Staying off Google - who's with me?

[cattia]

This is my new year's resolution. I can't say I'm going to be anxiety free for 2013, to be honest my anxiety has been horrible since the summer and try as I might, I can't seem to get it under control, but one thing I know I have to do for myself is to stay off Google. I kid myself every time that I'm just going to have one quick look or that this time I will find the one bit of information that tells me my fears are not true, but every time I scare myself stupid. I am determined to stay away from Google but I know it'll be hard. Anyone else with me?

[Ronno]

Hi cattia, I totally agree dr.google should be struck off !
I can't remember how many times googling symptoms has made matters worse.
The latest last spring showing my doctor a small mole on my leg ( which had been there for ever ) which I was convinced had got darker , and now of course was melinoma . He looked at me and said your ok it looks normal , why did I think other wise ? I said I looked on google , the look on his face was enough. He the lectured me obout the dangers of this and how it could push anxiety sufferers over the edge .
How true I've already band myself from using it .

[jayjoe18]

Hi Cattia, I think this is a great idea, I used to suffer with health anxiety really bad 2 years ago, I got all the worries in the book but managed to overcome it with the help of CBT. I now no longer google anything medical related as not once did it help me, it just fuelled my anxiety and I can say it's the beat decision I could of made! I no longer have health anxiety (only a few wobbles but nothing like I used to be) and I think banning myself from Google is one of the main reasons I no longer suffer. Really hope you decide to quit Dr. Google! :)

[Arnie365]

I'm with you on this one. No more visits to Dr Google for me!

[iamstrong]

Me too. Only google if my boys are not well as my health anxiety is only related to myself thankfully!

[flatterycat]

Hello
I have been on and off this site for many years. My health anxiety comes and goes and I am currently trying to stop it from escalating. I ruined Christmas for myself this year after convincing myself that I had something terrible and fuelled it with my, almost, obsessive need to google. I really, really want to join this resolution because past experience has always shown me that as soon as I stop googling, things get better. However I have this fear (like tempting fate) that if I don't google there really will be something wrong! Not sure if I am making any sense at all, but every time I try to resist a thought pops in my head that says I almost need to make myself ill with worry in order for things to be ok. Completely irrational thinking I know - but I am often too scared to take the chance and so end up googling. Can anyone relate to this?

Sarah x

[Arnie365]

Sounds a bit like a form of OCD flatterycat if I'm honest. I've used Dr google so mug and its always made me feel worse. I've only taken proper reassurance from the proper doctors. After all they have trained for 10 years whereas you get all sorts of rubbish on google.

I think the worst thing is how it works. You can guarantee that if you search for symptoms it's always worst case scenario which come up first. This is because the 'boring' and generally harmless problems which have the same symptoms don't get written about!

[panic12]

Me too I might not be anxiety free but I'm definitely done with google!

[almamatters]

This is my new year's resolution. I can't say I'm going to be anxiety free for 2013, to be honest my anxiety has been horrible since the summer and try as I might, I can't seem to get it under control, but one thing I know I have to do for myself is to stay off Google. I kid myself every time that I'm just going to have one quick look or that this time I will find the one bit of information that tells me my fears are not true, but every time I scare myself stupid. I am determined to stay away from Google but I know it'll be hard. Anyone else with me?

Google did not start my HA but it certainly made it 10 times worse. It has also made me look a complete fool in front of my GP with the stupid illnesses I have diagnosed myself with. :blush:

[cattia]

My current worries are about my son who is 20 months old. I have a terrible fear that he's going to be diagnosed with autism (I wrote about it in a thread the other day). I have spent ages online over Christmas doing loads of online autism questionnaires and every time he does anything that I think might be associated with autism I Google it then if it comes up with links to an autism site I feel like I have to keep googling until I find something that says this could just be normal behaviour. I have got myself more and more in a state about it. I have been in this pattern so many times in the past with different illnesses, I did it with MS a couple of years back and more recently with brain tumours. I can be awake for hours in the night googling looking for reassurance.

Today I went through every item in my Google browser history and deleted each one individually. It made me realise how many things I have searched online just in the 18 months that I have had my current smartphone.

I am already finding it hard. This afternoon my son was walking backwards and I so wanted to Google it to see if it was a sign of autism, but I didn't. Not doing it felt very uncomfortable for me because I wanted reassurance so badly, but I stuck at it. it's only one day but at least it's a start.