Are symptoms real?

[Bakebeansrule]

Do you think it's possible for anxiety to cause symptoms that arnt really there?

My health anxiety has reared its ugly head again but as daft as it sounds I don't know if my symptoms are real.

It started with an itchy nipple that I didn't think too much off then a few days later I noticed it was still a bit itchy when I touched it so I googled and what a mistake that was! Now it's all I think about which makes me think it's really itchy (like if someone says they've had headlice you then start itching) so I scratch it and it's made it sore which then makes me worry more.

I'm thinking of making a Drs appointment for a few weeks then it's giving me time to get over it if it's not really there.

Sounds daft I know and I was doing so well :weep:

[Bearinmind]

Itching is definitely one of those symptoms that can be completely psychogenic. The urge to scratch some place is completely neurological (not meaning that you have a problem in your nervous system!), so yeah, if you think too much that some place is itching, you will feel an urge to scrath it. The scratching response is a brain mechanism to remove any harmful substance embedded in your skin, but is not a direct stimuli per se (it's not the substance X on your skin that causes itching. It's your body that identifies something it doesn't want on your skin, so it send a "itchy signal" there for you to scratch and remove with your nails). If you truly believe that there something harmful there, your brain will believe that there is something harmful there and you will feel an urge to scratch it even if there is nothing there.

[Fishmanpa]

The mind is the most powerful organ in our bodies. I believe 100% it can convince us of just about anything.

Positive thoughts