Ways to overcome health anxiety...?

[ElectricAlice]

Since this is a health anxiety forum I was just wondering if anyone has any good advice or success stories of overcoming health anxiety?

[Fishmanpa]

Since this is a health anxiety forum I was just wondering if anyone has any good advice or success stories (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=20) of overcoming health anxiety?

CBT/Therapy and meds if needed.

Positive thoughts

[paranoid-viking]

That is a good question. If I knw that myself I would tell you straight away as I am a heavy suferer from it. Bit it depennds on what level your heath anxietu is on; for me it can be mantally disabling. So all I can say at least is that I am having sessions with a psycholigist about B my fears and this is only in the beginning. Anyway; II may not be the one you should ask about overcoming HA because I am still heavily combating it. But I think there are some old timers here who used to have HA but has overcome it and hopefully they will give you some advice on how to combat it. What I do is having sessions with a psychologist and I am not sure so fare if it will cure me but we will see.
One question though: what is your pains and why are you worried?

[swajj]

I think you need to go out and be with people. There is a tendency to isolate ourselves when we have HA. I fully understand why we do so. I think it is because we don't want to socialise with others all the while knowing we have a terminal illness. How can you act like nothing is wrong when you are dying? lol I found my HA was less debilitating when I was at work. I could choose not to attend social events but I couldn't choose not to work. Also, counselling is a must because while the counsellor can't cure you of your HA he or she can make you see how illogical your thoughts are and give you the tools to deal with them.

[beatroon]

Here are the things that really helped me get on top of my HA:

1) Medication. I take Citalopram, which is good for anxiety and depression, and it has been very helpful for me. Not everybody likes the idea of taking pills and I understand that, but for me, a low dose helped me function when I was really in the pits.

2) CBT. I found this helpful in conjunction with the medication. I started with an online course via MoodGym, and eventually moved to working with a practitioner. I still go back to the techniques when I am struggling. I particularly like the Worry Tree and Worry Time exercises, which I think are very useful for problem-solving.

3) Counselling. I did also do some one-to-one talk therapy of the traditional kind. I found to that a lot of my HA beliefs were tied to the fact that I have a medical family and was around hospices a lot when I was younger (!), plus a few recent family illnesses. Understanding this really helped me defuse my worries and see that I was just 'primed to respond' to everything.

4) Finding a GP who I understood, and who understood me, so that when I did have things I felt needed medical attention, we were on the same page, and could have a frank discussion about what might be anxiety and what might be real, without me feeling silly.

5) Work. Just getting out of your head. I am most ill with anxiety when I don't have enough to occupy me - when I'm busy to the point of almost having too much to think about, that's when my brain finally stops trying to eat itself.

6) Flow states. For me, I'm lucky because I'm a writer so the work is the same as my hobby, but if you can find one thing that lets you completely forget yourself and do it for two hours every day, you'll find things far more manageable. For some people this can be video games, or badminton, or swimming - whatever involves you just being imperceptibly in the moment.

7) Support. I have a dear friend who also suffers with HA and we have an agreement where we can text or ring each other and moan every time we have a worry on. Seeing the worry through someone else's eyes really helps 'ridiculise' it. It's amazing how common the patterns of HA are, and how easy it is to spot anxiety's trick when it's happening to someone else. The boards on here are helpful for exactly the same reasons.

8) Learning to accept you can't control everything. This is a bit of a zen one. It clicked when my therapist said: would knowing about something in advance make it more bearable? Like, if you were to get a horrible disease, would knowing that it's going to happen in five years make the next five years better or worse?

9) Bibliotherapy. There are a lot of great books about anxiety, which make you feel less alone. Some good ones include 'The Happiness Trap' which is about accepting you have anxiety and committing to just moving on with your life, and 'The Upward Spiral' which suggests practical solutions to how to move out of depression or anxiety.

10) Time. And growing up. Getting older, helping a family member through a terminal illness and realising that, though it's sad and awful, loss is one of those things, and life is for living and holding onto, not worrying away.

Hope this helps, lots of luck and support to you!

[GlassPinata]

Many people have come back here with inspiring stories of overcoming their anxiety.
That shows me that it is possible.
I just haven't quite found the trick, yet.

I believe there is a whole subsection here, about success stories.

Best wishes.

[Gaby18]

I find that talking it out can help. Of course, it doesn't make it go away, but it's a start.

[tryingtosurvive1]

I would add, some people with health anxiety have trauma in their past. Or they are parents of young children who are afraid they will die and their children will suffer. I think these are two quite specific issues that are worth bringing up with a therapist.