Health Anxiety is killing me inside

[cmariscal011]

Hello,

My name is Carlos and I recently turned 26. I'm new to the forum so bear with me.

About a month ago I was getting hit with some headaches. The pain was pretty much everywhere. Some days it would just be on one side and other days on different sides. Then one day I when for a run and got hit with a pretty big one when with the movement. I went to urgent care and the doctor didn't think too much of it so i felt fine. But that's where my health anxiety started and I haven't been able to recover. My biggest fear is having a tumor or aneurysm and I'm struggling. I can't seem to get away from googling symptoms.

My headaches have slowly gone away but i've had some other symptoms that freak me out. the one I'm currently struggling with is this feeling like small pressure in my head at night when I'm trying to sleep. I'm not getting a headache but i just feel a pressure by neck and forehead. there's times i feel it at my nose too. I haven't been able to sleep more than 4 hours in a few weeks. I do fall asleep but then wake up in the middle of the night feeling scared because of my fear and can't fall back asleep right away.
I also tend to feel confusion during the day now. i assume because i haven't slept well in so long? I really have no idea what's going on. I do have a trip coming up this week and freaking out i won't be feeling well for it.

I'm hoping someone else can help ease me. I don't have many other symptoms.

[elysemarie123]

Hi Carlos -- headaches are my trigger too. I have been through periods of my life where I had an off and on headache for a month or so. At that time, I was totally freaked out but since I've been dealing with it sometime, I have become a pro about my own body.

My HA started when I was 20 (I'm now 29). Any time of high stress in my life, it manifests as HA. When I was in college and studying for finals, I would obsess over my health. When I have a vacation coming up (which isn't stressful once I get there), I get super anxious a week or so before because of the fear of the unknown. When I was in my early 20s, I thought every headache was a death sentence.

My headaches are mostly tension headaches. I clench my jaw and it causes my temples to get extremely sore and I get a headache. Some days, when I feel myself tensing up, I can relax and prevent the headache, but sometimes it's not so easy.

Are your headaches in the same spot? And whether you know it or not, since you are paying attention to these headaches, you are tightening your muscles and making headaches. My advice would be to look up progressive muscle relaxation and try that. Also -- distract yourself!! Once you realize that it is all in your mind, you will begin to let yourself relax and your headaches will magically go away.