Is Health Anxiety due to fear of death?

[Eek]

I am absolutely terrified of dying. I'm convinced that my health anxiety is due entirely to this fear as all my fears are of fatal diseases and mainly about my heart. Recently as I have posted on here I have been worrying about weird feelings in my chest in the mornings.

Anyway do others on here feel that HA is mainly fuelled by fear of dying or do you think that there are other driving forces behind this crippling anxiety disorder?

[Cassius]

Please forgive me for asking - what does HA stand for?

[Eek]

Sorry it's Health Anxiety. I'd edit the post title to put it in full, but I can't.

[Pipkin]

Sorry it's Health Anxiety. I'd edit the post title to put it in full, but I can't.

Sorted

Pip

[vitabelle]

Yes I feel the same as you...I always worry about it or that every ache and pain is a disease or something. It's not just you. I think so much into things like a headache and thinks its tumour and so on x

[Frankie123]

Yes it is entirely to do with the fear of dying and not wanting to leave this world and all your family. I never got health anxiety until I got older and the inevitability of death got nearer and nearer. Now every little ache or pain tells me my time is limited and I think I have got cancer or some other terrible disease. Depression gives you so many physical symptoms which you automatically translate into some sinister disease. Oh how I wish I had a cure for this terrible anxiety.

[Graham2012]

Frankie123 Thank you so much for that explaination i feel the exact same way, i know how terrible this is. I a m having a hard time with this but you could have described me in your post and then to get these physical Symptoms just really tops it all off.
Which do not make this thing any easier at all as every ache and pain becomes a Trauma of WHAT IF Scenearios, and these symptoms are terrible aches pains,Muscles, Headaches, Pins Needles and Numbness in hands legs,Feeling sick and just not wanting to do anything.
What have you tried so far to get out of its vice like vicous circle,?

[Frankie123]

Hi, what have I tried. I spoke to my doctor who actually said it is quite a common phobia especially as people get older. He gave me citalopram which I found very helpful and I got on well with. When I get really down I try to talk to myself and tell myself how stupid I am being which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. I don't think I will ever get back to "normal" but I try to be thankful for the good days when the symptoms are not so bad. I have had this for about five years now and just feel very said about how much time I have wasted worrying about my health.

[chl_hobbs]

I was fine, until last August, I had a minor day operation...and somehow (he cant explain..) the surgeon cut my spleen...

I woke up from the op and he hadnt realised anything was wrong, until they saw I was in huge pain and my BP etc was worryingly bad. They transferred me to the main hospital by blue lighted ambulance, and once there I was surrounded by loads of people prepping me for a second, life saving op. They told me that Id lost so much blood, that I might not survive the second operation. This sent me screaming, shaking and crying. I told my partner that I loved him and said goodbye to him. Then I made him give me his phone and amidst all this, rang home to leave a goodbye message to my 1 year old daughter.

I had to be cut from under my ribs down to my pubic bone. I had 2 blood transfusions, and was in intensive care for a week...

After that, I have never been the same. I suffer with panic attacks and constantly worry that Im going to die. Any pain sends me into a total panic. People say I should live life to the full etc... but now Ive seen how quickly life can be taken away from you, I almost feel even more scared, and hate that unpredictability.

So yes, it definitely is for me, a fear of dying. Of not being here for my daughter, and knowing that in those minutes when you know you might die, how LONELY and scared you are.

Charlotte x

[panickyme]

Dying is a huge part of my HA, and you are so right everything we come up with leads to death. :scared15: The older I get, the worse it gets. (and every pain is something serious) I am petrified of dying. If I wasn't so afraid of dying I wouldn't worry at all. :hugs:

[Mark13]

I agree that a major factor behind HA is fear of dying. It certainly seems to be for me.

Also fear of pain, reduced quality of life, dependence - that may come from a serious condition.

My wife's used to me mentioning every ache or pain, she has the patience of a Saint :)

What fuels my own HA is that I do have a serious brain condition - hydrocephalus, controlled by a surgically implanted device. If that device fails I get a fluid build up on the brain leading to headaches, vomiting, blindness (temporary) and paralysis, then death.

This last happened in 2006 (not the death part :)) and wasn't picked up by any of the 3 GPs I saw, nor the A&E staff who sent me home. It was an optician who saw the bleeding in my eyes caused by the intracranial pressure who got me admitted and saved my life.

That said - that's just me, my HA has been fed by a very real illness, I therefore worry about every headache, nausea, dizziness etc, but to an obsessive degree.

