You bring up an interesting point. I have had anxiety my whole life; and lots of elusive ailments. I didn't realize that I had anxiety, when I was young - I thought it was all depression.

It is important to get anxiety and/or depression under control because I think it does cause physical illness.

I myself don't believe that anxiety can cause physical illness. I think what it does is to make whatever you have much worse. If you read about chronic illnesses like lupus or MS, you will notice that all of them get much worse when the patient is under stress.

I think that's how the placebo effect works. If you believe you are getting better, you will get better to a point. But when you have years and years and years with unending pain, low body temperature, things like that...I don't think stress or anxiety can cause something that persistent.

They used to think that ulcers were caused by stress. Now knowledgeable doctors know that they are caused by Helicobacter pylori, a pathogen that infests the lining of the gut. The doctor who discovered that won the Nobel Prize in Medicine that year.

There are a lot of health practitioners who counsel their patients that all the diseases of the human body are caused by negative thinking. They're called quacks.

ME/CFS is NOT an anxiety disorder or depressive disorder. It might make you depressed after years of being sick and that might also bring on anxiety. I'm sure some people have both.

I have a full life with hobbies and family and I'm neither depressed nor do I have anxiety. I really resent doctors who try to call this a psychosomatic disorder. We have all been fighting against this for years.

I like the last sentence RichieD put there.Ive had Fibromyalgia/CFS for over 20 yrs sometimes I had months of relief and then again it hit me and I was down for the count.I was diagnosed with clinical depression almost 2 yrs ago..I dont have bad symptoms of depression thanks to meds but the CFS is really challenging..I can not do a thing like standing washing dishes..that has be bedridden for hours..as far as anxiety I didnt realize I had this also this comes with stressful situations and people crossing my boundaries.Ive had to stop working actually let go from mky last job becasue I couldnt cope with the long hours..but I tried..I had to..even cooking at home and selling it none of it worked I was so drained.And what gets me is people saying being negative all the time causes one to be ill..I beg to differ..also doctors that treat me with talk therapy tell me do this or do that itll change..I beg to differ with this as well.everyones body and mental mindset isnt the same..although I tried but nothing works..I feel trapped and lost in a world existing day to day in pain and fatigued..
Everyday I take some time not much to focus on something other then my pain since I cant concentrate for long I have limits..I listen to some soothing music after awhile the music sounds like noise and becomes harsh to my sensitive ears..plus I have ringing in my ears which has developed over 2 months ago..gentle [[[hugs]]] to all.

I think you are onto something PIctureGuy. I think both cause each other. Anxiety can exhaust a person and having CFS or an infection can contribute to anxiety. The writer of this book states that anxiety has a biological basis and not 'all in the head'.

I have recently had an increase in anxiety out of nowhere and I think it's related to and imbalance in digestive flora. It is very hard to deal with because I am on the computer now to try to dull my anxiety but really I should be resting! : )

Glad you are feeling a little better!

Lisa

RichieD,
I have to respectfully disagree with your comment. Having studied Physiology and Psychology extensively in college, I agree with research linking anxiety to a host of physical illnesses. Our brain is a complicated organ that regulate every other organ and system in our bodies and constant stress plays a huge role in illness.

I do believe our bodies are predisposed for certain illnesses and there are environmental triggers that cause many diseases. But to suggest that anxiety and stress play no role is simply not true. There is so much we don't yet understand about the mind/body connection. Stress causes many physical changes in our bodies (increase in blood pressure, for example).

Just wanted to add to my last comment.

Constant stress and anxiety can affect many areas of the brain. Stress cause the brain to release stress hormones, which in turn can cause many phyical problems including, but not limited to, higher blood pressure, arrhythmias and poor sleep patterns, to name a few. These stress hormones can then weaken the immune system and affect the central nervous system, making us much more susceptible to illness and disease.

Interesting discussion. Stress is a killer but is stress always accompanied by anxiety or does anxiety(from neurochemical, self inducing or external sources) cause stress. We are unique in our makeup and in our reactions to our environment ergo stress for me may not be stress for you. I was probably sub clinically depressed and suffered from anxiety years before I crashed and burned. Hard for me to say the chicken or egg thing . I have depression because I have the disease which forced me from practice(which had it's own stressors) which also depressed. I get anxious when I can't do things or during flareups because I was driven all my life and don't want to be a burden or useless. I do however believe that pronounced continuous anxiety or depression can lead to physical disease and we all are stuck with a disease that causes elevation of both no matter what the root cause. Jim

Good points. Stress does affect everyone differently. Some people thrive on "good" stress, while others cannot handle any kind of stress. I know I didn't handle stress well in my life before CFS, but I never had "panic attacks" until now. I believe CFS has elevated anxiety and stress for me because of the neurological symptoms of this illness. It affects the brain, adrenal glands, immune system & central nervous system. Whether stress or genetic predisposition (or both) made me more susceptible to CFS, I can only guess.

This is an interesting topic. Cause and effect are really difficult to pin down, so I suppose absolutist statements like "anxiety does not cause physical illness" are not really supportable.

I still think that major illnesses like ME/CFS, lupus, heart disease, etc. are not caused by stress. But I would agree that stress and anxiety can tear down the body and make us more vulnerable to disease. And things like metabolic disorder can be brought on by a stressful life, but one could argue that metabolic disorder is a self-inflicted morbidity of the body brought on by a lifestyle of bad food, lack of exercise, and stress. But is it a disease really?...or just a dis-regulated body?

Maybe it doesn't matter...we should avoid stress, bad food, and lack of exercise...no doubt that they can kill. The words don't matter when your number is up.

agree with crystal i have anxiety since i was young, ccouple of years ago start to manifest in dfferent illneses , i had a hiatal hernia surgery and i know now that maybe i didnt need it because i still feeling bad. and i have all kinds of symtoms