[Shortie87X]

A week ago, my boyfriend broke up with me and then began going after my best friend. She told me, and I immediately started shaking, and then I sat in my bathroom for an hour, feeling like I was about to throw up. Over the next several days, I was incapable of eating, had constant headaches, and threw up several times.

I feel nauseous when I have serious discussions with people and I shake. But my mind never registers the emotions I feel. I can make assumptions from my physiological responses as to how I feel. For example, I found out that my boyfriend has been longing for his ex, and I choked up and threw up a bit. By this, I can assume I was jealous or angry. But honestly, I don't know how to tell emotions. When I cry, I can assume I'm sad. But I don't really "get it."

I don't exactly know what I should make of this. Prior to this current boyfriend (whom I had dated for ten months), emotions didn't even register with me. Now they're overwhelmingly causing me physical pain. Any advice on what this could be and the cause or what I can do to stop getting nauseous any time I feel emotions?

[Thunder Bow]

Anger affects our stomach. If that happed to me, I would probably blow chunks to. Best to remove yourself from those people, and give your self some space to cool down.

[Travelinglady]

Some psychologists say people label their emotions when they have physiological reactions. It might be a good sign that at least your body is responding now.

When I am really worried/upset, then I tend to have intestinal problems.

[gnat]

I had a very similar reaction when one of my friends ended our 'real' friendship (he said we could still be Facebook friends). Over the summer I vomited away 10 lbs. (I was not overweight to begin with) and still sometimes struggle with eating because I often feel like I'm going to throw up. I have improved a lot but I still have to take Ranitidine once or twice a day to keep food down. I also started violently shaking from time to time beginning the instant he broke it to me in an email.

What has helped me for the stomach stuff is the Ranitidine and dietary changes. I ate only small amounts at a time and watched what I ate. Usually I did Carnation instant breakfast drinks because they stayed down well and when they came back up it wasn't as bad as other things. I am now able to eat most of what I could before, just in smaller portions. I eat more frequently though and have not lost additional weight.

The shaking was terrible too. It still hits me from time to time, but the frequency and duration have lessened. I have started "mindful meditation" or at least my version of it. I've never been a successful meditator because I am unfocused, get bored, and cannot clear my mind. In mindful meditation you allow your stressor to enter your mind, acknowledge it, acknowledge how it makes you feel. Then I envision this image being lifted up and set aside and I focus on my breath until a new stressful image appears. I don't sit in the traditional meditation pose, I have even done it in my cube at work, if only for a minute or two, to help me focus and calm the shaking. Time has helped too, but the medication has ended several shaking spells as they were occurring.

At first I tried talking out my feelings on this site, but found most people to be unsupportive and judgmental. I realized talking about it makes it worse, so I pretty much try to bury it, pretend I never knew him, and sadly that is quite helpful. My former friend no longer appears on my facebook wall as I have him hidden and i try desperately not to think of him outside of my meditations. I try to keep my mind busy with other things. I think a certain amount of acknowledging feelings is good, but I was dwelling on it. I still do from time to time, but I am starting to gain more and more control over these thoughts, and am finding new ways to deal with stress (He was my support system, my only real life friend I have ever admitted being mentally ill to or shared many of my childhood stories with aside from my husband who thinks i need to just get over it).

Overall I'm working on my depression and anxiety- the root of the vomiting and shaking. I force myself to get out of bed and go through the daily motions of life, trying to keep engaged as much as I can take it plus some. Admittedly I no longer enjoy the things I used to and I have withdrawn from friends and family quite a bit, but often force myself to go through the motions. I've met a couple people on here I talk with honestly about this stuff through private messaging and that helps. I also blog on here from time to time, but do not allow myself to blog about him as I am trying to forget.

I do have other physiological reactions to stress- I used to get migraines, luckily although I get headaches not they are not as bad as the past, and I get muscle spasms frequently, but the vomiting and shaking are worse than the headaches I currently get and the spasms because I cannot hide them from others.

I don't know if any of this is helpful, but if nothing else, know you are not alone.

[Perna]

I would go see someone and learn how to recognize and express my emotions better so my body did not have to do it for me. Emotions have to come out some way and it is better when we can help by putting what we feel into words and containing them better than having to rely on our body to deal with them all by itself. It is like being a baby; they have no words to express their needs and difficulties so have to cry and be all upset, etc. and rely on someone else to help them.

[Webgoji]

It's often called Conversion Disorder. The more I sink into my depression, the worse my vision and hearing become, the worse my migraines get and the more my hands shake. Some people can force themselves emotionally through a situation, but their bodies will respond instead.