I feel nauseous when I’m nervous: reasons and how to deal with it

An integral element of everyone's life will be constant stress and anxiety due to various reasons. Therefore, if a person feels sick from excitement, then this is a completely natural reaction of the body.

Such symptoms are characteristic not only of people with an unstable psyche, but also of balanced ones. If such a sign appears, do not panic.

If the phenomenon has become chronic, you should consult a doctor who will give the necessary recommendations to reduce or eliminate symptoms.

Signs

It is necessary to distinguish between nausea associated with stress and the same unpleasant symptoms, the provoking factor of which will be diseases of the digestive tract.

In a situation where unpleasant sensations inside the stomach and discomfort appear without objective reasons, which are associated with acute pain in the abdominal cavity, therefore, you need to undergo examination for disorders in the gastrointestinal tract.

When a person has an important event coming up, his nervous system feels high tension, and all thoughts are concentrated only on this moment.

Nausea is preceded by the following symptoms:

• Loss of appetite. It is observed in the majority of the population during periods of high psycho-emotional stress.
• Spasmodic pain inside the stomach, strong seething.
• The patient feels nauseous, and unpleasant sensations occasionally creep up to the throat.

In addition, secondary symptoms appear:

• darkening of the eyes;
• dizzy;
• noise in ears;
• pale skin;
• cold sweating;
• stiffness of movements.

When should you see a doctor?

The following specialists can help cope with psychogenic vomiting:

• neurologist;
• psychologist;
• psychiatrist;
• therapist.

You should contact the clinic if you have the following symptoms:

• nausea continues for more than a day, accompanied by persistent apathy and detachment;
• vomiting occurs even with a minor traumatic factor;
• lack of appetite and feeling of thirst;
• spasms in the peritoneal area intensify;
• tachycardia persists for several days in combination with anxiety;
• sleep is disturbed;
• sedatives are ineffective.

Therapy for a neurotic condition requires an integrated approach. It includes psychotherapeutic sessions to identify the root cause of neurosis. During the work, the consultant teaches the patient to look at the problem constructively.

Also, a significant part of psychotherapy is relapse prevention. For this purpose, together with the patient, behavioral models are developed and implemented that protect the person from the effects of stress. In addition to psychotherapy, medication may be prescribed.

Be sure to read:

Why do gases constantly form in the intestines?

Psychogenic vomiting is the body’s response to traumatic situations and has nothing to do with mental illness. Neurosis is a disease of the nervous system that can be treated, like other ailments, provided that the patient follows all medical recommendations.

In continuation of the topic, be sure to read:

1. Intestinal infection: symptoms and treatment methods (diet, medications)
2. Stomach and intestinal disorders during pregnancy: norm and pathology
3. List of antiemetic drugs and features of their use for various ailments
4. Vomiting: why you shouldn’t be afraid of it and how to reduce the urge to vomit
5. How to eat if you have an intestinal infection?
6. Where is the anti-nausea point located and how to massage?
7. Causes of bloating and increased gas formation, treatment methods
8. Irritable bowel syndrome: symptoms and treatments
9. Intestinal colic in adults: how does it manifest itself and how to relieve pain?
10. Fermentative dyspepsia: how is the pathology manifested and treated?

Varieties of nausea

It can be of 3 types:

• Constant. This variety is observed extremely rarely. It is usually formed in connection with the loss of a loved one, separation, troubles at work and other similar circumstances. This condition is associated with apathy and severe depressive disorder.
• Periodic. At the top of the abdominal cavity, painful discomfort appears in episodes. However, it does not go away on its own. It is necessary to find out the recommendations of a specialist; he determines the factor that preceded such a condition and prescribes an effective remedy.
• Spontaneous. Not everyone is able to restrain their own experiences and control nervous processes. As a result, unpleasant sensations occur inside the digestive organ, in some cases associated with vomiting. In this regard, people periodically ask the question whether they can feel sick when they are nervous, when this happened to them for the first time.

To prevent the appearance of such unpleasant symptoms, you just need to stop worrying.

Although the last 2 types can go away on their own, persistent nausea during anxiety should be treated with medications. Directly those prescribed by the doctor.

Treatment of neurogenic diarrhea

Neurogenic diarrhea must be treated as comprehensively as possible, since therapy is aimed not only at eliminating diarrhea, but also at restoring the psycho-emotional background. To reduce anxiety and increase stress resistance, doctors recommend doing the following:

• change place of work if this is the reason;
• be sure to engage in sports or a favorite activity that calms you and brings you pleasure;
• meditate;
• visit a psychologist.

