Ask Dr Louise

QI have a problem with my breathing. Sometimes I find it really difficult to breathe and the medical practitioners I’ve seen all tell me I’m having panic attacks. But I don’t think that’s the problem.

I also have a problem sometimes when I’m eating or drinking – it seems as if the food is stuck in my throat. And I have a problem with my colon because it’s not working properly, as well as a problem with my stomach. It feels as if there’s too much acid.

The doctors say it’s all related to stress but my life isn’t stressful. I’m convinced that the problem isn’t that I’m getting panic attacks. What can I do? Berta, email

AThe symptoms you describe – having a problem with breathing when there’s no medical reason for it, problems with your colon, digestive system and stomach – all of these are associated with extreme stress. The doctors must have examined you and found no medical reason for your symptoms, and that’s why their diagnosis is panic attacks.

You may not experience a full-on panic attack (shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating hands, the feeling of having a heart attack), but it does seem that your anxiety level may be so high that it’s having a bad effect on your body.

Extreme stress over a long period of time is a killer. It not only negatively affects the organs in your body but also your immune system – so you’re more at risk of getting ill because your immunity is low. In this time of Covid-19 when we all need our immune systems to be strong, it’s important to manage our stress levels.

You don’t need to have something difficult or traumatic going on in your life to experience stress. Some people have “free floating anxiety” – a general feeling of anxiety and high levels of body stress that isn’t due to a specific incident or to what’s happening in their lives at present.

You need to consult a psychiatrist who can prescribe medication to help with the anxiety, and see a psychologist to try to ascertain whether your stress is rooted in something you’re not aware of. There’s no value in denying your stress levels are high – your body is telling you in no uncertain terms that something is up.