Is itching an anxiety symptom? [Archive]

View Full Version : Is itching an anxiety symptom?

paranoid-viking

07-10-16, 11:42

Caused by anxiety?

I can not stop worrying about pancreatic cancer you know.

ServerError

07-10-16, 11:46

I don't think anxiety causes itching per se, but if you have anxiety and focus on certain sensations, you can definitely trigger them or even begin to perceive them as stronger than they are. Although I believe in some cases, anxiety sufferers do develop rashes, which can be caused by the biological changes associated with stress.

Itching is about the most common human sensation of all. Don't give it a second thought.

axolotl

07-10-16, 11:49

If you think about itching, you will itch. I'm itching now replying to your post.

spacebunnyx

07-10-16, 11:52

I've had pschosomatic itching.... the brain is crazy!

SLA

07-10-16, 11:52

Me too.

I just had to scratch my arse. :D

paranoid-viking

07-10-16, 11:57

ServerError

07-10-16, 11:57

Me too.

I just had to scratch my arse. :D

Please wash your hands.

MyNameIsTerry

07-10-16, 15:09

Me too.

I just had to scratch my arse. :D

Now my bums itching... and I was thinking about yours! (it itching, that is :blush:) :D

There's tons of itching threads on here paranoid-viking so it's common. Skin crawling sensations are another one.

---------- Post added at 15:09 ---------- Previous post was at 15:08 ----------

Please wash your hands.

Scratch & sniff? :winks:

SLA

07-10-16, 15:23

I wish I had never ever heard about pancreatic cancer or read about it. It is the worst thing that ever happened to me. Not long ago I did not know that such things existed; I thught the worst cancer was lung cancer which is som far removed from what I would imagine; I dont smoke. But reading about it has destroyed my life. All the info about it is so devestating including patients stories. Nothing uplifting. I envy those with an irrational frar of HIV because they can easily found out that it is impossible for them to have HIV based on how they thought they "got it". And HIV is not even a killer for those who takes medicine; the stigma is the only thing.

I like how you can conclude that having a fear of HIV would be better, because you could rationalize your way out of it. :)

And even if you did have it, you could live with it. Anxiety is funny like that.

You have manufactured a situation for yourself where you DON'T have pancreatic cancer, and you feel awful... and you would rather ACTUALLY have HIV because you could accept it.

It just highlights how broken your thinking is.

I'm not trying to do anything other than turn your thoughts back on you so you can see them.

Kuatir

07-10-16, 15:26

I found anxiety to be habit forming. I never scratched, but I did start pulling my eye lashes out in response to my eyelid twitching!

MyNameIsTerry

07-10-16, 15:43

I like how you can conclude that having a fear of HIV would be better, because you could rationalize your way out of it. :)

And even if you did have it, you could live with it. Anxiety is funny like that.

You have manufactured a situation for yourself where you DON'T have pancreatic cancer, and you feel awful... and you would rather ACTUALLY have HIV because you could accept it.

It just highlights how broken your thinking is.

I'm not trying to do anything other than turn your thoughts back on you so you can see them.

The logic is also flawed in thinking that a fear of pancreatic cancer is worse than one of HIV. It's completely irrelevant, isn't it? In both cases neither have anything.

It creates a hierarchy of fears but the context is less relevant that the fear severity. Either person can't accept the fear is based on falsehood thus it's the impact of the fear to them that matters.

I never had HA aspects in my anxiety but I had a lot of very irrational Magical Thinking. I would be afraid not to eat with the same utensils, to not wear the same clothes on certain days, etc. None of that is cancer but who cares when the cancer worry is no more rational?

dale12345

07-10-16, 22:10

If you think about itching you will itch.

Kathryn313

07-10-16, 22:37

If you went to the GP on Monday and they confirmed you had PC. How long do you think you would have left to live?

paranoid-viking

07-10-16, 22:53

If you went to the GP on Monday and they confirmed you had PC. How long do you think you would have left to live?

Why?
Not more than a couple of months I would guess. There is a reason whay a PC campaign in UK used the slogan "I wished it was only breast cancer" confirming how horrible this kind of cancer is.

Mercime

07-10-16, 23:02

Do you choose to ignore the part about early diagnosis?

