I'm new and have Health Anxiety!!

[Chan]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone suffered from anything similar or has had/have ways of dealing with it..
I currently suffer from Health Anxiety on a daily basis. I have always had general anxiety but over the past couple of years this seems to have developed into health anxiety. I worry that if I eat something, dye my hair, use a new moisturiser etc that I will have an allergic reaction afterwards and check myself for symptoms I.e. Swollen lips, rash..and sometimes convince myself I have the even though I don't. I also worry about my general health like my heart rate is too high, or as I sit at a desk in the day I'm going to develop a blood clot! I have previously had tests on my heart and they all came back ok however that still has not put my mind at rest that there is nothing wrong with it. I worry that if I get a rash then it's serious or if I get pain in my arm it's a heart attack. It's becoming increasingly tiring feeling like this everyday.

I would really appreciate any feedback on anyone who experiences similar anxiety, has ways to deal with them or any ideas or just someone to talk to about it.

I am have currently started CBT for this and am on my 3d session.

[MRS STRESS ED]

Hello and welcome chan cbt is away forward it will help you understand and help you to cope and I felt like you hun its quite commom with anxiety xx

[Chan]

Thank you, you said that you used to feel like that...do you mind me asking how you overcame it?

[MRS STRESS ED]

Thank you, you said that you used to feel like that...do you mind me asking how you overcame it?

With alot of hard work using all the skills I learnt with my cbt also believing and changing the way I thought about things and dont get me wrong I still have my bad days but thats all it is doesnt mean im going back to were I was ,just keep working at it love xx

[HoneyLove]

Hello Chan, welcome to the boards! You'll find a lot of people who feel the same as you here, health anxiety is what brings us all together.

CBT is a great first step, if you work at putting what you learn into practice you'll find that over time you aren't so afraid anymore. I did CBT a few years ago too and found it immensely helpful, I don't really struggle with health anxiety in the way that I used to thankfully :)

[Tanner40]

Good Morning Chan. Welcome to NMP. You're going to find a lot of support here from like minded people that understand what you're going through.

I used to feel many of the same things that you did, especially surrounding new medications, new products, etc... CBT really helped me to begin to recognize the thoughts that I was having that were irrational. So congratulations on starting CBT. It takes daily and persistent work but eventually the CBT should help. It's something that requires a great deal of effort but it's so worth it.

I found that relaxed breathing exercises also helped me, along with self guided meditation. There are many good exercises for this on YouTube.

Good luck on this journey.

[Chan]

Thanks, can anyone advise on how long they did CBT for before it started to work and how long you continued to do it?

[Merlin78]

I was referred for CBT last Friday, just waiting for the letter to come through with an appointment which could be some time, I really hope it works as I am very similar to the original poster, I always think side effects will happen with medication, I examine my body and freak over any marks, I google symptoms for hours on end and end up actually making myself feel ill.

[HoneyLove]

Thanks, can anyone advise on how long they did CBT for before it started to work and how long you continued to do it?

At the beginning it's hard, you have to make yourself really work at it. It's worth pointing out that the level CBT works to all depends on how much effort you put in yourself, it's not the kind of thing where you go to sessions and you just start feeling better. You have to use the exercises you learn in your daily life and make a big effort to look at how you're thinking and what you can do about it.

Over time it becomes easier and you just begin to naturally think in a less anxious way, it's hard to give a time frame for that because it will be different for everyone.

[Merlin78]

At the beginning it's hard, you have to make yourself really work at it. It's worth pointing out that the level CBT works to all depends on how much effort you put in yourself, it's not the kind of thing where you go to sessions and you just start feeling better. You have to use the exercises you learn in your daily life and make a big effort to look at how you're thinking and what you can do about it.

Over time it becomes easier and you just begin to naturally think in a less anxious way, it's hard to give a time frame for that because it will be different for everyone.

Can you give me an example of that? Are you given specific exercises to do or is it just carrying out your daily things but trying to alter your thinking patterns?

[HoneyLove]

You are given specific exercises to do, depending on the type of worrying you do. Your therapist will help you look at your thought patterns, and identify what way that you tend to think. Depending on this there will be different exercises.

You know it was several years ago for me, so I don't even really remember specific exercises any more. There was one she called Peeling the Onion that I really liked, it involved looking at the root fear of things - so what lies underneath your health anxiety. There was another one where you had to place your worry on a scale of 1 - 100, with 100 being the worst thing that could ever happen to you, and it sounds silly but it showed me just how nonsensical some of my worries were and made it a lot easier to move past them. Another one involved sitting down to break down and rationalise worries and look at the way I was thinking about things.

There's a website with a free CBT course that you can have a look at, it will give you an idea of what it will be like:

https://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome