How do you stop "finding" things? (some female-related stuff)

[br350]

I've not new to health anxiety and have been battling it off/on for about 25 years. :weep: I hate the fact that I can't just check an area of my body like most people do, in quick cursory way. No, I have to dig and prod and poke and go over an area a million times and find some tiny thing that no one else would ever find! :doh: How do you avoid doing this or falling into this trap: you find some small lump/bump. It's not symmetrical to the other side of the same area on your body. Now you feel you need to have it looked into but you dread opening up a can of worms. This recently happened to me and of course I've been wreck since then (found very small lump inside vagina, but inside the wall not on the surface).

It's just awful. I get so frustrated with myself for going on these hunting expeditions! Any thoughts would be so welcome. :welcome:

[Annoyed]

I'm in the same boat as you, with a tiny lymph node on the left side of my neck. After that I went into full body checking mode. Every single day.

The only real way to stop is to stop cold turkey. I think the body is just too damn weird and asymmetrical to really be concerned.

Like... do I expect my lymph nodes to be in the exact location that they are on the charts and pictures? Nah. My one foot is bigger than the other. Women's breasts are almost always a different size from one side to the other. My one knee has a bump in it. If I tense my neck, the muscles differ on each side.

Also, I figure if the doctor isn't doing what I'm doing to find these lumps, then they aren't important.