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Question
11 Mar 2003
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SQUASHED FEELING IN STOMACH
I have recently undergone a gastroscopy and ultrasound. My doctor says he can't find anything wrong with me and has put my stomach discomfort down to stress. However, I don't feel convinced. When I breathe it feels as though my stomach is lifting something heavy and therefore I feel as though I am being squashed. This is causing me a huge amount of anxiety and find it difficult to learn to live with this. Please give me some advice. Thank you.
CyberShrink
Dear brokkie,
Your doctor could very well be right, but maybe could have explained this to you in more detail. Any part of the body that contains muscle ( as so many parts do ! ) such as the stomach, can respond to psychological stress and anxiety, by becoming tense, and because of this tension, becoming painful or otherwise feeling odd. And it can then easily become a vicious cycle --- some ensions causes the odd feeling in the stomach --- which makes you feel more anxious --- which makes the stomach more tense --- and so on. Some medication to help reduce the degree of your anxiety, and some counselling to help sort out the sorts of things which have been causing the anxiety, could only help. And this may actally clear up the odd feelings that have been troubling, you, altogether.
Your doctor could very well be right, but maybe could have explained this to you in more detail. Any part of the body that contains muscle ( as so many parts do ! ) such as the stomach, can respond to psychological stress and anxiety, by becoming tense, and because of this tension, becoming painful or otherwise feeling odd. And it can then easily become a vicious cycle --- some ensions causes the odd feeling in the stomach --- which makes you feel more anxious --- which makes the stomach more tense --- and so on. Some medication to help reduce the degree of your anxiety, and some counselling to help sort out the sorts of things which have been causing the anxiety, could only help. And this may actally clear up the odd feelings that have been troubling, you, altogether.
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