Urgency Anxiety- is it all in my head?

Has anyone tried mindful meditation or anything similar to deal with urgency anxiety?

I feel like I am in remission - no pain, no blood, regular solid bms 1-2/day. But when I feel the need to go, I sprint to the bathroom in a panic! I believe this is simply out of habit. When I can't get to a bathroom (stuck in traffic, during take off on an airplane), I start imagining that I need to go and my heart starts pounding, thoughts start racing, even when I really don't need to go! Sometimes this anxiety MAKES me need to go, when I wouldn't have had to if I wasn't so nervous. So I have decided to see a therapist/mindful meditation coach to work through this anxiety. Seems like the final step to me being in total, blissful remission.

Can anyone relate? Anyone been able to conquer urgency and be able to hold it in if you need to?

Count me in with the urgency anxiety group.  Any place that I don't have easy access to a bathroom gives me problems.  When I am at home, I never get crazy anxiety but in checkout lines, meetings, traffic, etc, the anxiety creeps up and I have to find a bathroom.  Hate it and wonder if I should try some type of anti-anxiety med.

I think the anxiety is always there (like a little cartoonish devil on your shoulder) even when you're in remission. I'm also 1 bm most days, sometimes 2. However, I am still very anxious about leaving the house very early in the am (and like you said being away from toilets in unfamiliar areas). The subconscious/animal part of our brain is one hell of a thing to fight, as also like with coping with phobias, logic doesn't dictate behavior, so don't treat it with logic. Rather, with the animal brain you know from experience, time and time again, you can poop with extreme urgency and little notice, it's embarrassing to have an accident, it's down right scary. Part of it is building up your own confidence with small victories to counter those fears. Challenge yourself. Push your own limits. Prove your fears/anxieties wrong, repeatedly and you have much better odds of muting the anxious feeling. In my case, I'm leaving the house earlier in the morning. Can I leave 5 minutes sooner and be fine? Small goals, small victories, over time it builds up confidence. Go into new areas without first reseaching where bathrooms are, etc. It's a very slow process, taking a long time. Anxiety never 100 percent disappears but you can tame it somewhat and lower its voice/strength.

I'm leaving for work 20 minutes earlier wohoo. Done 8 hour car drives with one restroom stop. Started a hike on the trail in the mountains at 7:20a with no flush toilet bathrooms for 8+ hours. Such simple things, build you up. Lol most normies would read this, shrug and say so what. Uc-ers are like 8 hour car ride, no bathrooms, and totally get the anxiety.

I'm not surprised if anyone still continues to have anxiety even while in remission...I think IBD changes your life forever and not in a good way like some people try to convince themselves....how can you ever trust your body when you know what it's capable of...I'll have anxiety until the day I'm dead, that I'm sure of.

When i was in my top flare, i used to take Calmepam this thing worked wonders on anxiety and it made me care-less about any flipping thing, it made me extremely calm and peaceful and painless.

and i quote : " Calmepam is in a class of drugs known as benzodazepines.
Benzodiazepines are widely used for a variety of conditions including anxiety and insomnia, but also for muscle tightness, pre-surgical sedation, detoxification from alcohol and the anxiety experienced with cardiovascular or gastrointestinal conditions."

note: just don't take it (if you are willing to) right before rectal meds.


After stopping it, i did two things to overcome this :

1) Mental preparation : i am sick i am in a lot of pain, i am willing to drop my pants anyf$#%where and crap if i have to embarrassment is the least of my worries, desperate times call for desperate measures a compressed pack of tp + wetwipes in my jeans and thats it, show your body who's the boss.

(i never did require them, but having both can give you some confidence and security)

2) Daily 30min+ walks (and i recommend this to anyone with IBD/IBS even if you're in pain), according to a family surgeon such walking can strengthen colon muscles, also your brain releases a protein called BDNF (read on it) and also endorphins which tend to minimize the discomfort of exercise, block the feeling of pain and are even associated with a feeling of euphoria/happiness.

