Does obsessing about a symptom really worsen it?

[Ditapage]

I was wondering how many people can say this is true. I suspect it is, from my own experience. Fixating as well as believing it's a symptom of a feared illness.

For example: I've got a weird feeling in my leg, its most probably caused from sitting with my spine unsupported while in bed on my iPad and crossing that leg over the top of the other leg. But health anxiety bypasses logical explanation and my imagination runs wild with worry. Now i'm fixated on the leg and I keep tensing it and rubbing it and stretching it and this hyper awareness of it is just making my leg feel weird.


What's funny is I have a bunch of different symptoms in different places BUT never at the same time! Before I started with my leg, I had tension headache and couldn't get my mind off that. Now it's gone because I'm obsessed with my leg.


This seems so unusual. Does anyone else experience this symptom switching? Any stories of a symptom that got worse because you fixated on it?

I once had an earache - yes they are unpleasant for anyone - but I was so scared because I had read rare sinister causes of earache and was convinced something was going to explode inside my ear because panicking made it so much worse. I had to be calmed down at the ER because I was convinced something was going to burst and kill me because of Google. As soon as the doctor saw me and said it was a MINOR ear infection the pain went away! Prior to that reassurance, there was a severe aching. So I KNOW anxiety and panic can magnify symptoms.

Share your stories if this is true for you..

[Primula]

Absolutely sure it does. It happens to me when I'm in an anxiety cycle like I am now. A few years ago I was convinced a pain in my side was something sinister, couldn't get my mind off it. Now it's my throat I'm obsessing about. Rationally I know it must be to do with tensing my jaw and clenching my teeth, because on the rare occasion I have managed to relax its all but disappeared. Now I'm just trying to give it the "so what" attitude. Yes the subconscious mind is a powerful thing. There are articles on the internet about somatic pain, haven't got any links at the moment, but will have a look later if I have time.

[LF87]

Yes 100%. I can be obsessed with something one week and convinced I can feel pain or notice certain twinges. Then I move onto something else and those symptoms just disappear until I remember them. My boyfriend actually uses it as a tool to calm me down. Yesterday I was freaking out about having a flushed face/nose and it's all I talked about. So he said hold on, what happened to your itchy spots? (I was obsessed with being itchy last week) Have they just gone away now? And it makes me realise wow, I just go from one thing to another! Not that he's trying to remind me of things to worry about, but to help me see how it's just jumping from one ailment to another.