Wow feeling anxious about my health for the first time in months...

[Shivmarie]

Hey all, as you may no I've been having recurrent ear infections and been referred yesterday at long last to ent. However today some idiot told me earache/ear infections can cause meningitis and of course now I'm thinking because this has been ongoing since July and only the last few days I've got quite bad pain that this is going to happen to me despite the GP looking in it yesterday and no noting anything, and the referral was the plan of action had this continued so I'm not fretting because of that as it's more for my hearing loss. Noticeably I've felt extremely anxious all day, I'm hazy, can't really focus, my neck hurts and I'm just feeling strange. Coupled with the fact I've came on three days early and it don't feel 'the norm' like normal flow etc it's the first time since CBT I've felt weird and worrying. It's my birthday tomorrow and I'm really gutted that this is overcasting it. :-(

[katesa]

You are fine shiv I promise you.

Sounds like you've skipped ovulation this cycle and having a breakthrough bleed - most women do so at least once a year. The other stuff is your ear infections and anxiety because some pillock scared you.

Have a happy birthday. That's an order! X

[roxy90]

Meningitis from earache used to be a worry of mine. A lovely little girl.across the road died from this. Her parents themselves said it was extremely rare for this to happen, plus it happened extremely quickly. There's no way it wouldn't have happened. Its so rare hun, so so rare.

I ruined my birthday and my daughters first birthday due to my anxiety, please make sure you don't do the same. You're fine :)x

[HoneyLove]

Ugh sounds like you've a lot on your mind right now! Never mind the hormones making things worse :(

I've been there with the worries about ear infections & meningitis, I've had a lot of problems with my ears, sinus & neck pain that sometimes had me worrying that it was turning into a bad infection like meningitis.

The way I tried to think about it was this: pretty much any infection can lead to meningitis, or you can get meningitis on it's own without any prior infection. That's not said to worry you but only to point out that it's not possible to keep worrying about something that you have no control over.

You need to relinquish the need to control what's happening with your health, it sounds scary but it's actually easier that way. Right now you have enough to think about, you can worry about something else but only if it actually happens. Worrying about something that hasn't happened is wasted energy when you really think about it.

Have a think about what CBT exercises might help you with this issue and maybe sit down and work through a few of them. Some issues we need to work harder on and it will take a while to get the hang of the CBT.

All you can do is take the best possible care of yourself right now, instead of focusing on a problem that is not likely to ever happen x

[Shivmarie]

Hey Kate, thanks for the reply. I'm proud because I'm recognising the symptoms of my anxiety now and not thinking oh my neck hurts that must be the meningitis. But I'm just sad as I've done so well getting almost past my HA to the point I work in a flipping medical centre, but somebody saying that kinda made me feel awful. I'm glad I didn't get into full panic attack mode. I was using my rational thinking.
Thanks for the advice about the period situation,it's just really random as I'm usually pretty regular. I think because I'm feeling anxious I'm putting more emphasis on it than I usually would.
Haha thanks, I'll try. :-) xx

---------- Post added at 21:27 ---------- Previous post was at 21:23 ----------

Hey Roxy and Honeylove, thanks for your replies.
I'm just using some of my CBT techniques and I'm feeling better than I was. I also have been spending time with the family tonight rather than hiding away in my room which is what I used to do. I know deep down the rareness of these things and I'd not of even thought about it had it not been said to me, I'm glad in a way I'm not the only one to have had this cross their mind. I think the ear pain maybe down to the 5 extractions I've had over the last 6 weeks, or some sort of connection. Trying to stay positive but this forum is a great help especially when you have a setback. Thank you xxx

[HoneyLove]

Shivmarie it sounds like you've been doing really well, and like you say you're now recognising when things are anxiety rather than an actual problem. That's progress! And it's something you should be proud of.

Something you should remember is that recovery isn't linear, some issues you'll have to work harder on than others and some days you'll feel more sensitive than others. There are so many reasons for that, but it's better to just accept that this is how it is and go with the flow - just keep working and being kind to yourself, you're doing very well.

You're allowed to feel anxious sometimes! The difference is now that you're not allowing it t completely take control and your working on it. That's a million times better than where you were before.

You've reason to be proud, so be good to yourself & go out and enjoy your birthday tomorrow xx

[Shivmarie]

Thanks again Honey.
It's strange, I've been reading through my old posts, when I first joined seeing how bad I really was, and I know I've massively moved on, I know I still have so,e anxiety but as my CBT guy said, anxiety is there to protect us, it's more about making it into a positive. I think it's just heightened as I'm under stress lately about this and that, but I'll keep working at it.
Thank you all for your kind words xxx