Edit: walking inside the house doesn't count, you need long stretches with minimum cornering and a semi-steady walking rhythm, trust me you'll enjoy the calm colon and you'll be walking until your knees beg for mercy.

Just don't complain to me if you grow schwarzenegger's rectal muscles.

check this out too: blog.bufferapp.com/why-exercising-makes-us-happier

I suffered terrible anxiety for 6 months, I simply could not leave the house. I managed to get CBT which helped a lot but it was still very tricky to get to the appointments.

I know you've said you're trying to avoid anti-anx meds and I felt the same BUT after starting 20mg of Citralopram I feel SO much better. The anxiety has completely dispersed and I am able to go out again!

MariaMaria said...
Has anyone tried mindful meditation or anything similar to deal with urgency anxiety?

I feel like I am in remission - no pain, no blood, regular solid bms 1-2/day. But when I feel the need to go, I sprint to the bathroom in a panic! I believe this is simply out of habit. When I can't get to a bathroom (stuck in traffic, during take off on an airplane), I start imagining that I need to go and my heart starts pounding, thoughts start racing, even when I really don't need to go! Sometimes this anxiety MAKES me need to go, when I wouldn't have had to if I wasn't so nervous. So I have decided to see a therapist/mindful meditation coach to work through this anxiety. Seems like the final step to me being in total, blissful remission.

Can anyone relate? Anyone been able to conquer urgency and be able to hold it in if you need to?

ohhhhhhh I CAN relate completely, I have the EXACT same thing ! Exact!  I NEED that extra step too.

I just found this on Amazon as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Bach-LA-AM-FU-Rescue-Remedy-20ml/dp/B00016QT7Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411258462&sr=8-2&keywords=bachs+flower+remedies

Yes I do have anxiety due to UC. I don't think necessarily it is because of the "urgency" part, but UC in general. Am I going to flare...when am I going to flare...what meds should I take...should I try something new...when to book vacation...the list goes on. I often think of things I can do to ease my anxiety. I want to give yoga a shot. I think a therapist is a good start for a lot of people too, hope it helps you, good luck.

I am now trained in CBT therapy and mindfulness but before I worked in this area I visited a hypnotherapist as I had residual anxiety after some bad flares, particularly going into the London underground where there are no loos and you could get stuck on a train and driving through areas where I had been stuck in traffic when in flare and not been able to control. I found the hypnotherapy helpful. I also find CBT and mindfulness helpful.

I hope it goes well for you. I'd start with CBT to understand the panic cycle, mindfulness takes a lot of practice as you have to focus on the sensations and observe them with curiosity and no judgement, at the beginning this could make you over focus and think you need to go even more. Mindfulness practice includes nasal breathing which is very good for regulating bowel motility.

I'd make sure the therapist understands that you have had a condition which does cause bowel incontinence because there could be a certain level of trauma involved in your reaction too. You'd be surprised how common it is for people to come to therapy who have a fear of losing control of their bowels but never have and have nothing physically wrong with them so are extremely unlikely to; so the therapist needs to understand that you are not coming from that place.

Andrina said...
SS0000, good to see you back.

When I'm in remission my anxiety isn't too bad. That's when my head switches back to normal mode. I still remember how it's like to poop normal and I usually have time to reach a bathroom.

However I had this kidney inflammation and I had to go pee urgently lately. That sucked too. It wasn't to the point where I was incontinent but I had to interrupt my grocery shopping and abandon my cart to use the restroom. That wasn't cool but I'm kinda used to the toilet hunt so I know where a toilet is in every store I go.

 

ANDRINA :) thanks ive been here, there and lurking too ,lol! good to see you too!!

If I am flaring then urgency is greatly effected by what I think about. If I am not flaring they remain unrelated.

In my opinion, anxiety can make urgency worse but you can't stop all urgency from methods of eliminating anxiety if you have disease. Finding ways of coping when urgency hits can help a great deal though, but like I said, I believe only complete elimination of the disease/healing will really help but as many have said there may be lingering anxiety remaining that needs to be addressed.