Hoping some of you can relate and may have some advice.
j struggle with severe anxiety, mostly around going out, and doing new things.
My anxiety tends to manifest as diarrhoea which brings its own issues.
But for years it was a case of, feeling anxious before going out, going back and forth to the toilet
then managing to go out, and being fine.
There was a part of me that worried about having the runs while our, and rare times I would feel so uncertain I’d stay home but mostly I’d be fine once I was our.
But for about a year now, I still get diarrhoea prior to going out or if I’m exceptionally anxious
BUT
i have a new symptom
I will feel like I URGENTLY need the toilet when I’m out, snd given that I get diarrhoea it makes me more anxious about finding the nearest bathroom etc.
But 9 times out of 10, nothing comes
it’s just a lot of gas, then I feel fine.
go back to my activity, and then sometimes even 5 mins later I feel like I need to go NOW, and again, just a lot of gas
The trouble is,I do get the runs
so I can’t ignore the feeling of desperation and I can’t assume it’s just gas.
But I also can’t fathom the cause, is it anxiety? And if so, what can I do?
I am exceptionally careful what I eat as I have other digestive issues but I do t think it’s related to that because it never happens at home.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. As it’s just making me more and more frightened to go out, incase it happens, incase there are no toilets, incase it isn’t just gas…. And then I end up in a loop of anxiety inducing scenarios
i feel like I should clarify I’m not a poo troll and I’m not looking for personal stories etc.