Kathryn313

07-10-16, 23:03

paranoid-viking

07-10-16, 23:10

Just wondering.

So if you are still posting on here on the 7th December would that be a sign that you don't have PC?

Assuming that you do have PC, how would you want to spend the last 8 weeks of your life? Posting in here or spending time with loved ones and creating some happy memories?

If they confirmed a horrible death sentence like PC I would do the best I could in having the most possible quality time with my beloved ones of course but probably doing that with the help of anti-depresive pills. I would hope so.

On the other hand; if they would confirm such a cancer I would probably be to violently ill to post anythong here whatsoever on December 7th.

Kathryn313

07-10-16, 23:11

What could you do tomorrow to make the most of your life?

paranoid-viking

07-10-16, 23:20

What could you do tomorrow to make the most of your life?

It is hard to say as I have not recieved a death sentence yet. And hopefully I will not until I am an old man in an age when death is common. And I hope that I willl not have HA when; or if(hopefully) I reach an age when death is coomon.

Kathryn313

07-10-16, 23:23

Why wait until you have a death sentence to do something to make the most of your life tomorrow?

I think you are right, you do not have a death sentence yet...so why is your life on hold?

ServerError

07-10-16, 23:36

MyNameIsTerry

08-10-16, 05:23

Technically, you do have a death sentence. We all do, from the moment we're born (or even conceived).

Think that sounds bleak? Well, there's nothing any of us can do about it, so best make sure we enjoy the time we have!

They would be chasing you off the depression forums, Server!:winks:

But you are right there. I hope my anxiety goes as I get older but it's not going to be much use to when I old & wrinkly watching Bargain Hunt hours on end too knackered to move!

Anxiety is a weird beast. It can be very selective about things. HA people are so scared of the most remote risks yet seem to cope with the facts about more common killers out there, like being on the roads. I realise there are some who worry about those too but I've always had the impression the current focus is all consuming and the logic has gone out of the window about the things that happen to people around us all the time.

I know HA people struggle a lot with triggers from the media regarding things like cancer (danger triangles too!) but what do they feel when they read a story about someone killed in a car crash? Does it hit them the same or do they feel quite normal about it?

---------- Post added at 05:23 ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 ----------

I wish I had never ever heard about pancreatic cancer or read about it. It is the worst thing that ever happened to me. Not long ago I did not know that such things existed; I thught the worst cancer was lung cancer which is som far removed from what I would imagine; I dont smoke. But reading about it has destroyed my life. All the info about it is so devestating including patients stories. Nothing uplifting.

OK, so I'll give you something uplifting to me.

My GF's mum has lung cancer. She never smoked either AND the cancer team were very clear that the fact she has got a form of lung cancer that is a smoker's kind is RARE. Sometimes we just get unlucky in life BUT she's gone 60 odd years without being in a fatal accident and many are not so lucky.

So, has her life been so bad? She's not depressed over this, her husband was more affected. My GF was just busy getting things done. I know someone with a worse prognosis than her and this person is so upbeat you wouldn't even realise it. Sometimes life is just shitty. I look at this attitude and wonder at it. I try not to head down the "my life isn't so bad after all" track as that leads to low moods but to loom up to people like this with a lot of respect for their positive attitude.

Uplifting? Well I see the fact she has responded from her first chemo treatment and by the 4th the scans showed a shrinkage as uplifting to me! It gives hope.

The thing is once you get older you become more at risk for many things, the more mature members on here know this better than anyone. Since my GF's mum is responding well, she has a good chance she will have years left yet. She's gone nearly 12 months since it started. People with it live beyond 5 years, some are luckier than others and so we just accept it and live in hope she gets lucky (along with the excellent care she's been getting).

At your age this may still seem gloomy but once you get to our parents age (I'm 40), things around you are changing because you may be saying goodbye to people.

My dads lost several siblings and friends at these later ages. We are living longer now but not too far back in the past you would be lucky getting to their age.

You are still only young. Put your efforts into working on your anxiety and I know it will pay off for you.

Kathryn313

08-10-16, 09:10

I know HA people struggle a lot with triggers from the media regarding things like cancer (danger triangles too!) but what do they feel when they read a story about someone killed in a car crash? Does it hit them the same or do they feel quite normal about it?[COLOR="blue"].

