trying to recover from health anxiety

[unhappygirl12]

Hello
I only joined this site yesterday and have read a huge number of posts and have really appreciated all the comments. I have only had health anxiety for a short while but have come to realise that if I don't do something to stop this problem that it will take over my life and ruin my life. I have been worrying about bowel cancer when I am sure it is a return of IBS as I am going through a very stressful period in my life and I have been having terrible back pains which I have attributed to all sorts of nasty illnesses but have started to realise that stress is again the culprit. I am going to see my doctor and be checked over as feel that is sensible but I need to deal with the anxiety I have. Every day for the past few weeks I have been googling symptoms and obsessing over every ache and pain and I have made myself truly unhappy and very anxious and depressed. I have decided to stop the googling, accept that being healthy doesnt mean feeling brilliant every minute of every day and getting back to healthy stuff like relaxation and yoga. I know I have to stop obsessing and know it is really going to be hard as it has become such a strong habit. Has anybody else managed to overcome health anxiety? Have you any helpful tips?
I am so thankful I joined this site

[unhappygirl12]

I had a goodish day today but tonight my back was hurting and before I knew it I was googling stuff and found, as usual, depressing information and ended up feeling depressed and scared. I know that I just need to stop panicking and get on with thinking about other stuff but it's really hard and I feel really quite down now and am dreading trying to get to sleep

[unhappygirl12]

Hi
I thought I would let you know how things are going. I had a really good day yesterday, after doing lots of relaxation and yoga my back and IBS were much improved and I am feeling a bit more hopeful. I still don't fully trust that all my good efforts and my staying away from googling bad stuff and fighting the negative thoughts have made the difference. I am still very tense that I will have a return of feeling really dreadful and not be able to cope but I am trying to quieten those negative worries and believe I can sort myself out. I am feeling better but still have a long way to go

[sarahb]

I have suffered from awful health anxiety for years & have had every symptom going & convinced myself I have had all sorts of nasty things & have tortured myself with worry. I have tried a few things including Reiki,counselling & most recently hypnotherapy. The hypnotherapy has been the most effective although I still have the odd health panic. I do seem to cope better with them though & am able to not let them take over.I always feel better if I am eating healthily & taking abit of exercise everyday. When I am in an unhealthy run down stage my anxieties are far worse. I hope some of this helps x