Have you ever felt nauseous or even vomited when a certain situation has stressed you out? Have you ever wondered why when I'm nervous I vomit? Although this fact may seem unusual, feeling like vomiting is a very common symptom in those who suffer from anxiety or are having a panic attack.
Anxiety and nerves are linked to our stomach and, therefore, when a situation stresses us too much, we accumulate tension in our belly, which can cause us such intense anguish that we end up vomiting. In the following article we explain in more detail why a person can vomit when nervous and what other symptoms are just as common in cases of anxiety. Read!
Why when I'm nervous I have a stomach ache and the urge to vomit
As we have advanced, there is a relationship between the nervous system and the digestive system that link anxiety with nausea. Vomiting, also known as emesis, is an action that is controlled by an area, commonly called the vomit center, which is located in the medulla oblongata located near the base of the brain. This place can receive information from other areas of the body and, therefore, can sometimes perform the action of vomiting. Among this information that reaches the center of vomiting is anxiety, which emits negative signals in that area.
When the nerves caused by anxiety begin to emit signals to the center of vomiting, our nervous system is activated and this in turn performs two main actions: on the one hand, it stops the functions of the digestive system and, on the other hand, it begins to secrete substances such as adrenaline that will gradually affect the stomach.
Once we have produced more adrenaline than normal due to anxiety and nerves, the sensations they cause us are so negative that we end up having nausea or wanting to vomit.
How to remove the urge to vomit by nerves
If when you are nervous you end up vomiting, you will surely want to know what you can do to feel better. Here are some tips to take away the urge to vomit when you're nervous:
- Take deep breaths to calm yourself down.
- Drink relaxing, digestive liquids and infusions, such as chamomile infusion or rice water.
- Wet your neck, face and wrists with cold water.
- Go to rest with your head higher than your feet.
In this other article we explain more about How to remove the urge to vomit and in this one, you can see What to eat if I feel like vomiting.
Of course, it's also important that you visit your doctor to help you both remove nausea and treat the cause of the nerves.
Risk factors for anxiety
If you have simply vomited at a certain time because a situation has made you very nervous, you should not give it more importance than it has, since everyone can suffer an anxiety attack throughout their lives. However, if this situation is repeated many other times without any apparent reason, it is likely that you are suffering from a disorder known as generalized anxiety.
Generalized anxiety is a disorder that occurs when the mechanisms that activate the feeling of fear in complicated and even dangerous situations, do not work properly and are triggered by daily situations that are within normality. This psychological disorder does not have defined causes, since each person can end up having anxiety about certain situations in their life. However, there are certain risk factors that make us more likely to suffer from this type of attack:
- Hereditary factors (we are more likely if other family members suffer from this disorder).
- Imbalances in brain neurotransmitters due to inappropriate diet, extreme levels of stress, or lack of sleep.
- Bad family atmosphere during childhood.
- Traumatic situations or drastic daily changes, such as the death of a loved one, having a child, or having recently married.
The main symptoms of anxiety
In addition to recurrent nausea and vomiting when you're nervous, there are also other symptoms to detect generalized anxiety. They can be classified into two groups: cognitive and physical.
Cognitive or behavioral symptoms
- Feeling of constant threat or danger.
- Insecurity and uncertainty.
- Fear of losing control of situations.
- Hypervigilance status.
- Lack of concentration and memory.
- Extreme worry about even the most basic things.
- Feeling confused.
- Irritability and susceptibility.
- Stuttering in some cases and verbiage in others.
- Constantly go blank.
- Difficulty making any decision.
Physical symptoms of anxiety
- Tachycardia and palpitations.
- Insomnia.
- Feeling like urinating constantly.
- Excessive sweating on the hands.
- Vomiting and nausea.
- Shortness of breath or shortness of breath.
- Dryness in areas such as the eyes and mouth.
- Headaches and/or stomachaches.
- Lack of sexual desire.
- Loss of appetite.
- Muscle tension in some areas of the body.
It is important that if you suffer from several or many of the symptoms mentioned, you immediately go to the doctor to start treating this problem before it becomes chronic.
In this other article we explain everything about the Symptoms and treatment of nervous anxiety.
