Health Anxiety

[Butterfly7]

Hi Everyone

I'm new to this so sorry if this is not the right thing I'm doing. I've been suffering from health anxiety for 15 months now, I've been on antidepressants, had CBT therapy and still suffer badly. I've got to the point where I wonder if I'll ever get back to my old self again, I had my first panic attack after having a health scare but everything was fine and now I cannot seem to forget about it. From the minute I wake up till the min I go to bed all I think about is getting ill, being ill or dying, it has completely taken over my life. I am so focused on every sensation I feel in my body and it frightens me, and it may sound stupid but I think so much about my breathing that I've forgotten how to breath properly, which adds to the anxiety as then I get dizzy, light headed, headaches. I've been to the doctor numerous times having x rays, ecg's, blood tests etc and all come back fine. I completely understand why I feel the way I do and how and why I keep the anxiety going but still cannot seem to get my head to believe that that is all it is. As I'm writing this all I feel is scared, dizzy, nauseous. I have 2 young children and just want to be the best parent I can be and do try my best to hide this from them as I do not want it to affect them I.e going out, going away, holidays etc. I have always been a very positive, upbeat person but this anxiety/fear is really taking over I'm terrified of something happening to me and I put extra pressure on myself by telling myself I can't get ill or die as I have to be here for my kids something I know I have absolutely no control over. I just want this anxiety/fear to be gone so I can get on with my life and enjoy being with my family. If anyone has any help, advice or tips for getting over this it would be much appreciated!

---------- Post added at 14:22 ---------- Previous post was at 13:58 ----------

Forgot to say I also get the feeling of motion sickness even though I'm sitting down at home, feel dizzy, blurred vision, feel sick anyone else experience this as I keep thinking the worst!

[HoneyLove]

Hi Butterfly, welcome to the forum :)

All the physical symptoms you describe are very common with anxiety, even the dizziness and nausea. If you doctors have checked it out then you need to trust them when they tell you that you're OK.

When you start worrying like this do you use any of the CBT techniques that you learned? I found that when I began to have irrational thoughts I had to sit down and work through some of the techniques several times, it's a long process but it does work. And eventually it gets easier to do.

It's the irrational thoughts, the excessive worry, that you need to get to the root of. They are what drive your anxiety and send you into a panic. You might consider something like Neurolinguistic Therapy (NLP) - I found it incredibly helpful when I did it, and I still go for the odd session whenever I have a problem I need to work through. Or just regular psychotherapy might be helpful?

It does sound like you're in a very stressed out and tense place at the moment, which means your body is producing lots of stress hormones (it does this when we're worrying). To combat this there is so much you can do - exercise is a perfect example, it will reduce stress hormones and raise levels of endorphins that will help you feel good naturally. You can also engage your parasympathetic nervous system through things like daily meditation, mindfullness, yoga, breathing exercises or guided relaxation - basically anything that induces a deep sense of relaxation in your whole body.

You'll also need to take a look at your diet, make sure that you're eating properly, avoiding things like caffeine and stimulants and just generally taking care of yourself. A healthy body makes for a healthy mind :)

It might be worth reading a bit about anxiety, to educate yourself on what's happening to you and what you can do about it. I'd recommend a book called Flagging Stress by Dr Harry Barry or even Control Stress by Paul McKenna (it comes with a great hypnosis recording that I love!).

You've come to the right place for tips and advice, there are lots of people here you will give you a hand :)

[Butterfly7]

Thanks HoneyLove, I will give them a try it's just so hard to focus on myself when I've got 2 young kids to look after but I suppose I need to make time in order for me to get better!

[Sydney100]

Hi butterfly 7 I feel your pain......it all sounds to me like anxiety. I also feel dizzy which makes me really panic. When I feel fine it's hard to believe that anxiety can make you feel so rotten but we are here to support u xx

[HoneyLove]

That's exactly it Butterfly, your own needs shouldn't get forgotten about, to be the best mum you can be you need to feel good too :)

It just takes a little extra planning maybe, finding 15 minutes in your day to do some relaxation, or waking up a little earlier to go for a walk. There is so much that you can do, you'll find things that suit your lifestyle if you search around. Starting with reading one of those books would be a good place!

[Butterfly7]

Thank you both, it just helps to know that there are other people out there who understand how you feel as it's so lonely and I tend to keep how I feel to myself as I don't want to burden other family members with it ( even though I know they would be supportive) I feel sometimes like I'm going completely insane. Even when I have good days and I feel loads better a panic attack will come out of the blue and it outs me back down to where I started. I can only explain it as though I'm swimming along in water and I've got this anxiety and fear trying to pull me under and at the same time I'm tying my best to keep myself from going under but the more I fight it the worst it gets, hope that makes sense I just can't see an end to it, plus the longer it goes on the more I convince myself that this lasting stress on my body is going to cause further problems and affect my health and cause a serious illness.

[HoneyLove]

There a woman called Claire Weekes who wrote a book called Self Help for the Nerves. In it she talks about how fighting anxiety is the wrong approach to take, because it just ends up with frustration and more adrenaline!

Instead she suggests that we just float through it, it works so much better.

The difficult truth is that stress can indeed cause problems later in life, it's a well documented fact. But if you do something about it now, be proactive about your mental health instead of worrying about it, then you won't have those problems :)