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View Full Version : My friends and family were right all along...



MarkJames3
15-05-13, 12:41
Hi Guys,

Just thought I would write a quick post... If some of you have read, I found a lump on my knee a while ago and last week went to see a new doctor who refered me for an x ray, he said it was just to confirm what he thought it was which is just a bit of extra bone. (2 docs had now told me the same thing).

I went for the x ray on friday and at that point convinced myself I had seen something bad on the x ray, they said my results would be with my doc on tues, well I went to get my results today.. All Clear/No Abnormalities.

Let me just say this last week or so has been torture and by far the worst I have been with my anxiety since it all began in 2008. My fiancee has been on the verge of tears because she has been so worried about my mental state, my best friend who is studying radiotherapy and studies cancer every day assured me there was nothing to worry about but even with all these people telling me it would all be ok, I wanted to just be in my cocoon and believe the worst, I had convinced myself I was living the last days of a free life.

Strangely the last few days have really made me reflect on myself and my illness (because thats what anxiety is), its made me realise, we need to put trust in others, trust our doctors, they are way more qualified than us.... Yes you hear horror stories about being mis-diagnsoed or doctors missing things but in reality this is a minute percentage of the amount of people who walk through the doctors surgery each day. We have a great health service with amazingly trained doctors and nurses, lets put our faith in them.

Secondly, when you sit an actually think about things, by worrying it is accomplishing nothing, should i sit here and worry about something that might not happen or instead get on the floor and spend time and play with my 15 month old son, go out for a meal with my fiancee or spend time at relatives... whats a nicer life?

Lastly the biggest thing I thought about was distraction.... Many a time over the past few days, I just sat curled up on the sofa letting my thoughts run wild while life was going on without me.... on the odd occasion I made myself do something, even if it was writing a little script or an idea I had for a film (i work in the film industry btw), or even go outside and weed the garden... I knew I wouldn't forget about how I felt straight away but guess what even by distracting myself even slightly i did feel a bit better in myself, i found myself even smiling, A small step but an important one.... Distraction is a huge key!

One thing that my fiancee said to me which has really stuck is this: "you worry and are scared daily about what "might" being going on in your body, but at the same every morning you get in your car and drive to work... now what do you hear more about on a daily basis? I bet its an accident, so why are you not scared about that?"

Its so true.... Sometimes we just need to take a minute, a breather and really think about things and reflect on what we do have or what we can do or achieve.

Hope this personal experience helps and wasn't too boring to read.

Mark
x

Annie0904
15-05-13, 13:14
Mark I am really pleased to read this and it good that you are beginning to think more rationally about things :yesyes:

Tinker28
15-05-13, 13:30
Loved your post I'm going through my own issues right now and your post made me a bit better! Thank you!

meche
15-05-13, 13:51
Great post Mark. I can't reiterate more about the distraction part. Distraction was my therapy and the thing that got me on the road to recovery. Don't get me wrong, there were days when I could've curled up in a ball on the sofa and stayed there forever but if I had, I think I would still be there now! Glad you are feeling better. xx

AlexandriaUK
15-05-13, 13:51
Its easy to say and think this way after the event (after the results have come back good) but we seem to lose all sense of logic and any belief in the medical staff who are treating us goes out the window until they have exhausted most of the medical tests they can do to rule out what we think we have, I am glad your knee is clear of anything nasty and that you today at least feel confident with your results.
I have been to the hospital this morning and have had x-rays and bloods and am being booked in for an MRI next week so should find out what is causing my problem, until then I will try not to imagine the worst, I think that half of the problem with HA sufferers is that we have an over active imagination and usually are more intelligent than most, don’t know how they work that one out I’m sure. it could be that if you are like a primate you wouldn’t worry because you do not know anything as such and so wouldn’t worry or care
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEEPaYD5KZE

Tessar
15-05-13, 14:03
That's a brilliant post mark and I am really pleased foryou that you've got there in the end. Your advice re: distraction is so very true.

AllIhaveisme
15-05-13, 15:10
Thank you for the post. Much needed today. :)

MarkJames3
15-05-13, 17:23
Hi guys,

Thanks for the kind words...

I definitely know the feeling of going through that Euphoria stage after getting clear results, I kind of wrote this post as something to look back on, kind of a statement of intent incase I start sliding back to old habits....

I have also read that anxiety and depression is common in intelligent thinkers and over active imaginations... I guess thats why we have to keep occupied.

Its so hard to rationalise things when in a state of worry, but we have to try, Our brain has many thoughts not just bad ones, so its trying to home in on the good rational ones.

I always think well for 24 years of my life i walked about with no worries etc... what suddenly changed?

I guess health anxiety is all about habit, certain things we do when we are down, which we think are helping etc but instead they are just part of the habit we feed off... We are creatures of habit and we can learn new things and to think in different ways its just trying to reinforce the good habits I reakon...

Munchlet
15-05-13, 20:00
Great post, so pleased everything was ok.

It's interesting to read your post because I was thinking last night about my issues with HA and along the lines of why do I doubt so much what doctors tell me.

These people spend years studying medicine to become qualified in diagnosing people and yet I seem to think a few years of reading the newspapers and googling makes me more qualified than them in self diagnosing myself.

I was also thinking the same as your fiancee said that I drive to and from work everyday I do things everyday that could result in an accident but that never crosses my mind.

I think your post hits the nail on the head we need to pay more attention to the here and now and try and focus less on the what ifs and maybes.

Take care