’m not a doctor but it definitely sounds like what I have I think it’s just our muscles tensing up from so much anxiety and stress

Mau NL

Date posted: 2y

And sorry for my typos, its Dutch auto correction

Nica

Date posted: 2y

Yes

Anonymous

Date posted: 2y

@Nica We’re in this together!! Praying for better days ahead for us

Lucybell<3

Date posted: 14w

Breathing AGAIN!!

PLEASEEE READ!! I know this sounds ridiculous but lately I’ve been soo hyperfocused on my breathing. I feel like I’m not breathing right/properly, it’s hard to explain.. it just feels wrong or like my breathing pattern is wrong. How that’s possible? I have no clue. I’ve had this all day. Has anyone ever experienced this?? My doctor keeps saying anxiety but I just feel like something isn’t right.

suzie90

Date posted: 9w

Health OCD/anxiety shortness of breath

Just wondering if anyone else has shortness of breath caused by anxiety? I’ve been going through a really tough three months anxiety wise (POTS flareup; grief; migraines; panic attacks etc etc). Two days ago a new symptom appeared and it’s knocked me. Shortness of breath 😭 bc I’ve got POTS I’ve had a lot of heart tests done (multiple ECGS, 24 hour holter monitor) which all came back fine apart from the obvious tachycardia that comes with POTS. I had an echocardiogram done on Monday but no results back yet, but I had a consultation with my doctor yesterday and she said that’s probably good news bc they don’t mess around when it comes to your heart. And also my doctor has urgently referred me to a mental health team for therapy bc I basically broke down on the phone to her. One thing I’m mostly panicking about is this shortness of breath. I’ve had it with panic attacks before but this is mainly anxiety riddled feels like my breathing is too noticeable/wheezy without actually PHYSICALLY being wheezy. I’ve done my oxygen and it always stays between 97-99% so I know I’m getting enough oxygen but it does not feel that way and it’s so scary !! I also had a clear chest xray about ten months ago. Idk I feel like I’m just spending every day scanning my body because it feels OFF. Then I’ll finally relax JUST before I fall asleep and all my symptoms disappear. Then I wake up, have a nice 20 seconds before I start scanning again. It’s exhausting. Just looking for some support :(

suzie90

Date posted: 7w

Health OCD/anxiety stomach cancer fears

Hi, I have been under extreme stress since about March this year, and from that started suffering from very bad health anxiety which has caused panic attacks etc. I’m in the middle of a spiral right now though because I am certain I have stomach cancer. I am 31 and female. Last week I had a very good few days anxiety wise and almost felt like myself. But on Sunday morning I woke up having to rush to the bathroom (TMI sorry) and felt very nauseous. I am emetophobic so this scared me too. Since then I have been having bad stomach cramps, had to rush to the toilet once a day, and some nausea. I have no appetite at all (last week I had a very good appetite but this week I am having to force myself to eat). I am thinking about my symptoms constantly which I think might be making them worse. I have had a bowel screening done which was clear so no blood, and a calprotectin which was very slightly raised at 53, but my GP said she wasn’t concerned about it but would refer me for further testing if I wanted. So I do have more tests booked but not for some months yet. I’m just really scared because of the stomach cramps, nausea, and having to rush to the bathroom once a day for five days now. I have also had bad acid reflux but that only tends to happen when I have taken propranolol. I also have IBS so maybe my anxiety has flared it up but I’m not convinced. I’m just so scared to the point I can’t leave the house and I have been lay in bed for five days thinking about my symptoms and that I could have stomach cancer. I have also been referred for CBT in the near future to help deal with this, but I’m scared that I’m brushing something off as anxiety and giving time for the illness to spread. I just feel constantly scared. I thought I’d had a breakthrough last week but this has just hit me like a tonne of bricks. Has anyone else dealt with anything like this? I just want to feel okay again I am freaking out so bad

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Can anxiety make your lower ribs/tummy tense?

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