But to be completely balanced on this, that was the first brain op I'd had since I was 12 - 28 years of worrying about those symptoms before I was actually ill. So the ratio of worry to reality is actually huge in that I probably had hundreds of headaches over those years that turned out to be....headaches :)

Mark

[Eek]

Originally Posted by Eek
Sorry it's Health Anxiety. I'd edit the post title to put it in full, but I can't.



Sorted

Pip


Thanks :)

[sophieunderscore]

I think it's less about a fear of dying but more about a desire to live life to the full... which I suppose are just different sides of the coin really, but a desire to live seems a bit more positive. You're worried about dying because you want to live so badly and fulfil your potential I suppose - my fears of dying are always accompanied with "but if I die I won't get to do XYZ"

[joebloggs]

Hi.Eek. Fear of dying is a very common emotion even among non anxious people. Cave men had it. That is why they developed the 'fight or flight' capability, to prevent them from being eaten by a Sabre Toothed Tiger!! You know, there is a Buddhist story about a monk who was asked about death. He said, "Grandfather dies, Father dies, I die". What a pessimistic thought, they said! The monk said, "No, that is the natural order of things. To go against that is to go against natural order, and that we cannot do". Us anxious people fight against everything. We cannot accept things as they are; only how we want them to be. There is not a human being alive who does not fear death. If they say they do not then they are either Saints or liers! Once again, as with all the feelings we have, we fear this one perhaps more than any other.
No matter how long we live why spoil it all by this crippling fear? I am afraid it is a case of trying to live in the now, but anticipation is another of our problem symptoms. Best wishes. joe.

[eva82]

YES!! I've had HA for over three years now and it didn't take me long to realize that it is directly related to my fear of death, and the unknown. Not having complete control of my life is something that I am working on but it has been a tough road filled with bumps along the way! Hopefully we can come to terms with this aspect of life and come to peace with it. Hugs to all!!

[dazzadoo123]

i no 100% the fear of death is the fuel of health anxiety and depression ....ive had health anxiety years and depression for years like on and off say 25 years altogether roughley...well i had a bad flare up of my anxiety depression in december 2011 a whole year ago and well it aint gone away its ruined my whole year and the strain it puts on your family is terrible ...i so wish i never feared death so much but for some reason i fear it so bad and its made me so ill all year and the symptons are like never ending from it all..
i feel sorry for anyone who has this fear like me ,,i wouldent wish it on a rat living in a refuge tip...:-( evil condition and phobia to have ....

(wishing you all a merry christmas and good new year ) and hopefully 2013 might be better for alot of us maybe .......

[Colin44]

I'm the same, every little pain is serious to me, right now I've got some pains in what feels like my lungs. I've also had some right side pain under my ribs which I'm convinced was the amoxicillin for an ear infection I had recently.


Thats why I've came on here, don't want to burdon my Mrs or the doctor, I need to speak to people who are going through the same as me.


Your not alone Eek.



Hobbs, thats pretty scary stuff, going in for an operation is another huge fear for me.

[Dazza]

Yes, I feel like many of you... my fear is a result of fear of death, unpredictability, lack of control.

I had my first panic attack 4 1/2 years ago at the age of 35, and was so convinced it was a heart attack that I dialed 999 for the ambulance. As it happened, in my mind I thought ''This is it... dad and his two brothers had a heart attack, so now it's my turn!''. That thought and traumatic experience has stuck with me since... I get good days and bad days, most of them are ok... I get by and manage to function normally... but sometimes it comes back, like the last couple of days, where I've had irregular heart beats.... trying to stop myself from going to hospital, as I've been in and out of there like a yoyo for the past 4 years.

I also believe that HA is also about some deep rooted insecurity about ourselves.

I also agree with one comment in this thread about not wishing this on my worst enemy... At times, I've felt so physically and mentally ill (i felt like I was bordering on insanity!). But, we can manage it....

I managed it by lots of life changes... and above all giving time for myself and accepting that I'm like this.... exercise also helps... I used to be scared of leaving the house, because I thought I would drop dead in the street... but I slowly extended my comfort zone, first by walking around the block, then walking into town, then walking into town and doing some lengths at the swimming poool. It gave my confidence in myself again and reduced the fear... and fear does not usually come from outside source for us, it's from inside of us. And what is inside our mind, we can to an extent, control. I know it's not always easy though.

Good luck to you all, Wishing you all the best and peace of mind. xx

[Arnie365]

That's a great post Dazza thanks. Just what I needed right now.

I'm sure my HA is linked to a fear of death but have just started therapy so hopefully this will get unearthed.

