Has anyone ever "got over" their health anxiety?

[PrincessPanic89]

I'm 27 and I've had severe health anxiety and hypochondria for about 8/9 years. I have always been a bit fearful over my health mainly due to having bad emetophobia but my HA got really bad once my daughter was born just over 8 years ago. I am terrified of most illnesses but my biggest fear is cancer. I have convinced myself over the years that I've had many different types. More recently, I'm convinced I have breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer or bowel cancer as I have symptoms of all of them. No matter what I do, I don't seem to ever be able to get past it. It really does ruin my life, which is sadly ironic as the whole problem is that I'm scared that I will die young yet my anxiety isn't allowing me to live.

I don't really believe counselling would help, I'm not a very open minded person when it comes to things like that and a mental health nurse I once spoke to told me should he refer me to a counsellor then I must ensure I go in with an open mind and positive attitude that it might work. I'm just so fed up of jumping to these conclusions all the time. I probably don't have cancer. But telling my brain that doesn't make a difference. All it does is make a it go "yes, but you might have." I think the worst part for me other than the symptoms I get (nausea, fatigue, aches/pains, long term cough, period-like cramping, low energy etc) is that with a lot of cancers, they are very often missed or misdiagnosed until it's too late. My one dream in life would be to have full access to an MRI scanner so I could just go in it and check I had no growths or masses or anything that could be killing me from the inside.

Has anyone ever recovered from their HA? Or not even necessarily been "cured" but found a way of coping with the thoughts? I would really love to hear any suggestions :)

[Josh1234]

Yeah, it's called therapy, which you don't believe will work :)

[Cusper]

Hi Princessp89,

Why aren't you open minded to therapy can I ask? I have HA but a lot less than I used to but that is because I actively try to find ways to think differently. I would be in therapy all of the time if I had the money to go. I used to be in therapy with a fantastic therapist but I went in with very specific goals and I was able to change so much. I used to be afraid to step outside but after going to therapy I ended up travelling the world. Always keep an open mind. It is how you grow. Especially with something like HA. HA is in a way a state of arrest. It can be such a terrible spiral. I have had all of the same fears you have had. I have even had cells removed from my cervix that I will probably have to monitor for a while. I come on here more to help other people now and try to share some things that really helped me.

If therapy isn't an option for you. Please look up the book "You Can Heal Your Life" by Louise Hay. You can always download her book and it doesn't cost very much. Or look her up on youtube. She is truly amazing and offers very simple steps to help you heal old thought patterns. I have downloaded quite a few of her audiobooks that I try to listen to before bed or when I take my dog for walks.

It's the thoughts that are in your head that you need to change but to change isn't easy. Just at least being willing to change can be enough to start. There are many TED talks on youtube with people who have or had extreme anxiety and overcame it or have come a long way from where they started. All it starts with the willingness to get better and you will start to look for ways to retrain your brain.

I used to wake up every morning with fear and all day I had fear. I felt every kind of symptom and was sure that was it. Now I do feel symptoms but I recognize them as just another pain that will come and go and you know, it goes away. Also, I am 41 I expect there will be a few more pains than I had 10 years ago. But really I work at this everyday. I care about my health but I don't go over board with that stuff either. I have also stopped listening to the news. I am too sensitive to be consistently bombarded with negative stories. That is the news. Work at it everyday.

[Primula]

Great constructive advice Cusper. A timely reminder for me to get back on plan.

[PrincessPanic89]

I had counselling in the past for something else and it just didn't work for me hence why I just don't think I'm very good at it

[SLA]

I would say yes personally.

It is quite normal to have concerns for your health. I still worry about my health occasionally, but it is usually based on a tangible problem and is rational.

I posted a few weeks ago about a meningitis outbreak at the place where I work. I could feel "IT" coming on, but it never surfaced, and I never really worried about meningitis for a second.

Maybe I just don't give a s**t anymore. :D

[KeeKee]

Counselling is different to therapy though. I had counselling for my low moods and it didn't make me feel any better but it was nice to talk to somebody.

Therapy can help you feel better, but again it isn't a definite. I went into CBT the first time 'knowing' everything would be dealt with (a friend had it before me with great results) and it made not a bite of difference even though I had a positive attitude and was convinced it would work. But as others have said an open mind is very important otherwise what are your options?

My HA has improved with time. I still get the worries but they don't drag me down the way they once did. What I truly believed worked for me was time (how many times can you go to the GP to be told it's nothing without actually coming to the realisation that it really is nothing) and my GP being understanding. This time last year I was convinced I had Melanoma, it ruined my Christmas. I went to the GP in the new year who took one look and said it's not Melanoma. Ever since then I haven't let myself get like that again.

Do you Google? If so, that is one of the worst things you can do.

[Traceypo]

I've recovered, after 9 long years. Therapy was very useful in my recovery however it was the realisation that I had to put the work in that really helped.
Recovery isn't overnight but I accepted that my thoughts had got me into this mess so thoughts should be able to get me out of it.
I'm now a much more positive person, I have taken years of advice on board and found what works for me.
I now have the skills to stop negative thought patterns as soon as they start, I still have the ability to turn myself into a nervous wreck in 10 seconds flat, the difference is I now have the ability to stop myself from doing that as i have years of evidence that those thoughts and behaviours aren't helpful or useful and ultimately won't keep me safe from 'ill health'.

[panicperson]

I would say I did improve by having a consistent dose of citalopram. He doesn't get over the fears but helps you to rationalise better.
My current trouble is that I came off it as was doing well. Now I have big fears over my health again. I may need to get back on them which is a shame

[Fishmanpa]

I've recovered, after 9 long years. Therapy was very useful in my recovery however it was the realisation that I had to put the work in that really helped.
Recovery isn't overnight but I accepted that my thoughts had got me into this mess so thoughts should be able to get me out of it.
I'm now a much more positive person, I have taken years of advice on board and found what works for me.
I now have the skills to stop negative thought patterns as soon as they start, I still have the ability to turn myself into a nervous wreck in 10 seconds flat, the difference is I now have the ability to stop myself from doing that as i have years of evidence that those thoughts and behaviours aren't helpful or useful and ultimately won't keep me safe from 'ill health'.

Excellent advice...Therapy is "work" as well as a lifestyle change of sorts. Some people adopt nutritional habits to control their weight. With mental illness, one must adopt brain habits that keep them on the road to recovery.

One of them being.....

Positive thoughts

[Panda22]

Yes you can get over it. I did for a few years. I used to be so worried about my heart, now i'm not worried about it at all. My health anxiety did come back recently tho

[PrincessPanic89]

Thanks so much for all your replies. I am a Google'er which I know is the worst thing. I'm in a constant state of not wanting to overthink about symptoms but worrying that if I try and ignore them they will turn out to be something serious if that makes sense?

I've never had therapy to be fair, I just assumed they were one in the same. I find it hard to override my thoughts sometimes and I do find that coming in here and reading other people having similar experiences eases my anxiety a little.

I do actively try to push through it and remind myself that it's often just kind over matter but I find, usually in the evenings when I'm alone (partner works nights and my daughter is in bed) that I get those really bad thoughts that I can't seem to shake. Like I'll lie in bed and fully imagine what would happen to my daughter if I got cancer and died. Reading or seeing things on TV about cancer, which are often unavoidable, are huge triggers for me. When I see the "one in three people will get cancer" statistics, I count myself as the one, not in the two that won't get it!

It's reassuring to see that so many of you have found ways to overcome or at least live with your HA

[unsure_about_this]

I have not got over my health anxiety. mine is the cancer worry,