Can health anxiety cause this?

[LMAnomynus]

Hi there,

Sort of newly diagnosed with anxiety not sure which type yet but I think it might be health anxiety.
I was wondering if anybody else had this issue; where you will google a symptom of something you are experiencing and the internet will come up with something you really don't want to have. And once you read the other symptoms you start to feel like you are actually experiencing them within the next couple of days/weeks.
Can the brain actually be this powerful and make up symptoms that aren't actually real?

[Nicole0134]

The brain can do that to you. And in my experience - the symptoms often disappear as soon as you get the all clear from a doctor.....

[MRS STRESS ED]

Hi there,

Sort of newly diagnosed with anxiety not sure which type yet but I think it might be health anxiety.
I was wondering if anybody else had this issue; where you will google a symptom of something you are experiencing and the internet will come up with something you really don't want to have. And once you read the other symptoms you start to feel like you are actually experiencing them within the next couple of days/weeks.
Can the brain actually be this powerful and make up symptoms that aren't actually real?

yes your mind is so powerful it will mimic things the biggest piece of advice l can give you is STOP GOOGLING

[ShaunRyder]

I have had this many many times! Especially when my HA was at its worst! I was worried about tetanus, googled the symptoms had all of them within in a few hours, same with skin cancer, brain tumours, the list is endless

[jojo2316]

YES!!!!

[nomorepanic]

That is the nature of HA to be honest. Seek and thee shall find.

[LMAnomynus]

Yeah true. Because of this I end up going to the doctors so much haha

---------- Post added at 18:35 ---------- Previous post was at 18:32 ----------

yes your mind is so powerful it will mimic things the biggest piece of advice l can give you is STOP GOOGLING

Yeah absolutely! I think google is probably the biggest enemy for people with health anxiety. It takes a lot of discipline to not do so as well.

---------- Post added at 18:37 ---------- Previous post was at 18:35 ----------

I have had this many many times! Especially when my HA was at its worst! I was worried about tetanus, googled the symptoms had all of them within in a few hours, same with skin cancer, brain tumours, the list is endless

Yeah and I think once you're in that mindset it's hard to convince yourself otherwise. I once thought a mole I had all of my life was cancer because I suddenly noticed it but it was normal. That was before I knew I had anxiety.

[GiantMogwai]

There are good sources of information on Google such as the NHS web site and Mayo Clinic as well as charities for mental health conditions. Using these sites is a good thing to keep you informed but you must never mistake being informed for an actual diagnosis.

Also imagine you have a nose bleed. Now your brain might jump to "brain tumour" but don't Google this. In this case you are jumping to conclusions. Instead Google "nose bleed" and look at the NHS site or Mayo Clinic site on nose bleeds. They will have lots of information on fairly simple things that cause nose bleeds. Stay with those simple explanations. Don't get carried away imagining the worse case.

Googling is often useful but you must "Google Responsibly". I learnt my lesson on this one once when I came to a web site describing all of my symptoms. I was certain I had the condition described. I found out I was on a Menopause web site and I am a man. I had a laugh, and my approach to Googling changed after that.

[LMAnomynus]

There are good sources of information on Google such as the NHS web site and Mayo Clinic as well as charities for mental health conditions. Using these sites is a good thing to keep you informed but you must never mistake being informed for an actual diagnosis.

Also imagine you have a nose bleed. Now your brain might jump to "brain tumour" but don't Google this. In this case you are jumping to conclusions. Instead Google "nose bleed" and look at the NHS site or Mayo Clinic site on nose bleeds. They will have lots of information on fairly simple things that cause nose bleeds. Stay with those simple explanations. Don't get carried away imagining the worse case.

Googling is often useful but you must "Google Responsibly". I learnt my lesson on this one once when I came to a web site describing all of my symptoms. I was certain I had the condition described. I found out I was on a Menopause web site and I am a man. I had a laugh, and my approach to Googling changed after that.

Thanks for your help and advise

[ErinKC]

100% yes. My health anxiety has been in check for over a year. Three days ago I got a call from medical collections that I still owed some money for when more than a year ago I went to the ER in a panic about blood clots. So, guess what? Now I have symptoms and my panic is creeping in. It's an absolutely horrible thing, health anxiety.