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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
relations between thoughts and bowel or stomach discomfort
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
relations between thoughts and bowel or stomach discomfort
by Ben, Nov 01, 1999 12:00AM
Is there a relation between what a person thinks and the bowel or stomach discomfort ?? By this I mean that I sometimes get worried over something (for example exams coming soon) and this act of worrying kinda affect my stomach and bowel I think. I feel a discomfort in my stomach, lose of appetite, lose weight and going to the toilet frequently (watery stool). I think it is a reaction of nervousness or worrying over something. But I am not doing it on purpose, it comes automatically, in my subsconscious mind.
Please tell me how I can control this. I did a camera testing inside my stomach and the result was superficial gastritis. The doctor told me that my stomach and bowel are OK, it has to do with my thoughts. I am not a fan of medicine and in my case I dont think taking medicine can help.
Please advice me. If you need more information, please email me at : ***@****
Thank you very much.
sincerely,
BEN
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS MD - RG, Nov 01, 1999 12:00AM
Dear Ben,
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common groups of psychiatric disorders. Anxiety can be a symptom of medical conditions like hyper-thyroidism, Mitral valve prolapse to name a
few. It seems like you may be have of what we call Generalized Anxiety Disorder. In Generalized anxiety disorder, individuals have excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities. The person finds it difficult to control the worry and is plagued with restlessness, irritability, muscle tension, bowel diffulties, etc.
A combination of medications and cognitive -behavioral therapy seem to be effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
SSRI (Serotonin Specific Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa are the drugs of choice. Other medications like
Benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants and MAOI's are proven to be effective.
I would recommend you to consult a mental helath professional for an evaluation.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD - RG
Anxiety disorders are one of the most common groups of psychiatric disorders. Anxiety can be a symptom of medical conditions like hyper-thyroidism, Mitral valve prolapse to name a
few. It seems like you may be have of what we call Generalized Anxiety Disorder. In Generalized anxiety disorder, individuals have excessive anxiety and worry about a number of events or activities. The person finds it difficult to control the worry and is plagued with restlessness, irritability, muscle tension, bowel diffulties, etc.
A combination of medications and cognitive -behavioral therapy seem to be effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders.
SSRI (Serotonin Specific Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa are the drugs of choice. Other medications like
Benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants and MAOI's are proven to be effective.
I would recommend you to consult a mental helath professional for an evaluation.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD - RG
