"Dr google will see you now!!!"

[luckylas]

Dr Google has been my no1 go to doctor for 11 years!!!! But where as some people will search for the worst I try to search for alternatives the better condition lol, it helps somewhat until I deep search then its all over lol

[nj]

It's not just Dr. Google for me, but ANY health article in a magazine or website. I even avoid internet ads for stuff like "signs of cancer you may miss" etc.

My latest anxiety has been triggered by a radio report I heard in the car over 5 years ago that relates something with your ear lobes to heart disease and sure enough, when I looked in the mirror yesterday I noticed this symptom accidentally.

[TheAnxiousWriter]

I too refer to Dr Google. It's a habit.

[unsure_about_this]

Hello Dr Google

still worried about my testicles and poop, plenty of googling. I am off to the GP next year. when you cannot see the GP

[Dino]

Hi could not agree more with this ... it was / is the worse thing I do. I had a very bad throat for weeks, then started to google and of course it came up with throat cancer. Immediate panic. To be honest though it did prompt me to go to the hospital where they diagnosed strep throat and pneumonia . But also found I have emphazimer :-( from years of smoking, which i dont do any more. but still it was good and bad news.

Rule though self diagnosis online for me is not good.

[Brian_VA]

I'm completely addicted to google. Any little thing bothers me or worries me and I go right to google. It's a very difficult addiction to break. As I'm writing this I'm resisting the urge to Google a symptom

---------- Post added at 09:46 ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 ----------

I think googling your sympthomps is a not a bad thing in the long run because eventually you learn about diseases, sympthoms, treatments. You become a more conscious person regarding health issues.

So you will google less and less in the future, and will be able to distinguish the more serious health problems from the petty ones.

That happened in my case. Although this does not mean that health anxiety goes away, only it gets more a bit more controllable.

I would disagree with this. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I wish I could unlearn all the awful diseases I have read about.

[Dave1]

Hi - I've just joined the forum and just finished reading this thread.

I found the posts from Nicola, Pinkroxy, Cerriden and Flipsake particularly helpful, thanks.

My own suggestion is if you believe you have something mild but still get a shooting anxiety about serious illness, only Google the mild problem and read about that. You'll read about how common it is for one thing. That's what I do and it tends to reassure me. Make sure you are careful with your search terms though - for example never include the c-word. If I think my condition is probably caused by anxiety I will include the words 'forum' and 'anxiety' which is how I ended up here. My aim is to search only for reassuring articles.

Dave1

[grandma meme]

Im convinced google is the devil...lol

[gingersnaps]

Man when I was 14 Dr Google told me I had the plague

[lifeintheliving]

Hey everyone. I'm new here, but I'm glad I found this. The last couple months my health anxiety skyrocketed. I have always worried about my health, but this time I was (still am?) convinced I have either leukemia or lymphoma. Some days are better than others, but it's always in the back of my head that I'm dying. I have always made the mistake of googling, but I've hit rock bottom I think. I have probably googled over 1000 times the last 2 months about symptoms I think I have. I'm in panic mode right now over a bruise on my thigh that I've had for 3 days. It's ridiculous. I know. I just can't stop worrying. Google has done this to me. I have no other symptoms, but my mind can't let it go. I have an appointment with a therapist to start recovery, but my question to all of you is how do you stop googling and how do you let go of what google has told you? I can't unread the symptoms and the stories so therefore I don't even have to look because I remember reading it. It's horrible. I wish I could forget it all so I wouldn't be in this situation.