How do you know when to go to GP or not?

[KeeKee]

For example I'm worried a mole I've had all my life is changing. I'm going to get it checked in a fortnight anyway as you can never be too sure (I know even if it is changing it doesn't necessarily mean it's anything sinister, I had a huge Melanoma worry in Dec 2015 and was told it's normal for them to change and grow but obviously still best to get them checked out).

I just wonder, especially for those of us who are no longer in the peak of health anxiety, how do we determine when to go to the GP or not? I know things such as breast lumps and unexplained bleeding need to be checked out, but what about other things? Where do we draw the line on what is and what isn't a genuine thing?

My first CBT therapist told me to wait 3 weeks and if I'm still worried about it go to the doctors, but some things can last longer than that and be normal. I just don't know, plus in regards to a potential changing mole, what if we're just imagining that change? Is it wasting the doctors time?

[Clydesdale Epona]

My GP and his understudy always gave me a rule of thumb.
if it's a pain similar to my chronic ones then make an appointment if its still just as bad after about 2 weeks
if it's different and kinda painful leave it for about 1 week to 2(while keeping an eye on it) and if its tonsillitis or really really anxiety riddling or painful then make one in a couple of days to a week

My GP always said no matter how bad HA is people still somehow know deep down if something is bad,
all the times i went to the doctor and even hospital about my side pain but one night it was particularly bad and i couldn't sleep a wink, the next morning i made an afternoon appointment because it just didn't feel right and sure enough that's when i was diagnosed with stage 2 Endometriosis.
i feel like there is a difference between being anxious about for instance, heart attack like symptoms, and knowing you actually have one x

[Magic]

There's no harm in going to see your GP at any time KeeKee.
My daughter had two different opinions about her moles from two different doctors, the second doctor sent her to the hospital. She had it removed and it turned out to be ok. It will put your mind at rest anyway x

[KeeKee]

Thank you both for replying, magic it's scary the doctors had different opinions but glad it turned out to be OK.

Aiden, a lot of people have said "You just know", if it's something dodgy but I've been so sure something is wrong many times that I started to doubt myself (which I think was the reason my health anxiety improved to be honest). I usually only mention HA related things now when I'm at the docs for a particular reason (fit note, prescription etc).

[KeeKee]

Thanks tbot. I've found that the shame of going to doctors for silly things helped me determine whether or not to go also. For example if I felt embarrassed going about something daft I king of expected him to tell me it was nothing. I'm a little worried about this changing mole but to be honest, when I was seriously worried about Melanoma before my GP took one look and said no, so I'm not crazy worried like I was last time (Dec 2015 when my HA was the worst it's ever been as I was utterly convinced it was Melanoma).
I always see the same GP so always need to wait 2 weeks as he's quite popular (because he's lovely), so it gives me time to determine whether I'm being silly or not, although these days my HA isn't as bad, I'm a little worried at the moment but my GP told me before that moles can grow etc and still mean nothing so I'm holding onto that.