Will this ever go away?

[lucylul]

Ive been having severe anxiety for 2 months and im only 14. It first started with anxiety over PGAD, then invasive candidas, and now I have a huge fear that my eyes will bulge out of its eye socket or pop out of its eye socket randomly or just thinking about it. Its 5 am and i didnt get any sleep because I keep checking my eyes in case they pop out of my eye socket. I know its a weird fear but I cant sleep because of it. I feel sick. I always feel tired. I have IBS now because of anxiety. I'm scared of getting glaucoma from stress but it doesnt run in my family. I feel awful all the time and I cant deal with this hypersensitivity and awareness of my body parts anymore. My head always hurts. Im supposed to be living my life to the fullest but I feel like im wasting my life away because of anxiety. Im so scared that my eye will pop out of my socket or bulge or something at any given moment. Oh god help

[ankietyjoe]

Where are you getting the information from that suggests you need to fear these conditions?

One of the foundational supports that keep anxiety going is checking. Whether you check google or check your own body, that is the habitual pattern that often keeps the fears alive.

I recall having concerns over my body when I was your age, but even though I had severe chest pains at the time, it was all put down to 'growing pains'. I didn't actually suffer from health anxiety at that age, but I do recall experiencing multiple symptoms that were just simply due to hormonal changes.

Luckily I didn't have Google WAY back then. Is it safe to assume you're using Google a lot to self diagnose conditions that aren't really there?

[lucylul]

Where are you getting the information from that suggests you need to fear these conditions?

One of the foundational supports that keep anxiety going is checking. Whether you check google or check your own body, that is the habitual pattern that often keeps the fears alive.

I recall having concerns over my body when I was your age, but even though I had severe chest pains at the time, it was all put down to 'growing pains'. I didn't actually suffer from health anxiety at that age, but I do recall experiencing multiple symptoms that were just simply due to hormonal changes.

Luckily I didn't have Google WAY back then. Is it safe to assume you're using Google a lot to self diagnose conditions that aren't really there?

Hi thanks for replying. Yeah I know but I keep moving from fear to fear. Im scared that I will get glaucoma now, because I heard you can get it from stress but im not sure. I have been in a lot of stress these 2 months and glaucoma doesnt run in my family but im so scared I will get it... Is it mostly hereditary and caused by physical trauma??

[ankietyjoe]

Is it mostly hereditary and caused by physical trauma??

It doesn't matter. Let it go.

Stress can cause any number of health issues, so adding more stress by worrying about something that hasn't happened is counter productive.

Put that energy into taking steps in reducing that stress. Take time outs during the day to calm your body and mind down, meditate, use deep breathing, go for a walk in a park. It can be anything. Those efforts are cumulative and over time will help you relax more.

[lucylul]

It doesn't matter. Let it go.

Stress can cause any number of health issues, so adding more stress by worrying about something that hasn't happened is counter productive.

Put that energy into taking steps in reducing that stress. Take time outs during the day to calm your body and mind down, meditate, use deep breathing, go for a walk in a park. It can be anything. Those efforts are cumulative and over time will help you relax more.

Thank you for replying. Its very hard to let go things especially with an anxiety disorder. It usually gets worse at night because I have nothing to focus on, and then I can never get to sleep until 5 in the morning or so. Im just very scared that I will get glaucoma. It usually happens at night when I get scared about it and then I get eye pains and nose pain and head pain. Im not sure if stress can necessarily cause glaucoma, but I still freak out that my stress will cause glaucoma, which is a vicious cycle. I want to be reassured...

[ankietyjoe]

Yes it's hard letting it go, but that is the key to recovery.

When I say let it go, in this respect I mean let the causes of glaucoma go. The repetitive checking of symptoms of a disease you don't even have is what's causing your anxiety. No amount of reassurance will help because you are already in the anxiety cycle. Even if you realised 100% that you won't get glaucoma, then the anxiety would probably move on to something else.

If you're struggling with anxious thoughts at night and cannot sleep, have you discussed it with your parents? It might be a good idea to get some help/therapy as anxiety disorders are fairly common and can be treated. Lack of sleep alone is more than enough to seriously compromise your ability to think rationally.

