Worrying has switched to my child's health

[Chawk384]

Ok full disclosure I have been dealing with healthy anxiety since I was 18-I am now 32 and I have two beautiful children. Since having my children my worry has grown exponentially. For some reason I noticed my son seemed like he was looking skinnier lately- which probably means he has just gotten taller but when I weighed him at home he went from 53.8lbs last week to 53.6 lbs this week- and no I am not weighing him every week- he likes to play with our scale to see how "tall" he is. He has been at this weight for quite some time but now that he has lost a little of course my anxiety has taken over and is trying to convince me that this is a real problem and he could have some type of cancer. I know how dumb this sounds when read but this is just how my anxiety works.......so what I want to know is- should I be worried about this weight loss? He has been acting totally normal no fever or anything like that- I guess it just bothers me that there was a loss at all. Thanks for the help!

[Gary A]

Ok full disclosure I have been dealing with healthy anxiety since I was 18-I am now 32 and I have two beautiful children. Since having my children my worry has grown exponentially. For some reason I noticed my son seemed like he was looking skinnier lately- which probably means he has just gotten taller but when I weighed him at home he went from 53.8lbs last week to 53.6 lbs this week- and no I am not weighing him every week- he likes to play with our scale to see how "tall" he is. He has been at this weight for quite some time but now that he has lost a little of course my anxiety has taken over and is trying to convince me that this is a real problem and he could have some type of cancer. I know how dumb this sounds when read but this is just how my anxiety works.......so what I want to know is- should I be worried about this weight loss? He has been acting totally normal no fever or anything like that- I guess it just bothers me that there was a loss at all. Thanks for the help!

Can I just ask, that if you know how crazy this sounds, why do you still need the reassurance? If you know it's just your anxiety creating these thoughts then you should try harder to deal with the anxiety itself rather than feeding into it by reassurance seeking.

I'm not having a go here, I'm merely saying that you know already that fretting over such a minuscule weight loss is irrational. You've got the answer already, this of course isn't anything to worry about and it's your anxiety that's making you think these irrational thoughts.

[Chawk384]

You are right- I know it's irrational I am just having a hard time convincing myself that it's just anxiety.i think I need to concentrate more on getting rid of the anxiety than the actual thoughts themselves. Thank you for bringing me back to earth.

---------- Post added at 14:41 ---------- Previous post was at 14:39 ----------

Why does my anxiety seem to jump around? It's like once I find out one worry is ok I jump almost immediate to another- like my mind wants to find something to worry about

[Gary A]

You are right- I know it's irrational I am just having a hard time convincing myself that it's just anxiety.i think I need to concentrate more on getting rid of the anxiety than the actual thoughts themselves. Thank you for bringing me back to earth.

Anxiety looks for things to feed off. That type of weight loss can happen as a normal fluctuation in one day, but as you say it's weight loss, so the anxiety zones on and places a "what if" in your mind.

Realising this is what's happening is the first step to combatting it. Know your enemy and all that.

[KeeKee]

Is 0.2lbs really weight loss though, or a normal fluctuation? I can go up or down 1 or 2 lbs in the space of a day. I have a very skinny 9 year old and wouldn't worry over a couple of lbs here or there.

[axolotl]

Is 0.2lbs really weight loss though, or a normal fluctuation? I can go up or down 1 or 2 lbs in the space of a day. I have a very skinny 9 year old and wouldn't worry over a couple of lbs here or there.

0.2lbs is virtually nothing. It's well within deviation of of someone needing the toilet, having food in their stomach, or even the accuracy of the scales.

[Chawk384]

Thank you all for your replies! I really just need to focus on fixing the anxiety itself and not give so much attention to the anxious thoughts. I came here from AnxietyZone and you all have really been so kind to me- thank you

[GlassPinata]

How old is he?
My 4 year old recently got very thin... but I also noticed his pants are looking like highwaters! He not only got thin, he grew 2 or 3 inches taller.
That's how boys do, when they're young. They gain weight, then gain height, back and forth, kind of like a caterpillar inching along.
As long as he has no other symptoms, I'd not worry about it.

best wishes.