Anxiety Nausea

[NataliaM]

Hi;

I am 21 year old student, for over a year now I have been struggling with really bad nausea from the moment I wake up, to sometimes not being able to sleep because of it. Never actually vomited thought. It all started when I came to university. At first, I didn't want to believe its anxiety as I never had issues with mental healthy and all of a sudden it hit me really hard.

After many visits to a doctor and many different tablets I decided to get treated for anxiety and I actually decided to go and see someone to help me deal with it as I found it hard to recognise in myself whether I was stressed/anxious. Apart from the dizziness, and on going nausea of course. I have been on propranolol and doing consulting for over 6 months now and it helped massively, going from having nausea every single day that stopped me from leaving my house sometimes I only get nausea...I'd say 2-3 times a month.

Although it's a massive improvement and I feel great! I want to seek more help on reducing the nausea to zero. It is awful when it comes! And I think my fear of vomiting in public makes it even worse as I am more anxious.

Anyone have tips on how to deal with it or help to reduce it! Anything.

[Mariapalmer]

Your story was great to read I’ve been suffering a long time with nausea and I am going on medication to help the anxiety so it’s good to hear a story where things have improved

[NataliaM in reply to Mariapalmer]

I hope the medication helps you! I'm getting there slowly!

[mayerfan in reply to Mariapalmer]

Did your nausea go away mariapalmer? I also suffer from nausea 24/7 and have just started on an antidepressant. Thank you

[Jeff1943]

NataliaM, it's good that the propranolol is bringing you relief. But medications only bring respite not cure. When you stop the medication the problem reasserts itself. Nothing has changed so why shouldn't it?

Shall I tell you what is causing your nausea? You are. Everytime you feel nauseous you react to it with fear. Tell me if I'm wrong. When you feel fear you release fear hormones into your system and these cause your nervous system to become over sensitised. In this state they send out false signals giving us all sorts of symptoms including nausea. So everytime you feel nausea it produces more fear hormones that keep your nervous system over sensitised. The over sensitivity then causes (in your case) more nausea which produces more fear hormone and so you perpetuate your suffering by fear and the fear of fear.

Instead if trying to cure the symptom (nausea) I suggest you concentrate more on the cause (anxiety). Because if you can free yourself of anxiety the nausea will automatically disappear.

So instead of fighting the nausea feeling you break the vicious circle by doing the very opposite: you accept it for the time being. You know what's wrong with you, you know why and you know by now you're never going to vomit over someone on a first date. So instead of reacting with fear you should frame your mind to utterly accept the symptom of nausea calmly and with the minimum of fear.

You see, fighting only causes more stress and strain which are not what frazzled nerves need more of.

So by reacting with Acceptance rather than fear you stop re-sensitising your nervous system everytime you feel nauseous. I recommend you practice acceptance every time you feel nausea and eventually with your doctor's agreement come off the proproponol whilst practicing acceptance. It will take time, it will take practice and perseverance but the approach I have described will after the passage of time allow your nervous system to return to normal. And so will you.

[NataliaM in reply to Jeff1943]

Hi Jeff, thank you so much for you reply! When you say it it seems so easy! I know the issue with me is that I don't accept it and fight against it. The only issue is that it comes in the wrong times for example today I felt awful in my new job, weirdly it's my second week at my new job and it only just got me even thought the first week there I had no anxiety or stress whatsoever.

I have no idea how to practice acceptance, I feel too weak and fearful of it.

Thank you.

[Jeff1943 in reply to NataliaM]

NataliaM, don't worry, you're not going to feel like this for the rest of your life. Why be surprised that after one good week you're having a bad week? The basic problem of over sensitised nerves hasn't changed so inevitably it came back, even during your good week your nerves were still in that state, waiting to reassert themselves again.

So you felt awful in your new job. The answer is so, so simple: accept it for the time bring. Accept everything including the dizziness. It takes time to cultivate Acceptance, it's not like pressing a switch. You have to work at it: nothing worthwhile is easily won.

There is a short book written before you were born by a doctor called Claire Weekes who 'invented' the acceptance method of recovery from anxiety disorder. It's titled 'Self help for your nerves' in the uk and 'Hope and help for your nerves' in the us, both available new or used on Amazon for a few £$. As you read it you begin to feel that she knows you personally, you recognise yourself in its pages. It is written in every day language without complex medical terms. This book, far better than I can, will teach you how to accept and the other things that will help your tired nerves to recover. I do recommend it. No need to feel weak, no reason to be fearful of it, this book is going to help you recover your quiet kind, nothing frightening in that. I'll leave you to decide but don't just drift, don't let anxiety push you around. I hope before long you are on your way along the road to recovery.