Your eyes WILL be fine though!

[lucylul]

Yes it's hard letting it go, but that is the key to recovery.

When I say let it go, in this respect I mean let the causes of glaucoma go. The repetitive checking of symptoms of a disease you don't even have is what's causing your anxiety. No amount of reassurance will help because you are already in the anxiety cycle. Even if you realised 100% that you won't get glaucoma, then the anxiety would probably move on to something else.

If you're struggling with anxious thoughts at night and cannot sleep, have you discussed it with your parents? It might be a good idea to get some help/therapy as anxiety disorders are fairly common and can be treated. Lack of sleep alone is more than enough to seriously compromise your ability to think rationally.

Your eyes WILL be fine though!

BUt why do my eyes always hurt at night? Maybe I have glaucoma?? I know I sound ignorant right now but I know getting glaucoma as a 14 yr old is a lot rarer becausr its more of an old people disease, but I cant seem to break this cycle. I dont want to talk to my mom about it because she will just get annoyed by me asking stupid questions. Im going to see my doctor and I will demand yoget mental help. I just want to be reassured that i dont have glaucoma... What do you think?

[AndrewCanada]

BUt why do my eyes always hurt at night? Maybe I have glaucoma?? I know I sound ignorant right now but I know getting glaucoma as a 14 yr old is a lot rarer becausr its more of an old people disease, but I cant seem to break this cycle. I dont want to talk to my mom about it because she will just get annoyed by me asking stupid questions. Im going to see my doctor and I will demand yoget mental help. I just want to be reassured that i dont have glaucoma... What do you think?

A doctor might not have told you this, but from reading what you wrote, I think you have the signs for an anxiety disorder known as somatic symptom disorder. It's basically stressing about physical symptoms and being super-aware of any sensation you feel.

Just thinking about your eyes hurting can make your eyes hurt. Or, if the pain was there already, thinking about it can make it feel worse.

You mention that you're sleepless. Eye pain is definitely normal if you're not getting sleep. You're at the stage where the lack of sleep feeds the pain, which feeds the fear, which feeds the pain, etc. The cycle repeats itself until you have a panic attack or crash from being exhausted.

Please believe me that this is a bad path to go down. Speaking as someone who was just discharged from the hospital four months ago due to severe lack of sleep, depression, and panic attacks from being overly sensitive to symptoms, it REALLY isn't something you want to keep thinking about.

Do you have any counselling or support services available to you at school? Or are your parents open to you doing counselling?

To answer your question: yes, it will get better, but sometimes it's not always a straight path. Don't lose hope because there will be a point when you look back on this and think "wow, look how far I came."

[lucylul]

A doctor might not have told you this, but from reading what you wrote, I think you have the signs for an anxiety disorder known as somatic symptom disorder. It's basically stressing about physical symptoms and being super-aware of any sensation you feel.

Just thinking about your eyes hurting can make your eyes hurt. Or, if the pain was there already, thinking about it can make it feel worse.

You mention that you're sleepless. Eye pain is definitely normal if you're not getting sleep. You're at the stage where the lack of sleep feeds the pain, which feeds the fear, which feeds the pain, etc. The cycle repeats itself until you have a panic attack or crash from being exhausted.

Please believe me that this is a bad path to go down. Speaking as someone who was just discharged from the hospital four months ago due to severe lack of sleep, depression, and panic attacks from being overly sensitive to symptoms, it REALLY isn't something you want to keep thinking about.

Do you have any counselling or support services available to you at school? Or are your parents open to you doing counselling?

To answer your question: yes, it will get better, but sometimes it's not always a straight path. Don't lose hope because there will be a point when you look back on this and think "wow, look how far I came."

Hi thanks for replying. Im going to my doctor to talk about it soon but there are some counselors at my school but im not sure I would feel good about it. Im trying to get to sleep right now and my eyes feel so heavy and dry and my nose feels a lot of pressure too. I have this fear of my eyes bulging out or popping up, which makes me super scared. I cant sleep. Im so tired. I just hope what your saying is true.. I don't know maybe there is something wrong with my eye.

[ankietyjoe]

My eyes hurt when I'm tired too.