Question:

Hi

I suffer a lot from generalised and social anxiety in day to day life. I manage it quite well through exercise and questioning beliefs. The thing is my body gets too hot and I feel the need to drink pints of water, and since the weather is hot at the moment I am drinking more and needing to urinate more from it and it`s just like getting to be a vicious circle. I have currently had my exams recently including still this week and I take caffeine drinks a lot which makes my anxiety worse but its helps me for my exams and I just wondered if the problem I have with drinking so many pints a day at least 8-10 or more a day and I urinate a lot – I don`t know what that is and I haven`t talked about it much so I just wondered what the problem might be other than anxiety.

Answer:

People with anxiety often develop “nervous habits” to help them cope with anxious feelings.  In serious cases, these habits become compulsive behaviors, and the diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder is applied.

If you are wondering if something you do (like drinking a lot of fluids) is related to your anxiety, you would do best to discuss the issue with a mental health professional.  That person would work with you to determine if the behavior is necessary for you to feel less anxious.  If you decide to stop drinking so many fluids, will you start developing symptoms of anxiety, like feeling nervous, shaking, sweating, palpitations, increased worry, etc.?  If the answer is yes, then the behavior may be related to anxiety.  A mental health professional can then help treat the anxiety disorder.

If you haven’t had a physical exam with your primary care provider to assure that you have no physical reasons for your increased thirst (like diabetes) make sure you do so, too.

Good Luck.

For more information:

Go to the Anxiety and Stress Disorders health topic.