I can comment on this from my perspective due to some very recent and heartbreaking experience. A friends husband came off his bike and due to how he landed it was a fatal accident. He was 30. This has obviously upset me and am devastated for my friend but it doesn't make me panic or pass out with fear. I think why I worry about HA is because I feel there is something I could do about it, I could note the disease early enough to treat it as opposed to it being caught too late as no one was listening to me. Therefore I have an illusion of control over the situation. However I do appreciate that it is in most cases it is just an illusion since sometimes it is the luck of the draw with no warning signals.

paranoid-viking

08-10-16, 15:02

Technically, you do have a death sentence. We all do, from the moment we're born (or even conceived).

Think that sounds bleak? Well, there's nothing any of us can do about it, so best make sure we enjoy the time we have!

Well, I certainly do hope that I have managed to get rid of my HA when/if i reach the 80s; because after all; death is not uncommon at that age. We dont want to die young; but are people also afraid of dying old; which after all is the norm? I hope that over time I will learn to live and let live and be happy and treasure every day that I am alvie instead of spending the days worrying about dying cause after all everyone will die. But do people between 80 and 100 suffer from helath anxiety? Or have they accepted that they are in an age when their time is about to come? Dunno.

MyNameIsTerry

09-10-16, 09:44

I can comment on this from my perspective due to some very recent and heartbreaking experience. A friends husband came off his bike and due to how he landed it was a fatal accident. He was 30. This has obviously upset me and am devastated for my friend but it doesn't make me panic or pass out with fear. I think why I worry about HA is because I feel there is something I could do about it, I could note the disease early enough to treat it as opposed to it being caught too late as no one was listening to me. Therefore I have an illusion of control over the situation. However I do appreciate that it is in most cases it is just an illusion since sometimes it is the luck of the draw with no warning signals.

I'm really sorry to hear about your friend's husband. That must be such a shock and she must be in bits. Still such a young bloke too. :hugs:

I'm sorry this has made you think about it, it just seemed like the thing we see in the papers so much.

I see what you mean about the illusion of control. It's also about how far do you take that? Some people might spend their lives trying to mitigate any risk so it doesn't get as far as you mention. That would be like people avoiding anywhere where they could be in an accident or anything that could be a potential risk.

Kathryn313

08-12-16, 06:59

NoraB

08-12-16, 07:29

I recently went to a hospice to see my friend. I went in with a preconceived idea that hospices were clinical and depressing places. I came out with a totally different view. It was warm and bright. The staff were so caring and considerate and there was just a really positive vibe about the place. My friends room was like a hotel room with a patio door which opened onto a garden. I saw a robin sitting on her table outside. It was picture postcard except that people's lives were coming to an end all around me. It was a surreal experience. My friend was dying but she looked so peaceful.

It helped to lessen my anxiety about dying. I'm not saying I'll end up in one but if I did, I wouldn't fear it like I did before. Facing what we fear helps to take the fear away and death is inevitable to each and every one of us so doesn't it make sense to come to terms with it?

I try to think of death as the wonderful Terry Pratchett did. He saw death as a character with a sense of humour and that's something I can work with.

“I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.”

I still feel the panic rise with a new symptom but I don't allow it to take hold. I stop myself and say, "I am here NOW".

MyNameIsTerry

09-12-16, 05:33

I try to think of death as the wonderful Terry Pratchett did. He saw death as a character with a sense of humour and that's something I can work with.

“I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE.”

I still feel the panic rise with a new symptom but I don't allow it to take hold. I stop myself and say, "I am here NOW".

Don't forget The Death of Rats too!

"Squeak?"
"SQUEAK"
"Squeak, squeak?"
"SQUEAK"
"Squeak!"
"SQUEAK"

http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/death/t10101.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/t-death.php)http://yoursmiles.org/tsmile/death/t10108.gif (http://yoursmiles.org/t-death.php)

nomorepanic

10-12-16, 13:26

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your issue.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

TheAnxiousWriter

12-12-16, 00:08

Yup! I get itching too. I have brief red marks on my skin on and off. When I have it, it comes with a prickly sensation and it feels like I have sunburn. I can't stand it! If you try calming yourself down and not thinking about it, you'll find an improvement. It doesn't happen immediately though, so be patient! 😉