Why do anxious feelings create the need to go to toilet frequently?
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Last Updated: 02/19/2022 at 2:01pm
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Anxiety and stress affect the immune system, which may then cause you to need to go to the toilet more frequently. It could also be due to the natural 'fight of flight response', which releases adrenaline - adrenaline goes on to disrupt the digesting of food, which affects how often you need to go to the toilet. The doctors don't know a large amount about this, but there is a scientific link that's been established - unfortunately!
When someone manifests anxiety it causes tension in the the body. Going to the toilet is a release of this tension. But one must be reminded, all tensions are created mentally.
Anxiety can physically affect your body in a lot of different ways, including making some body parts feel on edge. This nervousness can cause some people to feel the urge to use the restroom when they experience anxiety.
Anonymous
September 4th, 2016 7:50am
Different cells react differently to stress between individuals so... biological complexity = easier bladder release ;) the power of science!
When you're anxious, that's your body going into flight or fight response. Motor functions are prioritised over things like digestion and bladder control, which is why you might feel shaky and need to pee.
Anxious nervousness affects the bladder, causing the need to go to the bathroom often, especially at night
Anonymous
September 1st, 2016 6:09am
Anxiety is stress and stress frequently brews in the stomach. When you get stressed/anxious your stomach muscles get all tight creating those reactions
From my own experience, anxious feelings create the need to go to the toilet frequently because all of my bodily processes seem to be accelerated. The body is working harder to regulate itself. I've also had a more difficult or delayed time in going to the washroom if I'm anxious.
This is possibly just one of the physical signs of anxiety just like other symptoms like sweating and heart palpitations. If you still need the toilet frequently when you don't feel anxious you may want to speak with your doctor as there could be another reason behind it.
I compare anxiety and the need to use the restroom to playing hide and seek as a child. You find the perfect place to hide and feel comfortable but once the person who is seeking says they are coming you get really nervous and anxious. You start to fidget, maybe shake some, and probably feel your muscles contracting. Between the sudden jolt your body is feeling and the muscles trying to respond this type of excitement could be why we feel the need to use the restroom when anxious.
Your anxiety may be fooling your brain into thinking that you need to use the restroom but perhaps in reality your body uses the bathroom as a place to hide your anxiety and relax for a few minutes. Just being in the bathroom may calm your brain and help stop your anxiety temporarily.
Anonymous
August 7th, 2016 7:30pm
The anxious feeling create that feeling because the adrenaline and blood is travelling to the necessary parts of your body your brain thinks it needs to either fight the problem or run from it. This is the flight or flight response. :)
Anonymous
July 28th, 2016 2:11am
Maybe because you are having a mental breakdown so all your system feels like that and its trying to autoregulate
haha for me i think it's almost a way for me to stall and put off whatever it is that is making me anxious!
In my own experience, i felt safer in toilet cabins. It feels like the walls are protecting you and you are free to do anything without judgement.
Anonymous
July 21st, 2016 8:10pm
Anxiety causes physiological responses in the body that rev the body up and put it into over drive which can lead to an increase in bowel movements.
Anonymous
July 15th, 2016 9:12pm
The butterflies in your stomach are actually intestinal movements speeding up. It frequently happens when you're very anxious.
When you get stressed out you can get nauseous and make your stomach hard it could make you have to puke of poop.
Sometimes it is a coping mechanism and some times it is due to fear. When you urinate it makes the body warmer and as long as there is warmth your body will learn to cope with fear and anxiety
Try not to be alone. Being alone gives way to dark thoughts, with nothing to distract you from them.
Anonymous
June 30th, 2016 9:09am
Anxiety has been shown in several studies to affect the gastrointestinal system. The stomach, intestines, and the muscles controlling defecation and urination are affected as well, becoming inflamed. This causes spasms, diarrhea and/or constipation, and pains in the stomach area when one becomes anxious, causing a more frequent need for going to the toilet.
This is a physical symptom of some anxiety disorders, albeit an uncommon one. Our bowel movements are tied in to some pretty deep physiological systems. Animals release their bowels in high-stress situations, like when they are attacked or feel threatened enough. We are animals, too. The physical system is tied into the psychological system.
When you are anxious your body goes into the fight or flight response, this goes back to the times when humans used to fight wild animals. They would have to either choose to fight the animal or run. Part of the fight or fight response is to get Rid of any excess waste that your body doesn't need, hence you needing the toilet a lot:)
Anonymous
June 18th, 2016 5:19am
The stress caused be anxious feelings I think causes our bodies to act to remove all toxins within the body. So when high stress freaks the body out, it tries to rid of the bad thing by making us pee or sweat.
Anonymous
June 16th, 2016 11:59pm
Anxiety usually causes people to tense up. When the muscles around your bladder etc are tensed up, it leaves less space in there. Less space means more frequent trips.
Anxiety can cause muscle contractions that may press on the bladder and bowels making one feel the need to expel waiste more frequently
When you feel scared, your body activates your stress response/fight or flight response. This response sends signals to different places in your body and one of those signals is about getting rid of bodily waste as quickly as possible - so you don't have to deal with it when your fleeing/fighting. That's why anxiety can make you need to visit the toilet more often.
Being anxious alone affects all parts of the body. Your body responds to different moods. So it is normal to have to "go" or feel sick if you are anxious, sometimes meditation, or reading, or spending time with family or pets can lower the anxiety levels and may reduce the amount of times needed to use the restroom.
Anonymous
June 3rd, 2016 6:51pm
Cause it increases heart rating, so does blood pressure, so our bladder is faster to react and make us go to the toilet more frequently
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