Wondering if anyone can relate to this: for the last six months, I’ve had queasiness and an ache in my lower stomach (always centered right around my bellybutton), either upon waking up in the morning or within an hour of waking. It’s there no matter what food I eat, how anxious I am about the day ahead…just no matter what. 

It usually gets better as the day goes on (food seems to help a bit, though I have not much of an appetite for the first few hours of the day), and generally is 90% gone by 6 or so in the evening. I had an endoscopy and received a diagnosis of gastritis back in June, and took a PPI for about 12 weeks with little to no change. I also had a colonoscopy back in March that came back clear. 

My therapist says this is anxiety, but I can’t shake the feeling it’s not, because it’s there days I have literally nothing to be anxious about: I’m not going anywhere, just get to hang out, etc., doesn’t matter. It’s there. 

As you can imagine, this has been terrible for my mental health (I’m a bit of an emetophobe, so the idea that I might throw up, especially in public, really scares me), and after six months of no improvement, I’m getting hopeless. I’ve basically moved in with my parents because I can’t handle being alone and I’m struggling to see any hope of getting better. 

I’m desperate for someone to relate, advise or anything at all.