Glyph
21-08-13, 02:24
Hello everyoe, hope you're doing well. I have two things I'd appreciate your input on. The first is a question.
This might seem an odd thing to say, but here goes: I'm aware anxiety can cause physical symptoms, but is it also possible to experience physical symptoms that are CAUSED by anxiety, without being aware of feeling anxious at the time?
To explain, I have several lumps behind my ears: two of them are close together directly behind my right ear, right at the bottom where the lobe joins the head. They've been there for a couple months now, are pea sized, soft and tender. Then (because my left ear apparently felt left out) only today, I noticed there's a tiny one right in the centre-back of my left ear - much smaller, and harder.
I have not been to the doctor, because I don't want to feel stupid when it turns out to be nothing. I had a blood test and an ultrasound for a lump on my neck last October (cyst -it's still there too), but you know HA: no matter how much the odds are stacked in your favour, there's always that niggling "what if?".
And then I thought about the info I gained from people here, and noticed that my day to day life has stressors I have mostly grown accustomed to: boss diagnosed with stomach cancer? Check. Uncle in and out of hospital due to a sadly terminal problem? Check. General loneliness and depression? Check, etc.
Other people have worse problems, but these experiences are on my mind. Still, most of them are long standing problems: I've grown accustomed to them and I don't feel anxious all the time. So is it possible I'm "using" my health anxiety as a reason to get worked up?
I'm also worried about these unidentified lumps (and any advice would be appreciated there. Is this just lymph nodes again and has anyone else had this before? Are these kind of things common? I'm avoiding google so I can't find out :blush:). I would really like to AVOID going to the Doctor's again if I can.
This might seem an odd thing to say, but here goes: I'm aware anxiety can cause physical symptoms, but is it also possible to experience physical symptoms that are CAUSED by anxiety, without being aware of feeling anxious at the time?
To explain, I have several lumps behind my ears: two of them are close together directly behind my right ear, right at the bottom where the lobe joins the head. They've been there for a couple months now, are pea sized, soft and tender. Then (because my left ear apparently felt left out) only today, I noticed there's a tiny one right in the centre-back of my left ear - much smaller, and harder.
I have not been to the doctor, because I don't want to feel stupid when it turns out to be nothing. I had a blood test and an ultrasound for a lump on my neck last October (cyst -it's still there too), but you know HA: no matter how much the odds are stacked in your favour, there's always that niggling "what if?".
And then I thought about the info I gained from people here, and noticed that my day to day life has stressors I have mostly grown accustomed to: boss diagnosed with stomach cancer? Check. Uncle in and out of hospital due to a sadly terminal problem? Check. General loneliness and depression? Check, etc.
Other people have worse problems, but these experiences are on my mind. Still, most of them are long standing problems: I've grown accustomed to them and I don't feel anxious all the time. So is it possible I'm "using" my health anxiety as a reason to get worked up?
I'm also worried about these unidentified lumps (and any advice would be appreciated there. Is this just lymph nodes again and has anyone else had this before? Are these kind of things common? I'm avoiding google so I can't find out :blush:). I would really like to AVOID going to the Doctor's again if I can.