Authorized Products

To overcome diarrhea, the patient needs proper nutrition and diet. Many stressful situations can be anticipated in advance. Food should have a fixing effect. Basic foods and dishes to include in your diet:

• rice and oatmeal - they have an enveloping property and protect the intestinal mucosa from irritants;
• lean meats (rabbit, chicken, veal);
• lean broths and soups;
• lean fish (perch, cod, pollock);
• berry jelly (lingonberries, blueberries, red and black currants);
• fruits (banana, pomegranate and quince);
• strong black tea - it contains a tanning component that helps bind feces.

You should eat food at least 5 or 6 times a day. Portions should be small. Do not overheat food; it should be warm. Try to steam, boil or stew food.

Prohibited Products

During the course of the disease, you should avoid the following foods:

• legumes - they contribute to gas formation;
• fast foods, chips, crackers, nuts, etc.;
• confectionery products - due to the large amount of glucose, which causes the fermentation process;
• smoked, fatty and fried foods;
• cabbage, tomatoes, radishes, radishes and cucumbers should be excluded from vegetables;
• fruits (citrus fruits, apples and unripe bananas);
• butter;
• black and gray bread;
• milk;
• alcohol;
• carbonated drinks.

How to avoid dehydration?

Since dehydration is fatal, every effort must be made to avoid it. Dehydration of the body involves the removal of fluid, which is a solvent and transporter of useful substances. But it is allowed to consume mainly pure still water in large quantities. The dosage is prescribed by the attending physician, based on the course of the disease.

To stop the development of dehydration, it is recommended to drink the following:

• drugs such as Hydrovit and Regidron;
• Herb tea;
• rice water;
• mineral still water;
• homemade compote.

There is a special ban on carbonated drinks and coffee. Because they contain substances that remove fluid from the body.

Signs of dehydration as it progresses:

• indefatigable desire to drink (constant feeling of thirst);
• drowsiness at any time of the day;
• weakness, fatigue;
• dry mouth and mucous membranes;
• small amount of urinary fluid secreted;
• fainting, loss of consciousness.

Drugs

Drug therapy is prescribed based on the degree of neglect of neurogenic diarrhea. These may be the following groups of medications:

1. Anti-diarrhea medications: Imodium, Loperamide, Enterodes, Levomycetin. This group is prescribed for acute diarrhea and in cases where it does not alternate with constipation.
2. Tricyclic antidepressants: Fluoroacyzine, Imizine, Amitriptyline. Medicines relieve anxiety and help relax the intestinal muscular system, which reduces the frequency of bowel movements. Take medications in the evening.
3. Antispasmodics – eliminate pain and spasms by relaxing muscles. Remedies: No-shpa, Duspatalin, Halidor, Papaverine.
4. Sedatives: Persen, Tenoten, Novo-Passit, Afobazol, motherwort tincture, valerian. The group is aimed at restoring the psycho-emotional state (calming).
5. To restore microflora, probiotics and vitamin premixes are used.

Folk remedies

If it is not possible to use medications, folk remedies would be an excellent option:

1. Bird cherry decoction. Pour a tablespoon of berries into a container and pour “steep” boiling water over it. Place in a steam bath and boil for 20-25 minutes. Then strain through cheesecloth. Take 100 ml 3 times a day.
2. Medicinal infusion. You will need dry plantain, cinquefoil, knotweed - 2 tbsp each. l. Mix everything and add 500 ml of boiling water. Leave for half an hour. Take the strained decoction 100 ml 4 times a day 20 minutes before meals.
3. Another way to get rid of diarrhea is an infusion of yarrow leaves and St. John's wort. Brew a tablespoon of each component in a glass. Take as tea.
4. Sea ​​buckthorn. Finely chop the leaves, add water and put on high heat. Bring to a boil and set the container aside until it cools completely. Take 150 ml 5 times a day.
5. Oak bark. It is prepared as follows: pour 30 grams of ground bark into 0.5 liters of boiling water. Leave for 2 hours in a thermos. Then strain through gauze folded in several layers. Take 50 ml 3-4 times a day.
6. Starch. Every kitchen has this food mixture. Method of preparation: 3 tsp. dissolve in 250 ml of water. Stirring gently, bring to a homogeneous state. Take 2-3 sips throughout the day.
7. Oat decoction. Pour 2 liters of liquid into a saucepan and add 3 cups of grains. Cook over moderate heat for 30 minutes. Take 200-250 ml 5 times a day. Preferably 20 minutes before eating.