I've no idea why but I can always remember just knowing that when my time comes it will be a heart attack that takes me.

7 months ago I triggered a major panic attack (my first ever) by smoking something I shouldn't have which was a first for me. I was so convinced it was a heart attack I called an ambulance. I've been back to hospital twice since and all my ecgs, blood tests and chest x-rays were fine and I was diagnosed wi health anxiety and some post traumatic stress.

I was really on the way to recovery (or so I thought) then last night had some of the worst chest pains I've ever had and now I'm I doubt mode again!

Anyway, your post has cheered me up a bit (or the diazepam is kicking in :D).

[Hypo]

I do fear death a little. For me, I think my fear stems from feeling like I am the glue that holds my family together.

That might sound funny but I have five children, two with special needs. My husband has bi-polar. My first three children are from my first marriage.

My ex husband actually does have lymphoma cancer and while he is on the mend so to speak it can return any time and if I die my boys run this risk of losing two parents. They have been through hell and back watching their father suffer and I can't stand the thought of them having to see me do so too.

Also if I die my husband won't be able to raise them all well. He is a wonderful father and while he is medicated and lovely he still finds day to day life a massive struggle. I don't think he would cope.

I also feel like I can't control much in life, so checking every lump and bump is my way of trying to control something.

[Brunette]

Yes, ultimately it is the fear of death.

It does seem that the older you get the more the fear recedes - I've met few elderly people that are afraid of death.

It helps to look at all life as a cycle. Once you accept that you are just part of that cycle and that everything always has, and always will die, even our own planet (but not this Friday!) it becomes easier to accept.

[sam1878]

for me it is the fear of dying - I have been scared since I was small of death but three major things have fed this
1. My nan dying very suddenly during a routine op in Ireland due to medical negligence
2. My 48 Yr old mum dying after a reoccurence of her breast cancer that had spread all over and it not being caught by a mammogram four months earlier or by doctors she saw up to two weeks before we took her to A&E due to her not being able to breath - her GP an absolute horror called her "over anxious"

what triggered the health anxiety and it becoming so bad was that I got pregnant and when I went for a very early scan due to some issues - they could'nt find the baby and after a load of tests found it was ectopic - I was due to have an injection to stop the preganancy but the night before I had pains and they kept me in hospital and told me very bluntly - you could die if your fallopian tube ruptures - the next day I was told I needed emergency surgery and could'nt have the injection
they took away a tube and the pregnancy and I was devastated - after that incident I had a breakdown and my health anxiety came -

it is all about mistrust for me of health care (despite me working in NHS in admin area) and the fact that bad things do happen to people

I struggle to control mine during depression and crisis - I've always been an anxious person but until my own incident managed to control it

[emlica]

I found this really interesting, because for me I don't think it is about fear of dying, really. I'm not exactly afraid of death - obviously it's not a pleasant thought, and hopefully it's a long way off for me yet, but I mean when I get a symptom that worries me, my first thought isn't 'oh my god I'm going to die'. It's actually more about having something chronic, long-term, that would leave me dependent on others and unable to enjoy a reasonable quality of life. As an example, I have (I think) IBS - I don't find myself panicking that it's colon cancer, but more that it might turn out to be Crohn's, or that it might be IBS and it's going to get worse and worse, and I'm going to have to live my life around where the nearest bathroom is, etc.

[geronimo]

All fear comes down to death and the unknown it's a tough cookie but remember when the lights go out in this life you will awaken in another I recommend spiritual reading like Buddhist teachings, The power of now by Eckhart tolle, meditation and kindness to others since adapting this approach my anxiety has eased immensely I think anxiety brings you in the spiritual world you have to suffer to find freedom and peace but you will find a way out love to all those with anxiety panic and depression
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---------- Post added at 17:49 ---------- Previous post was at 17:48 ----------

All fear comes down to death and the unknown it's a tough cookie but remember when the lights go out in this life you will awaken in another I recommend spiritual reading like Buddhist teachings, The power of now by Eckhart tolle, meditation and kindness to others since adapting this approach my anxiety has eased immensely I think anxiety brings you in the spiritual world you have to suffer to find freedom and peace but you will find a way out love to all those with anxiety panic and depression :hugs:

,

[MilaHurricanes]

I worry about my family and the loosed ends I have in life... Dying doesn't sound great either... We just... Don't exist anymore, but... I always think I'll meet my dad in the end... I'm sort of welcoming death right now as no doctor is helping me with my bladder or kidney problems.. Oh and things I won't be able to do anymore once I do die... It sucks thinkin of it... But I'll see my dad so what's the worst...