HAtothemax
20-06-17, 00:41
Hi everyone,
My first post - just wanted to introduce myself. Hello! :)
I have been dealing with anxiety for the past 15 years. It started when I had my first child, I had bad postpartum depression and anxiety. I went on medication (paroxetine) for about a year, and then again when I had my second child. Since then, I have managed to stay off the meds (save for a short time a few years ago where I started again after being made redundant, and stopped after about 4-5 weeks). I have done CBT (online) which has been very helpful, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
I have moderate generalized anxiety which is highly situational/circumstantial and I am able to cope with it relatively well most of the time. However, I also have bad health anxiety. This has gotten worse over the past couple of years and is what I find really debilitating.
I've read lots of posts on here, especially in the HA forums, and know about avoiding Dr Google. I have definitely found that my HA is much better when I don't google things! However, my situation is kind of unique in that I work in medical publishing and I have to research all kinds of diseases and medications for my job (writing articles for medical journals). I cannot avoid reading about health issues! My HA is triggered by symptoms that I or others in my family are experiencing, so the times when my symptoms happen to coincide with a disease I am writing about are few and far between (thankfully). However, I've been doing this job for a long time so I just know stuff. I know too much, but not enough. By that I mean that I know enough to make me officially freak out, but not enough that I can reassure myself (as a doctor might) that I don't actually have a dreadful disease and that I'm not going to die.
I struggle sometimes to handle the knowledge that I do have. My husband doesn't have a medical background so he never even considers the worst-case scenarios when one of us or our kids are sick/injured. He wouldn't know, and he doesn't google (wise man). I, on the other hand, immediately jump to conclusions based on what I already know about the symptoms, and then turn myself inside out with worry and panic. I'm then tempted to google, which I know I shouldn't do.
Anyway, sorry for the huge introduction but I wanted to set the scene a bit. I have found many helpful posts here already and it looks like a really supportive environment. I'm looking forward to moving forward and getting a bit better at managing my HA along the way.
Nice to meet you all!
HAtothemax
My first post - just wanted to introduce myself. Hello! :)
I have been dealing with anxiety for the past 15 years. It started when I had my first child, I had bad postpartum depression and anxiety. I went on medication (paroxetine) for about a year, and then again when I had my second child. Since then, I have managed to stay off the meds (save for a short time a few years ago where I started again after being made redundant, and stopped after about 4-5 weeks). I have done CBT (online) which has been very helpful, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.
I have moderate generalized anxiety which is highly situational/circumstantial and I am able to cope with it relatively well most of the time. However, I also have bad health anxiety. This has gotten worse over the past couple of years and is what I find really debilitating.
I've read lots of posts on here, especially in the HA forums, and know about avoiding Dr Google. I have definitely found that my HA is much better when I don't google things! However, my situation is kind of unique in that I work in medical publishing and I have to research all kinds of diseases and medications for my job (writing articles for medical journals). I cannot avoid reading about health issues! My HA is triggered by symptoms that I or others in my family are experiencing, so the times when my symptoms happen to coincide with a disease I am writing about are few and far between (thankfully). However, I've been doing this job for a long time so I just know stuff. I know too much, but not enough. By that I mean that I know enough to make me officially freak out, but not enough that I can reassure myself (as a doctor might) that I don't actually have a dreadful disease and that I'm not going to die.
I struggle sometimes to handle the knowledge that I do have. My husband doesn't have a medical background so he never even considers the worst-case scenarios when one of us or our kids are sick/injured. He wouldn't know, and he doesn't google (wise man). I, on the other hand, immediately jump to conclusions based on what I already know about the symptoms, and then turn myself inside out with worry and panic. I'm then tempted to google, which I know I shouldn't do.
Anyway, sorry for the huge introduction but I wanted to set the scene a bit. I have found many helpful posts here already and it looks like a really supportive environment. I'm looking forward to moving forward and getting a bit better at managing my HA along the way.
Nice to meet you all!
HAtothemax