britchick
14-10-13, 20:50
Hello :-)
I'm new to anxiety....well, no; new to being conscious of having an anxiety related problem. That makes perfect sense to me! :-D
I suffer from bouts of health anxiety. Always have; this stems from a traumatic childhood where I had to observe my father gravely ill on several occasions due to substance abuse. That's for a different show...but, since and over the years I have suffered periods of intense fear about acquiring a serious illness.
A couple of days back, I was 'triggered' into thinking I had something seriously wrong with my brain and that I had a life threatening brain condition. The triggers? Forgetting to press the 'go' button on the microwave and losing a contact lens! This then spiralled out of control to 4 days later - I think I have some kind of life threatening brain condition and thoughts of, 'I'm losing my mind', 'This must be down to the worst brain serious illness that exists'.
These thoughts cause genuine concern and depression. They also cause anxiety symptoms (such as a lack of concentration and being withdrawn) that I also interpret as further signs there's something seriously wrong. :-/
For the last four nights I have spent hours every night searching for the first signs of terminal brain conditions....lack of concentration has been mentioned...but I dont have any other symptoms. If I focus hard enough for hours on my head, I do feel an ache here and there!
The last time this happened, I phoned my doctors and told her I thought I was seriously ill in my brain because I had typed the wrong client's name on a letter (.....lol). She reassured me it was anxiety and that she didn't think there was anything wrong with me apart from health anxiety. She also said my fear was very common amongst those that worried about their health and that brain conditions such as the one I feared were extremely rare.
It seems that whenever I encounter something that I've done that's slightly wrong or if a suffer a lack of concentration - I panic that it's a life threatening brain illness.
Can anyone tell me how they can tell if it's health anxiety or whether they are genuinely ill?
Can anyone give me any reassurance? Not ideal, I know....I shouldn't ask for it but please go easy on me :-)
Thanks for reading
C x
I'm new to anxiety....well, no; new to being conscious of having an anxiety related problem. That makes perfect sense to me! :-D
I suffer from bouts of health anxiety. Always have; this stems from a traumatic childhood where I had to observe my father gravely ill on several occasions due to substance abuse. That's for a different show...but, since and over the years I have suffered periods of intense fear about acquiring a serious illness.
A couple of days back, I was 'triggered' into thinking I had something seriously wrong with my brain and that I had a life threatening brain condition. The triggers? Forgetting to press the 'go' button on the microwave and losing a contact lens! This then spiralled out of control to 4 days later - I think I have some kind of life threatening brain condition and thoughts of, 'I'm losing my mind', 'This must be down to the worst brain serious illness that exists'.
These thoughts cause genuine concern and depression. They also cause anxiety symptoms (such as a lack of concentration and being withdrawn) that I also interpret as further signs there's something seriously wrong. :-/
For the last four nights I have spent hours every night searching for the first signs of terminal brain conditions....lack of concentration has been mentioned...but I dont have any other symptoms. If I focus hard enough for hours on my head, I do feel an ache here and there!
The last time this happened, I phoned my doctors and told her I thought I was seriously ill in my brain because I had typed the wrong client's name on a letter (.....lol). She reassured me it was anxiety and that she didn't think there was anything wrong with me apart from health anxiety. She also said my fear was very common amongst those that worried about their health and that brain conditions such as the one I feared were extremely rare.
It seems that whenever I encounter something that I've done that's slightly wrong or if a suffer a lack of concentration - I panic that it's a life threatening brain illness.
Can anyone tell me how they can tell if it's health anxiety or whether they are genuinely ill?
Can anyone give me any reassurance? Not ideal, I know....I shouldn't ask for it but please go easy on me :-)
Thanks for reading
C x