Can you get over health anxiety ?

[illgetthere]

My question is exactly as I say in the title! How do you get over this crap? How do you manage to turn ur symptoms off can it really happen if so how ? I just don't want to live like this anymore I so fed up of it :(

[Wolfie]

Of course - you will reach a point in your jouney where you are in control of it. Relapses are still possible, but the main thing is that you are in control and it isn't anymore.

Initially you have to help yourself. The first and best thing you can do for yourself is to not to google or look around in medical dictionaries or anything like that to see what the 'symptoms mean'.

It is also important that you get your head around the fact that many of your symptoms are most likely caused by your anxiety of something being wrong - if you are looking for something to be 'wrong' eg. your main fear may be not breathing, so you can be on the lookout, consciously/subconsciously or a tight throat, which means you are stressed so you will end up feeling your tight throat, because you were looking for it in the first place! It is also important that anxiety and stress cause symptoms such as tense muscles, which may cause headaches, which for someone with health anxiety, may perceive this to be a sign of a tumour, etc etc, I'm sure you understand what I'm meaning, lol.

It's not a case of 'turning your symptoms off'. It is a case of you perceiving any 'symptom'/'feeling' in a rational way.

This all takes time, but it's do-able. :)

Chris

[illgetthere]

I've just gave myself a panic attack from having a burning sensation in my head I completely lost it and felt like ringing an ambulance I can't deal with this anymore I'm just a mess it's ruining my life x

[Wolfie]

You can get through this :). One day you'll look back on these days and realise how far you've come.