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Avatar universal

Was this anxiety?

Hi all, I had a bad night last night and had horrible stomach pains I think from stress or a panic attack idk. I felt like my stomach was literally in knots and I was wondering if this was from stress or a panic attack or something else completely different. I'll give you the short version of the story of what happened last night to put all this into context. I went out with a friend who then left me to go drink with some of his friends that met up with us, even though we had already been drinking for awhile. I had to get home so he decided to leave me with his car to get home but I was in an area I didn't know well at all about a half hour or more from my house, and I was also in no condition to drive. I couldn't even operate his car and they were gone before I could try and get them to help. At this point I think most people would have been worried, but I think I either started to have a panic attack or something because I was of course worried, but my stomach felt horrible, like it was in knots and it hurt,  I've never had stomach issues and have never noticed stomach pain like this other times when I've been stressed. After making calls my parents picked me up like an hour later, which was a fun car ride home, trying to explain everything, while not being really sober. Anyway, the stomach pains continued off and on when I was ditched and trying to figure out what to do and even in the car ride home.

Can normal stress cause actual stomach pain and make your stomach feel like it's in knots or was I actually having a panic attack or something else. From what I know panic attacks usually happen when your usually really in a safe situation but you panic anyway and my situation was one where it would cause real worry for most people. I was just curious because I've never had pain like that before in my life and I stress out about a lot of stuff. If anyone that knows about stress, anxiety or panic attacks can help I would greatly appreciate it!
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Avatar universal
For me anxiety will attack where I am worry about at that time. When thinking about gastristis then I will got GI problem.
When thinking of high blood pressure then I will got hbp symptoms. When talking about fatty liver then I got liver problem symptoms. That symptoms + anxiety typical symptoms such as heartbeat + worry will make me sure that I got that specific health problem.
And after the attack was subside then all of the symptoms will be gone.
Gosh I hate to live like this
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1190847 tn?1287363025
Actually stress does cause brief stomach and bowel problems. Whenever I have anxiety, or even when I am depressed I have diarrhea. Anxiety manifests itself physically in many other ways, including dizziness and numb fingers. The body will react differently to stress under different conditions, so that may have been why the stomach pains seem like an isolated symptom.

Panic Attacks however usually go beyond "worry"; it is described as an intense feeling of apprehension, my mom describes it as "it feels like someone is chasing you with an ax".

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370181 tn?1595629445
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370181 tn?1595629445
Was your stomach hurting BEFORE you went out with your friend? That would really help to know where to go with this post.
I will assume it didn't. If it WAS and you went out drinking anyway, then your username is totally apt.
When, exactly, DID your stomach start hurting, since we're assuming it didn't hurt when you left for the evening.
Was it when your friend left with his other friends? Did that really upset you? How much and of what did you drink? Had you eaten?
So you were drunk, didn't know how to drive your friends car and you were in a part of town you weren't very familiar with and you were about a half hour from where you live. You say "At this point I think most people would have been worried."
Really? About what? Bears? Wildebeasts? The Sharks and The Jets? Personally, MOST of the people I know would have yanked up their knickers and started the hike for home. Perhaps not walking as straight as they normally might, but it sure as hell beats getting behind the wheel of a car!
You were worried (we still don't know about what) and your stomach was upset, so you called mom and dad and they came to your rescue.
OK. So your question is...................can stress cause actual stomach pain and make it feel like it's in knots. The answer is YES.
Were you actually having a panic attack I think is your second question. Absolutely NOT. You would know if you had had a panic attack. Besides a stomach ache, you exhibited not a SINGLE symptom of panic, and precious little of true anxiety.
You were feeling some stress for reasons I still can't fathom. You said "the stomach pains continued off and on when I was 'DITCHED' and trying to figure out what to do."  Were you, like, REALLY pissed off that your friend left you on your own? Why did you find it so stressful to figure out what to do? How old are you?
And you have a huge misconception of panic attacks. They CAN happen in places we normally feel safe, but they can happen anywhere at anytime and there is usually no reason............which makes them so damn scary.
You tell us that you stress out about a lot of stuff. OK, so besides college and life in general, is there something specific you stress about? We all stress out, so why is your stress different than the next guy's?
Sorry, I guess I'm just a bit confused about what you need me to say. If this stress is interferring with your life, with school, with your friendships, with how you feel about yourself, your confidence and self-esteem, then perhaps you should look into some therapy. Some de-stress therapy. I would definitely pay a visit to your doctor and tell him/her about these stomach pains since you say you've never had pain like that before. You could be working on an ulcer, which is a totally non-medical guess. But get it checked out.
And have your friend teach you how to drive his car. SOBER!
I do wish you luck.
Peace
Greenlydia    
    
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