Does anyone else worry about looking unhealthy?

[braginskaya]

I know this is perhaps a bit of a strange thing to ask, but does anyone else's general appearance feed into their health anxiety? I'm naturally quite pale and have very dark circles under my eyes, and I'm fairly thin (although not underweight). Whenever I go through a bad period of HA I tend to look even more thin and tired-looking due to fatigue and lack of appetite. Sometimes the anxiety gets to the point where I start comparing my appearance to other people's and examining myself in the mirror thinking about how ill and frail I look even though it's just my natural appearance, and convincing myself I must have some sort of fatal disease if I look this bad. Does anyone else get this?

[siwz991]

I have exactly the same. Just read your post and thought: that's me ! (I'm not thin though ;)) My HA is high since few months and I think IMO I'm looking worse :( And the same thinking - must be there some fatal disease... But then I realize it's just stress ... This made me look bad and feel as well.

[TheGroundhog]

I'm the opposite, I generally look pretty healthy, but feel terrible, so I look in the mirror and confuse myself. I also fail to find it in any way reassuring :shrug:

[budgie1979]

Yes, I've been thinking about that a lot recently. I'm a runner, so I'm average weight and generally look healthy. However, I have always had very pale skin and dark circles under my eyes. Right now, I'm going through some stomach issues (potentially anxiety-related) and haven't been able to eat normally. I've only lost about 2 pounds, which shouldn't make much of a difference (and actually what I would consider to be my "goal" weight is even 6 pounds less than that). But, I feel like I look "haggard" and "sick" and that my eyes appear sunken. I have asked my husband, and he says I look fine, so I think it's just my anxiety distorting my self-image.

[Leah88]

Yes, it is part of my OCD/body dysmorphia. I would look closely at every person I met to see if they exhibited the same signs of a disease I thought I had. I am also thin and pale. ( was anorexic up until last year) when I had convinced myself I had Werner syndrome. I should mention I am only pale because I stay out of the sun as I fear melanoma and thin because I calorie restrict to prevent disease. Both are driven by irrational thoughts.