I often have a "nervous" stomach. Is this caused from nerves, thinking too much, or is it anxiety?

Question

And if its anxiety, what exactly IS anxiety?

Answer 1

Anxiety is a lack of control or what you think is a lack of control over a situation.
Anxiety is a complex combination of negative emotions that includes fear, apprehension and worry, and is often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, nausea, chest pain and/or shortness of breath.

Anxiety is often described as having cognitive, somatic, emotional, and behavioral components (Seligman, Walker & Rosenhan, 2001). The cognitive component entails expectation of a diffuse and uncertain danger. Somatically the body prepares the organism to deal with threat (known as an emergency reaction); blood pressure and heart rate are increased, sweating is increased, bloodflow to the major muscle groups is increased, and immune and digestive system functions are inhibited. Externally, somatic signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating, trembling, and pupillary dilation. Emotionally, anxiety causes a sense of dread or panic and physically causes nausea, and chills. Behaviorally, both voluntary and involuntary behaviors may arise directed at escaping or avoiding the source of anxiety. These behaviors are frequent and often maladaptive, being most extreme in anxiety disorders. However, anxiety is not always pathological or maladaptive: it is a common emotion along with fear, anger, sadness, and happiness, and it has a very important function in relation to survival.

Neural circuitry involving the amygdala and hippocampus is thought to underlie anxiety (Rosen & Schulkin, 1998). When confronted with unpleasant and potentially harmful stimuli such as foul odors or tastes, PET-scans show increased bloodflow in the amygdala (Zald & Pardo, 1997; Zald, Hagen & Pardo, 2002). In these studies, the participants also reported moderate anxiety. This might indicate that anxiety is a protective mechanism designed to prevent the organism from engaging in potentially harmful behaviors such as feeding on rotten food.

A chronically recurring case of anxiety that has a serious effect on a person's life may be clinically diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. The most common are generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Answer 2

There are at least two kinds of anxiety. One type is about things you cannot control. i.e. Death, terrorists, the sun exploding, the world coming to an end. If you can't control it, stop worrying about it?

The other anxiety is a product of low self-esteem and conscious and unconscious thought of how you are perceived by others. Do NOT tell anyone else this SECRET: Everyone you see who looks and acts supremely self confident is FAKING it.

BONUS!: When you pretend externally to be self confident, you gradually become self confident. Don't hang your head. Look people in the eye, square your shoulders, and walk with purpose. This works for people of any age.

Re: The queasy stomach. It could be anxiety, Jacobs-Kreutzer disease, ulcer, poor diet or many other things. Talk to a doctor, if possible. Medicine might be necessary. There are meds for anxiety.

If not possible, talk to a counselor. If there is no counselor, talk to an older adult who knows you, and in whom you can confide. Older folks have "been there, done that." When you confer with one of these people, plan what you are going to say. Be brief and honest. Surprisingly, you will find your questions are taken seriously.

Answer 3

Well usually when one is nervous the stomach is stimulated and it keeps releasing more and more acid, which creates a nervous stomach. To create a nervous stomach, it could be anxiety,nerves,or thinking too much. You have to decide what it is. Does it happen when you are nervous or anxious or just when you think to much about something that makes you nervous?

Answer 4

Could be anxiety...it sounds like you think it is.. as for anxiety its basically when you are feeling anxious!!
Its natural for your body to feel anxious/afraid in certain situations i:e stage fright..chase by dog...heights.. whatever, we have a "panic alarm" in our body, to help us deal with frightening situations,it makes us breathe quicker so that more oxygen can get to the vital parts of our body, and some peoples alarm is much more sensitive so they get anxious over things that most people do not. This can then give side affects such as panic attacks, etc(cause by the over breathing or other wise know as hyperventilating). This is my own description and not in any way scientific.
I hope it made sense!

If you suffer from anxiety the best thing is to get to the underlying cause... could be a situation you have been in that triggers certain nervous feelings, afraid of lifts for instance, breathing control can help as well.

Answer 5

Anxiety to me is when you feel anxious or extremely nervous about something... It'll help if you cut down on your caffeine intake. Take deep breaths when you start to feel anxious about uncomfortable situations. Do more research online on anxiety and how to deal with it. Dont turn to medications cos sometimes it's really something that you can control and deal within yourself.

Answer 6

Hi there, I just laugh about my past 3 years of panic now. I was not able to go anywhere without carrying xanax. Fear of having another attack was the most important subject of my days.When i first found joe barry's web site i started to cry because of my happiness.

Free audio to end anxiety and panic attacks fast?

Answer 7

My doctor tells me that the stomach is the seat of emotions. That was after he'd checked out that I didn't have stomach ulcers!

Answer 8

To find that out you will need to be evaluated by the psych Doc. There is to many things involved with that to ask a yahoo on yahoo

Answer 9

Anxiety. People experience it in different ways. some urinate on themselves, some defeacate on themselves or feel like they want to defeacate. Others have queezy feelings in their stomachs like you.

Answer 10

chances are it is anxiety try not to think about it