health anxiety

[dale12345]

Why cant I ever let things go, am doing the therapy and taking my meds and everything they say, but still can't let this cancer crap go. Its so frustrating its all I ever think about. I just want to feel normal, sorry to whine but I am so tired of this. Thanks for listening guys. I hate health anxiety!!!!! I hate being selfish. I hate being in my head all the time.Just want my life back. Beth Thanks This Site is Awesome

[aaronrh76]

Im right there with you man, everytime I feel like Ive got this lung cancer fear beat, I start to get a chest pain that brings me back, everytime I cough for whatever reason, it brings it back. I feel I am getting better, thanks in part to some of the help i received on this site, some from talking to friends and family. Stay strong my friend, I wish you the best :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

You're working on it, Beth, that's the important thing.

The fear response is meant to protect us from real threats. It learns quickly what to remember to keep us safe going back to a time when we were surrounded by a lot of danger. It was never meant to change from "shit it's a bear - run, throw the spear" to "it's just a bear so meh".

The first battle in therapy is working on what you can consciously apply to tell your subconscious why you don't need to be afraid of something. But it takes time for the subconscious to change to a neutral/positive because it never expected it needed to as everything is a big scary bear that it stores as a negative to protect us.

In my early sessions I would come out thinking how ludicrous it was to think your way out of those powerful physical sensations. I was wrong because when you start seeing those changes, you know it can be done.

And you ain't selfish, you're in pain. A brave face is hard to maintain all the time and is harder still when your mental defences are down.

Just keep working on things and you will get there. Once you start seeing improvements there will be a sense of recognition that it's not all just words. Work on relaxation too, the more the body gets out of feeling constantly anxious and starts to accept what relaxed feels like, the better.

Mindfulness is a great helper. Learning to watch your thoughts without interaction, to steer them away from areas you don't want them to go in and to learn to take things slower as you interact with the world can greatly help as we have learned to rush constantly and be on edge a lot.

[Phuzella]

Mindfulness definitely :)

[dale12345]

thanks just kind of hopeless right now

---------- Post added at 13:37 ---------- Previous post was at 13:35 ----------

getting to the point I am scared to sleep because I might die, so stupid I know.

[SLA]

It's funny isn't it. We know the stuff we think about ourselves is stupid, yet we give it so much weight and thought.

I identify with all of what you say, as it happened to me.

Ultimately, the things you think, and the things you are, are not the same. Not even close.

These thoughts you are having about cancer are not yours. They are the irrational/fearful side of your brain that is constantly worrying, and looking for threats.

You have already taken one step back, and realise they are stupid.

So you are already making great progress. So keep going!

Stop identifying with your thoughts, and limiting beliefs about yourself!

[dale12345]

thanks

---------- Post added at 16:23 ---------- Previous post was at 16:20 ----------

but it feels real thats the thing

---------- Post added at 16:24 ---------- Previous post was at 16:23 ----------

sorry guys

---------- Post added at 17:12 ---------- Previous post was at 16:24 ----------

I always poking and pushing at parts of my body. I have left bruises.