Physical illness from toxic family - any experience?

[bingobingo]

It's not my it's my DH. Whenever his toxic family get in touch and try to cause stress he gets physically ill. He is either sick or can't sleep, or in the worse cases finds it hard to breathe. He is also exhausted.

Is this normal? Does anyone have any experience of this? I wouldn't even know what to google. He's fit as an ox the rest of the time.

Anxiety attacks? Can he go NC?

Yes. There is increasing scientific evidence to show this too.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatization

That's as good a starting point as any.

He doesn't see them often but inevitably sometimes things come up. I guess they are anxiety attacks, but sometimes drawn out ones, and with weird symptoms.

Ah thank you qotn, that is helpful.

Yes, this happens to me.

I feel actually physically ill; usually stomach things, headaches, stuff like that. It can go on for quite a while, once for a couple of months.

I went for a few counselling sessions which helped put it into perspective and stopped me worrying about it so much.