Caitlinmcairo
25-10-15, 14:46
So, I wanted to post something about Health Anxiety that maybe will help all of us.
Ive been suffering from Health Anxiety for the last couple years with it being at its absolute worst this summer. I mean I can't even count on my hands how many "diseases" i have diagnosed myself with in the last couple months.
I want all of you to sit here right now and think about every disease you have thought you had, and when you think about it, think of how silly it sounds, laugh at yourself.
Let me give you some facts that will help relieve some of your worries. My mom is an oncologist so she works with cancer patients everyday. My mom is now working on a huge project that they are trying to launch around the world called SURVIORSHIP and the reason that they are working so hard on this project is because every day the rate of people surviving cancer is increasing tremendously. My mom has said that cancer will probably be a small concern in the next few years with how much improvement and research they are finding.
Let me throw some more facts at you, I go to visit my mom at her office and everytime Im there the majority of people there are elderly, most over there 50s and 60s. If you are in your 20s even 30s the chance of you getting this disease is so low its crazy, my mom says I have a better chance at getting in a car accident.
You don't have ALS or MS, those are so crazy rare and something you don't get till your much older. Plus you don't die with MS, my mom knows a woman who was diagnosed with MS in her 40s, 20 years later the woman is still living a normal life, ALS is so rare and doesn't usually happen until you're much older, so if you're in your under 40...STOP WORRYING ABOUT ALS
What I want for all of us is to stop worrying about such silliness. Health Anxiety is taking over our lives. We are so scared of getting sick and not being able to live our lives and dying, but look at what were doing everyday, were not living our lives right now cause were worrying about what might happen to us or about the lump in our neck thats probably nothing or the pain in our side thats probably nothing. I knew I hit rock bottom when I was examining my pee in the toilet, I wasn't even sure what I was looking for or why I was thinking I needed to check it out like WHO DOES THAT, and Im sure all of us do crazy things to check ourselves out, that are probably insanely crazy and end up freaking ourselves out and whats the point?
We need to stop! Seriously! I know its hard, trust me, Im still working on it, but let me give you guys some tips that seem to help me.
1. Dont google. I swear google is the root of all evil for us Heath Worriers. It won't reassure you I promise. When you start to google, please stop yourself. Take a few deep breaths and close that tab. I promise you google will do nothing for you.
2. Eat the right things. I am a crazy picky eater and i could live off bread and cheese and just junk food, but I've added a lot of fruits and veggies to my diet along with eating the bad stuff, don't stop eating that pasta you love, just put some veggies and chicken in it. Eat that hamburger, but get carrots instead of fries. Its a lifestyle change. I make a great smoothie of kale and spinach strawberries, bananas and milk. Its the best thing to start my morning. Eating the right things will make you feel better and lower your anxiety
3. Exercise- even if you don't want to jump on that treadmill, go swimming or take a walk with friends, go play tennis or basketball, JUST GET MOVING. Exercise makes you feel so good and happy.
4. Meditate or do yoga- look up ways to meditate or yoga, I do yoga at home with an app i got. Trust me it really settles the mind.
5. Journal- WRITE DOWN YOUR FEELINGS! Write down goals and things that make you happy and where you see yourself in 5-10 years.
6. Remove stressors (if you can). Think about it, theres other things worrying you, besides your health. (Money Job School) if you can, try to remove these stressors at the moment. I took a semester off of school just to help get myself happy and healthy and to remove an extra stress, i know some of us can't do that, but try to minimize whats stressing you out if you can, because the reason your health anxiety is at an all time high is probably because your stressors are at a high too.
7. Distract yourself- when you feel like you're getting nervous, go watch your favorite movie, or read a book, or go for a walk. Do something instead of dwelling on what may happen.
7. Surround yourself with people you love. Have dinner with your best friend. Have a movie night with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Go on a walk with your mom and dad. These people will make you happy and forget the worries in your life.
People please stop worrying, its not doing you any good and its making your life miserable. Please don't worry about every lump and pain. Give it the 2 weeks rule. If its still there and impacting your life, go see your DR and don't worry about it, my dad had a lump on his back that just went away, he had one on his neck, went to the DR and they told him they were going to remove it and that was it, most of the time, your lump or pain is NOTHING, and if it is something more serious, us health worriers are so in tune to our body that we most likely caught it on time.
If you go to your yearly physical and mammograms and colonoscopy your chances of surviving anything they find are over the 90 percentile. People who die from diseases are most likely people that didn't go to their yearly physicals or other things, or just ignored it, and trust me we know none of us ignore symptoms, so most likely were all going to live till were 100.
One more thing if your anxiety is out of control, go to your Dr and have them prescribe you medicine. I was so against being on medication, until i got the facts and was put on a low dose lexapro, that just help bring back some of the serotonin in my brain. It helps trust me, also if you can go see a counselor they can give you some great techniques, if your in school see if you have a counseling center at your school, I see my counselor for free thankfully, I know we all don't have that option, but if you do have that option, take advantage of it. If you can't just look up Cognitive Behavior Therapy techniques and try and use those
I know this was crazy long, but I want to help all of you, because Health Anxiety freaking sucks! I have never felt the way I did when I had this anxiety. I hate that you guys feel this way and I really hope this thread gives you guys some peace of mind and tips.