Causes

The following provoking factors are identified that can cause a similar phenomenon during nervous tension:

• Aerophagia. In the process of experiencing, a person begins to breathe more often, and the heart beats faster. This is an explainable biological process that occurs at the reflex level. The main part of the inhaled air enters the body through the oral cavity, penetrating in small portions into the digestive tract. The air that accumulates in the abdominal cavity tries to come to the surface. In this regard, the person feels nauseous and there is distension in the stomach. Intense belching occurs.
• Hypertonicity of the skeletal muscles. When the patient is in the stage of acute anxiety, all his muscles become tense. This process is controlled subconsciously. A significant amount of adrenaline is produced, it is not consumed, the muscles harden. All organs become toned, including the stomach, where a similar sign of nausea can appear.
• Physiology of a stressful situation. When the body feels psychological stress, it prepares for a possible attack. Therefore, in order to facilitate the fight, it is necessary to free the organs from unnecessary substances that can interfere with the battle. There is frequent urination and bowel movements, as well as nausea with a gag reflex.
• Thoughts about possible nausea. When a person’s life has previously experienced psycho-emotional shocks with high psychological stress, resulting in nausea, the brain remembers a similar state and tries to repeat it again in another similar situation.

Therefore, when a responsible event is coming up or there is constant tension, you should not think about the bad. In this case, a person should think only in a positive way.

Why do you feel sick from nerves?

• Nausea can occur with severe emotional overload or fear of something in healthy people.
• Somatoform autonomic dysfunction, which disrupts the functioning of the upper digestive tract, most often causes nausea.
• Depression can cleverly disguise itself as a stomach illness, manifesting itself as nausea.
• Neurasthenia is one of the diseases that is accompanied by nausea from the nerves.
• Anxiety disorders, in addition to disorders of the nervous system, worsen the functioning of the stomach.
• Anorexia and bulimia cause nausea and vomiting from nerves.
• An imaginary pregnancy in a woman who is trying with all her might to have a child or, conversely, is afraid of this, can manifest itself in morning sickness, similar to toxicosis.
• Conversion disorder of sensations, which occurs as a pathology of the nervous system, explains whether nausea can be caused by nerves, since this sensation, along with other feelings, is characteristic of a hysterical illness.
• Hypochondriacal disorder, which is a mental illness, can be accompanied by a large number of different complaints, including nausea, perplexing doctors.
• Nausea and vomiting are a companion to peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, which very often arise and are aggravated by nervousness.

Nausea during periods of increased stress

Increased symptoms during stressful situations:

• Activation of nerve centers. An impulse about a threat is sent to neurons, as a result of which the body will direct all its forces to counteract the aggressor. There is a loss of appetite, and the gastrointestinal tract will begin to remove food debris as soon as possible.
• Lack of enzyme production in the gastrointestinal tract. Having received an impulse about a threat, the organs of the digestive tract stop their natural work (processing food products).
• Loss of appetite. An impulse enters the brain, blocking the neurohumoral centers that cause appetite. The reaction is natural.

For most people, a stressful situation is a mental illness, but in reality the body is no less susceptible to symptoms. All the forces of the body are aimed at eliminating stress and aligning nervous processes.

For neuroses

Neurosis is a psycho-emotional disorder that has a large number of prerequisites. Often these are regular stressful situations, lack of proper rest, frustration and poor sleep.

During this, the person complains of feeling unwell, irritability and constant fatigue occur. The body begins to function in emergency mode, resulting in nausea.

In addition to making a person feel sick, this symptom is associated with loss of appetite, sudden weight loss and apathy.

The presence of nausea and a gag reflex may indicate that neurosis has affected large areas of the brain, disrupting autonomic functions.

It is virtually impossible to provide medical help to a person. In such a situation, it is wrong to expect nausea to disappear on its own.

A person needs the help of a highly qualified psychiatrist. To achieve harmony, you need to understand that all diseases and disorders, dissatisfaction with life are formed directly in the head.

Only positive, life-affirming thinking helps to counteract neuroses with minimal losses to the body.

Neurotic or psychotic disorder

In psychiatry, it is customary to divide the variety of disorders into two large camps: neurotic or psychotic disorders. With both options, a person may experience not only psychiatric problems, but also a number of physically unpleasant conditions - abdominal pain, migraines with and without aura, vomiting. The patient himself usually calls such symptoms simply: feeling sick from the nerves. What to do in this case?

As a rule, neurotic or psychotic disorders are characterized not just by anxiety and associated poor health. Symptoms vary greatly: the patient may experience visual or auditory hallucinations, experience delirium, or suffer from withdrawal symptoms. If a patient suspects that something is wrong with his psyche, he should seek advice from a psychiatrist as soon as possible. When first contacting the PND, the patient is not registered, and a future visit to a psychiatrist will not affect obtaining a driver’s license or getting a job.

For panic attacks and phobias

An increase in nausea in such a situation: a person feels a feeling of fear in a particular case, as a result of which the body subconsciously tries to help him, to overcome it by releasing the gastrointestinal tract.

A panic attack is a violation of the proper functioning of the psyche, but it does not provoke death.

A person feels high mental tension that arises inside the body as a reaction to an irritant.

A phobia is actually similar to a panic attack. A person, for example, experiences fear of some kind of animal, and when he observes it, the body begins to react sharply.

Blood pressure increases, tachycardia is observed, and the body itself feels anxiety and threat. The person begins to feel sick, experience cold sweating and stiffness of movement.

Without a doubt, the body does not feel a mortal threat during their presence, but such nervous changes can negatively affect the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Cases that do not require treatment

Nausea is only a symptom that the central nervous system feels increased tension and in order to normalize all vital processes within the body, outside help will be needed.

But not in all situations, stress and emotional distress require medical intervention and therapy. The following symptoms may indicate that treatment is not necessary:

• Nausea does not have pronounced symptoms, and there is no gag reflex.
• Unpleasant sensations inside the stomach go away on their own when the stress is exhausted.
• She begins to feel sick only in a situation of severe psycho-emotional shock, but not during a quarrel.
• The duration of the phenomenon is less than 60 minutes.

When a person can eliminate his own anxiety on his own, calm down and return to a normal lifestyle, therefore, the help of doctors is not required.

Recommendations

Patients often ask why such symptoms occur and what to do to get rid of them.

A mild form of VSD does not require drug therapy, but traditional medicine and physiotherapeutic procedures are used.

Decoctions of herbs that have a calming effect are used: chamomile, St. John's wort, hawthorn, peppermint, valerian.

A person must follow the following instructions:

• walk outside every day;
• maintain a set bedtime;
• balance your diet;
• eat fresh vegetables and fruits;
• eliminate bad habits.

When anxiety provokes emotional distress, going to a specialist can bring significant benefits. The doctor will be able to fix the problem and teach him to switch the patient’s attention.

Many people wonder what to do to reduce the likelihood of nausea and other unpleasant symptoms during stress.

For these purposes, you need to be able to quickly switch your attention and forget about the problem.

In certain situations this is difficult to do. In this case, medications that reduce agitation will help. It is recommended to use them only with a prescription from a specialist.

Nausea is not an uncommon occurrence when the body feels stressed. If it continues for more than a day, then the help of a specialist is needed.

You should not endure and wait for the unpleasant symptom to go away on its own. The sooner the patient is examined by a specialist, the higher the chances of a speedy recovery.

How to deal with nausea during stress: tips and tricks

Often, patients burdened with unpleasant symptoms do not associate them with the stress they have suffered. They seek help from gastroenterologists and ask to examine the digestive organs for the presence of various diseases. In such cases, patients should be explained that not only therapists, but also psychotherapists can help.

Doctors can offer not only medications, but also a set of additional measures.

Physical exercise

To develop muscles, relieve spasms, and relax the whole body, do simple exercises:

• squats;
• walking up the stairs;
• walks at a brisk pace.

This is often enough to reduce adrenaline in the blood and restore physical balance.

Normalization of breathing

To restore breathing and rapid heartbeat, which accompany stress and give rise to irritability, it is necessary to perform simple breathing exercises. It will help overcome feelings of fear and muffle nausea.

Algorithm:

1. Slow deep inhalations and exhalations through the nose.
2. Hold your breath for a few seconds.
3. Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth.

When doing gymnastics, it is advisable to think about the pleasant moments that you had in life.

Relieving abdominal muscle spasms

In order to avoid a feeling of heaviness in the epigastric region, it is necessary to relax and calm the muscles that hold the stomach. To do this, perform a simple exercise in which you need to tense your abs, hold your breath for a few seconds, and then relax your muscles, exhaling slowly. Thus, by contracting muscle muscles, you can tone your stomach and prevent an attack.

Washing

Rinsing your face with cold water helps relieve brain nausea. Cold water constricts blood vessels, while the brain strives to restore thermal balance. This distraction maneuver switches the brain to another activity and causes the body to “distract” from attacks of nervous nausea.

Acupuncture against nausea

Acupressure of certain areas of the body helps relieve tension, restore the function of the digestive organ, and cope with attacks in the epigastric region of the stomach.

Medicines

It is advisable to take medications to restore peace of mind under the supervision of a doctor. Some medications reduce concentration, cause drowsiness, and require increased attention from a person.

To reduce the feeling of nausea and gag reflexes, both medications and herbal preparations are taken.