Not sure if I can stand this anymore.

[anxiousinla]

Hi Shadow,

Get that ALL THE TIME. (Been getting it for over 10 years).

When you get anxious, it causes your muscles to tighten and sometimes "twitch". Perfectly normal.

Your stomach, intestines, etc.. are controlled by muscles. When they tighten and twitch, you feel it in your stomach and intestines. This is a lot of the causes of IBS, which is a perfectly benign condition.

Important thing to keep in mind... KNOWING the cause, doesn't make it automatically vanish.

I have been stuck on that for years. Even when I know for an absolute fact that all I am experiencing is anxiety, I still get paralyzed by it. I find myself saying "I know this just anxiety, so now it should just go away". Sadly, it doesn't quite work that way. I am told that it is only once you truly accept the feelings for what they, they will start to go away. I am told once you stop caring about them, they won't happen anymore. I keep saying I am told b/c I can't seem to put that into practice, but I understand the concept.

Hope this helps!

[Shadowcat]

Thanks for the reply, anxiousinla
Does the feeling in your sides ever feel like a tickling or an itch on the inside of your body?

[josh0745]

Shadowcat,

I know on my most anxious days the muscles in my lower back/sides tighten up extremely taught. This is very common in people with anxiety, you might wake up the next morning feeling like you did a hard workout but in actuality it's just part of your body's reaction to the fight/flight mode.

Josh

[anxiousinla]

It is usually more of an ache/pain.. but I am sure it could be felt as tickling sensation as well.

[Shadowcat]

Thanks for the reply! I think you'll be happy to know that I did get it checked out by my doctor. That's one thing I have going for me, my doctor is extremely supportive of my anxiety. She did a full examination of my ribs and workup of my vitals and didn't find anything wrong and then sent me for a chest x-ray just so I wouldn't worry about it! And funny thing, the chest x-ray came back clear, and a few hours later, the side symptoms I was worried about disappeared.