Health anxiety ruining my life!!!!

[jaynehal]

Hi anyone any good tips with how to control health anxiety it's bad at the minute and for the last year I've had one symptom after another which have all been very serious in my head!!!! And have thought the worse of all of them.

Does anyone else seem to focus on just one symptom at at time and then move on to another??

Xx

[smogie]

yes this is exactly what happens to me my current bout of he started with a fear that ihad cancer started meds talking to a counsellor and was starting to feel better then last week i had some missed heartbeats so now am convinced im going to have a heart attack and the cancer thing is not so prevalent now it sucks:weep:

[jaynehal]

It's horrible isn't it my councillor guy says I should learn to NOT focus on all my symptoms and think there serious, but I'll be honest it's going in one ear and out the other, in the last couple if months I've had frequent urination and all tests to rule anything serious out, eye probs and was told I had dry eye, thought I was going to be blind, and last week it was brain tumor now it's nausea and wondering Wat is happening to me! Bet my doc hates me I practically live there! Xx

[JoannaS]

I've lost count of the amount of times I've been to the doctor in the last couple of years. I had CBT a few months ago and I managed to stay away for a while, but I went the other week and I'm going back next week too! :weep:

[abby38]

It's a nightmare.. Im trying to talk myself going to the doctors but then the niggle is there, what if I leave it and it's something bad. Wish this headache would just sod off and then maybe I could relax (until next time lol).. Im waiting for an appointment for CBT but from the sounds of it it's not a miracle cure :-( x

[jaynehal]

Thanks guys I feel better when I know I'm not alone with this horrible anxiety, my friends and family think I'm mental, I've even stopped telling them I'm going the docs cause they can't understand how worked up I get, it's weird cause when I'm in the docs I usually feel better ha ha!

Wish I was stronger and could sort this problem, apparently it's the mind and the Cbt guy says that until I stop doing safety behaviours I won't get better, it's not working at the min but hope somthing clicks soon, feel like I'm mental! Xxx

[oldtime]

Your body is alive with sensory inputs monitoring temperature, texture, stresses, touch, pain, light, sound and emotions. With health anxiety all these inputs become overwhelming, you spend your life continually monitoring and paying attention to them. They ruined my life.

To regain control I had to convince myself that the sensations I was feeling were all fake, the pain, the aches, the weird tingling, nausea, numbness. I could not trust what my body was telling me any more. I wrote down what if I was diagnosed with a serious illness it would not be worse than the health anxiety it would almost be a relief that there was a real cause for all of this, but was that really what I wanted. The answer was No.

It has taken nearly three years to re-train my brain to ignore the fake sensations and to have a more balanced outlook. The sensations and the anxiety slowly disappear given time.

Don't seek reassurance or medical tests from the doctor once they have diagnosed health anxiety, keep doctor visits to a discussion about anxiety rather than about illness.

Believe that all the weird sensations you feel cannot be trusted they are amplified by an anxious mind.

Get involved with activities that you enjoy, for me it was art, walking and yoga.

Ride out blips, you will get recurrence of full on health anxiety, accept that they are blips and will be short lived.

Give it time believe there is an end to this and you will slowly recover.

[abby38]

The thing I find hard is if I get a symptom, not the usual anxiety symptoms like dizzyness, tingling sensations, weakness etc (I have accepted this is anxiety and it will pass, which it does for a short time) but say a bad pain in my stomach, I will try to ignore it but if it persists for so many days I start getting into a flap about it, then I'll go to the doctors, they will say it's blah blah and I do accept it. It just always seems to be something, a lump in my neck, a mole, blemishes on my skin, then I start to worry myself sick and they bring on the anxiety. I have had a bad pain in the side of my head and ear and it's on the side I have a mole so it's really worrying me. It drives me nuts all this lol.

I tell my family I'm mental. I hide a lot of it from them but sometimes they can see how anxious I get. I laugh about it with them but it's not funny really, it's so exhausting constantly worrying. Oh to be normal again xx

[sparkle_1979]

Im exactly the same. Im 33, great husband two young babies and I should be so happy but this HA is all I think about. I constantly feel sick to the stomach with fear of one disease or another...I need meds I think as its been two yrs and it's getting worse :(

your not alone with this x

[JoannaS]

I'm sick of it too. It's holding me back doing things I like, like going to the gym and going out for dinner. My hubby must be sick and tired of it. I'm there thinking I'm dying and he says to me "do you want some paracetamol?" Paracetamol isn't going to sort this mess out!

I was doing ok until this weird head sensation started and now my anxiety is back with a vengeance.

I look back at when I was normal, life was so much easier back then. It was only about 3 years ago but I can't see me being like that again. Although I'd love it more than anything. I want to start a family soon but how can I with this condition?!

[jaynehal]

Wow what nice comments and good info! I'm sure one day I'll realise that all this worrying is no good! I'm only 31 and should be enjoying life! But continue to take tablets every day for probably no reason!

Nice to hear from you guys! Thanks xx

[Tri]

I'm in the same boat as well, have been suffering from anxiety for many years, and it does control your life, I'm a new member on here, so just getting started on this forum.

It is hard, I have a problem going out on my own, sometimes get paranoid what are other people thinking about me, just happens to me, but I have no control over this, and it is very draining and frustrating at times.

[jaynehal]

Aww It is hard, everyone who has anxiety is drained and it takes it out of you with constant worrying, I hope u will soon be feeling stronger and can face your fears, I am trying and trying to remain positive and challenge mine, I'm sure we'll get there eventually.

You'll meet a lot of nice, helpful people on here!

Nice to hear from you! Xx

[Tri]

Hi thanks for the warm welcome Jaynehal.

To be honest, I went to a course today, well it's actually a social activity group that I started a few weeks ago, and very king gentleman there told me about no more panic, so came back home, and typed in this google, and up came the forum page, signed on, and a quick browse and thought I would benefit from this site, as I have been informed there is great people on here that help and understand.

I hope you get better soon Jaynehal, and many thanks for the warm welcome from yourself, really appreciated.

[tamo]

Sorry your health anxiety is troubling you . I know exactly what your talking about and it can be overwhelming . I am trying hard to bring the same thinking under control too at the moment . I seem to go into these HA episodes at the onset of winter then I drink too much which makes me worse . Try your best to listen to the positive veterans on here ,they know how it works . While everyone's post is relevant to them not everything said will serve you .

Wish you well