Is the flu in my mind?

I have had flu for five days. It's like a gastric flu I suppose as I have had nausea and diarrhoea as well as the usual symptoms but haven't actually vomitted.
I also suffer from depression/anxiety and have done for nine years. I often suffer physical symptoms, some absolutely inexplicable to physicians (so labelled psycho-somatic) as a direct result of my mental health problems. I also usually blame getting flu in June and other un-flu-like months on lowered immunity due to stress.
I have recently split up with a boyfriend and cry during the night. (I currently share a house and sleep on the dining room floor so there's nowhere to cry during the day.) When I cry and for a while after, most of the flu symptoms disappear. Raising the question: is it possible to have psychosomatic flu?! My symptoms don't feel the same way as anxiety symptoms but I am somewhat fascinated by the fact that crying can make me feel a little better! Or perhaps stress is aggravating real flu?

I too suffer with exactly the same thing, psychosomatic illness. I feel terribly sorry for you, I know how painful being broken up with is, especially with the kind of problems you have, and sleeping on a dining room floor can't be helping! Is there no way you can find somewhere with your own bedroom and a bed? Perhaps go to the council, no one should have to live like that!

Anyways, by the sounds of it you could be extremely run down and have a viral illness. The symptoms of flu are such that somatisation isn't likely to bring them on, such as snotty nose, sore throat etc. Somatic symptoms tend to be more sensation based, like pain, or feelings that are hard to describe. You could potentially get a bad tummy and sickness from stress, so perhaps are just very run down and the emotional turmoil is causing you to be unwell with real physical problems. I think the crying is relieving the enormous tension and making you feel better temporarily, and then the unhappiness and anxiety builds up again and makes you feel worse.

Sorry, i'm rambling, but in summary I'd say that you are unwell with a low grade virus or bug, and your intense upset is making it much worse. You need lots of water, good food and a nice cosy bed!

ppl with depression and anxiety feel worse mentally when they are unwell, but you can't have flu in the mind huni! yeah because you are stressed you are more susceptible to viruses and bugs! the reason for feeling better after crying is because you are relieving stress and taking your mind of the symptoms but once your back to a normal state it comes back, usually 10 fold. i know this thro personal experience, i have the same problems like anxiety and depression

This may happen because you temporarily forget about your illness. But I am not sure.