If you have any more questions or comments, Ill check back here frequently and be there for reassurance. Lets fight this monster together and get all us back to our normal healthy lives
:)
Ive been suffering from Health Anxiety for the last couple years with it being at its absolute worst this summer. I mean I can't even count on my hands how many "diseases" i have diagnosed myself with in the last couple months.
I want all of you to sit here right now and think about every disease you have thought you had, and when you think about it, think of how silly it sounds, laugh at yourself.
Let me give you some facts that will help relieve some of your worries. My mom is an oncologist so she works with cancer patients everyday. My mom is now working on a huge project that they are trying to launch around the world called SURVIORSHIP and the reason that they are working so hard on this project is because every day the rate of people surviving cancer is increasing tremendously. My mom has said that cancer will probably be a small concern in the next few years with how much improvement and research they are finding.
Let me throw some more facts at you, I go to visit my mom at her office and everytime Im there the majority of people there are elderly, most over there 50s and 60s. If you are in your 20s even 30s the chance of you getting this disease is so low its crazy, my mom says I have a better chance at getting in a car accident.
You don't have ALS or MS, those are so crazy rare and something you don't get till your much older. Plus you don't die with MS, my mom knows a woman who was diagnosed with MS in her 40s, 20 years later the woman is still living a normal life, ALS is so rare and doesn't usually happen until you're much older, so if you're in your under 40...STOP WORRYING ABOUT ALS
What I want for all of us is to stop worrying about such silliness. Health Anxiety is taking over our lives. We are so scared of getting sick and not being able to live our lives and dying, but look at what were doing everyday, were not living our lives right now cause were worrying about what might happen to us or about the lump in our neck thats probably nothing or the pain in our side thats probably nothing. I knew I hit rock bottom when I was examining my pee in the toilet, I wasn't even sure what I was looking for or why I was thinking I needed to check it out like WHO DOES THAT, and Im sure all of us do crazy things to check ourselves out, that are probably insanely crazy and end up freaking ourselves out and whats the point?
We need to stop! Seriously! I know its hard, trust me, Im still working on it, but let me give you guys some tips that seem to help me.
1. Dont google. I swear google is the root of all evil for us Heath Worriers. It won't reassure you I promise. When you start to google, please stop yourself. Take a few deep breaths and close that tab. I promise you google will do nothing for you.
2. Eat the right things. I am a crazy picky eater and i could live off bread and cheese and just junk food, but I've added a lot of fruits and veggies to my diet along with eating the bad stuff, don't stop eating that pasta you love, just put some veggies and chicken in it. Eat that hamburger, but get carrots instead of fries. Its a lifestyle change. I make a great smoothie of kale and spinach strawberries, bananas and milk. Its the best thing to start my morning. Eating the right things will make you feel better and lower your anxiety
3. Exercise- even if you don't want to jump on that treadmill, go swimming or take a walk with friends, go play tennis or basketball, JUST GET MOVING. Exercise makes you feel so good and happy.
4. Meditate or do yoga- look up ways to meditate or yoga, I do yoga at home with an app i got. Trust me it really settles the mind.
5. Journal- WRITE DOWN YOUR FEELINGS! Write down goals and things that make you happy and where you see yourself in 5-10 years.
6. Remove stressors (if you can). Think about it, theres other things worrying you, besides your health. (Money Job School) if you can, try to remove these stressors at the moment. I took a semester off of school just to help get myself happy and healthy and to remove an extra stress, i know some of us can't do that, but try to minimize whats stressing you out if you can, because the reason your health anxiety is at an all time high is probably because your stressors are at a high too.
7. Distract yourself- when you feel like you're getting nervous, go watch your favorite movie, or read a book, or go for a walk. Do something instead of dwelling on what may happen.
7. Surround yourself with people you love. Have dinner with your best friend. Have a movie night with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Go on a walk with your mom and dad. These people will make you happy and forget the worries in your life.
People please stop worrying, its not doing you any good and its making your life miserable. Please don't worry about every lump and pain. Give it the 2 weeks rule. If its still there and impacting your life, go see your DR and don't worry about it, my dad had a lump on his back that just went away, he had one on his neck, went to the DR and they told him they were going to remove it and that was it, most of the time, your lump or pain is NOTHING, and if it is something more serious, us health worriers are so in tune to our body that we most likely caught it on time.
If you go to your yearly physical and mammograms and colonoscopy your chances of surviving anything they find are over the 90 percentile. People who die from diseases are most likely people that didn't go to their yearly physicals or other things, or just ignored it, and trust me we know none of us ignore symptoms, so most likely were all going to live till were 100.
One more thing if your anxiety is out of control, go to your Dr and have them prescribe you medicine. I was so against being on medication, until i got the facts and was put on a low dose lexapro, that just help bring back some of the serotonin in my brain. It helps trust me, also if you can go see a counselor they can give you some great techniques, if your in school see if you have a counseling center at your school, I see my counselor for free thankfully, I know we all don't have that option, but if you do have that option, take advantage of it. If you can't just look up Cognitive Behavior Therapy techniques and try and use those
I know this was crazy long, but I want to help all of you, because Health Anxiety freaking sucks! I have never felt the way I did when I had this anxiety. I hate that you guys feel this way and I really hope this thread gives you guys some peace of mind and tips.
If you have any more questions or comments, Ill check back here frequently and be there for reassurance. Lets fight this monster together and get all us back to our normal healthy lives
:)