I woke up at 5:00 am today feeling very anxious and worried. I think it's because I went on a road trip yesterday and ate some food. I usually have a fear of food since I suffer from gastritis and feel sick often. I've never eaten from this place before. It's been on my mind from the moment I ate. I don't know what ingredients were used and how the food was prepared and it's freaking me out. To make matters worse I have emetaphobia (fear of vomit) so I'm sitting here wondering if that will happen to me. I've gone to the toilet once and the stool was soft and runny. Does this fear of food happen to anyone else? Sometimes I feel like I don't want to eat anything outside of my house for fear of getting sick. It's really mentally exhausting.
On another note I could be anxious about a conversation I had with my boyfriend last night. I expressed a desire to migrate from the country where we are living and he doesn't want that. The thought of us not being together immediately made me sad, anxious, worried and stressed out. I went to bed with this on my mind in addition to the fear of food.
It's possible this could be a gastritis flare up as I feel slightly nauseous now. I just drank some antacid so hopefully that works. Any thoughts? It's so hard to deal with this fear and anxiety. I've barely slept. So tired.
I just went to the toilet again and it was basically liquid. Maybe I was right to fear the food. Maybe it did poison me. I should mention that my brother had a virus a week or 2 ago so I'm fearful of catching that too. I'd know if I have that once fever develops. Could anxiety give me these loose stools?
Farah
Because of the inclusiveness of yor illness, a fear of food, yo need to discuss this with your GP. However you must be eating various foods to survive
Loose stools can be problematic if you have been outside on hot days, these problems should clear without treatment and anyway you could wait for a day before taking a dose of Immodium. If you have an upset tummy this can cause looseness in the stool if the food was not prepared well or has sat outside on a warm/hot day.
When I travelled in the past in Central Asia, gippy tummies were part of life and the locals would expect this as normal. In the west we suffer less looseness and are generally constipated more than not. So generally most loose stool after a day or two will restore to our regular habits.
You mention the thoughts of moving outside your comfort zone, to a different country. great idea although you need to understand for a time you will be getting used to food prepared in different ways.
If you have Gastritis you need to address your concerns, see your GP and discuss your fears. There are many young people who are sensitive to what they eat, many will move on from this.
BOB
Thanks so much Bob.
The loose stool has stopped and my tummy feels better. I ate a meal and was able to keep it down. I am not sure what caused this episode - ill-prepared food, gastritis flare up, anxiety over relationship issue?? It's hard to trace. I always like to check with people who ate the same food as me to see if they got any reactions. Eight of us went on the road trip. Haven't heard anyone else complain of being sick. The hosts at our resort cooked in front of us, so the food had to be fresh. I'm thinking maybe it was a little gastritis flare up. These things worry me soooo much. I just want to be normal and happy again and return to the days when my health was good.