Dan21
21-10-12, 21:12
Hello.
I’m really, really struggling with my health anxiety at the minute and I can’t really figure out why. I’m not sure that I’m just dealing with HA to be honest as I’m in such a state I can’t really make out much sense of what’s going on.
I’m becoming consumed by an overwhelming fear of getting cancer – It’s almost as if I’m convinced it’s just a matter of time. I don’t smoke (never have), don’t drink excessively (maybe a couple of glasses of wine a week) but I do eat a lot of sugar. I feel like I’m in a constant – and I do mean constant state of heightened anxiety about becoming seriously ill. I think I might have some form of compulsive disorder; I hold my breath when I walk past people on the street who are smoking as I want to limit what toxins go into my body, I worry that environmental things will have an effect also (I recently decorated my wife and I’s bedroom but feel like the paint fumes and dust could contribute to the onset of illness).
Until recently, I used to run regularly and tried to think that regular exercise might help fend off this feeling of impending illness. I’ve had an injury that has meant I’ve had to stop running for a while but I’m worried that this could mean I’m becoming more unhealthy. I can’t even begin to explain how stressed this makes me feel.
The reason I think there may be some obsessive thing going on is that I also worry about all manner of things irrationally. I chronically worry about the possibility of horrible things happening to my family (whom I love dearly) and losing my job, neither which I have cause to think will happen but I worry so, so much about these things. The worry about getting ill is the thing that really has me parylised with fear. I can’t get out of my head that every time I eat something that isn’t healthy or come into contact with something that is hazardous to health (household chemicals etc) I’m just helping bring on illness. Every ache and pain is a worry. Like this weekend for instance, I have been working in the garden quite a lot and have been doing a bit of lifting. My back is really sore and even though I can make the connection between this and the work I did, my anxiety is screaming that this deep ache could be the onset of lung cancer - and although I know how stupid that sounds, I'm genuinely worried about it.
Please tell me this all doesn’t sound crazy. I’m 38, normal weight and apart from this crippling anxiety, I think I’m fairly healthy. I’m just too het up to think straight.
I’m really, really struggling with my health anxiety at the minute and I can’t really figure out why. I’m not sure that I’m just dealing with HA to be honest as I’m in such a state I can’t really make out much sense of what’s going on.
I’m becoming consumed by an overwhelming fear of getting cancer – It’s almost as if I’m convinced it’s just a matter of time. I don’t smoke (never have), don’t drink excessively (maybe a couple of glasses of wine a week) but I do eat a lot of sugar. I feel like I’m in a constant – and I do mean constant state of heightened anxiety about becoming seriously ill. I think I might have some form of compulsive disorder; I hold my breath when I walk past people on the street who are smoking as I want to limit what toxins go into my body, I worry that environmental things will have an effect also (I recently decorated my wife and I’s bedroom but feel like the paint fumes and dust could contribute to the onset of illness).
Until recently, I used to run regularly and tried to think that regular exercise might help fend off this feeling of impending illness. I’ve had an injury that has meant I’ve had to stop running for a while but I’m worried that this could mean I’m becoming more unhealthy. I can’t even begin to explain how stressed this makes me feel.
The reason I think there may be some obsessive thing going on is that I also worry about all manner of things irrationally. I chronically worry about the possibility of horrible things happening to my family (whom I love dearly) and losing my job, neither which I have cause to think will happen but I worry so, so much about these things. The worry about getting ill is the thing that really has me parylised with fear. I can’t get out of my head that every time I eat something that isn’t healthy or come into contact with something that is hazardous to health (household chemicals etc) I’m just helping bring on illness. Every ache and pain is a worry. Like this weekend for instance, I have been working in the garden quite a lot and have been doing a bit of lifting. My back is really sore and even though I can make the connection between this and the work I did, my anxiety is screaming that this deep ache could be the onset of lung cancer - and although I know how stupid that sounds, I'm genuinely worried about it.
Please tell me this all doesn’t sound crazy. I’m 38, normal weight and apart from this crippling anxiety, I think I’m fairly healthy. I’m just too het up to think straight.