Health Anxiety My Whole Life.. What do I do?

[Sammyeb27]

For as long as i can remember I have relied on the internet for checking my symptoms and anything off about my body. It's gotten out of hand; I've spent the last 3 months thinking I have different types of cancer which is my biggest fear. I used to think every mole I got was skin cancer and when I was just developing breasts I thought since they weren't 100% squishy that I had breast cancer. Keep in mind breast cancer in children is significantly rare but I didn't feel safe from the stats.the past few months I've been to the doctors several times for unusual skin colouring, chronic pelvic pain, lumps and bumps, and prominent lymph nodes. My health anxiety is through the roof and even when I'm aware all of these things can be caused by many issues my Reliance on the internet tells me I have cancer. Does anyone have any way to help me? The more things that happen to me the more I realise I am overreacting but there's still a feeling of fear inside me. I just want to be happy again. I'm 18 now and need to enjoy my youth but it's hard when I'm so afraid of my life ending early.

[Louna]

I’m 23 and spent the whole of my teenage years worrying about cancer and dying and health anxiety in general.
I’m not passed it yet - i still have very big issues wih health anxiety but it is something i’m trying to fix.

My biggest advice to you is DON’T GOOGLE SYMPTOMS! As much as i should take my own advice, thats step one.

talk to your doctor about your anxiety. Perhaps something like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy could be healpful to you?

You could also try mindfulness - theres alot of youtube videos on that which i have found helpful

[budgie1979]

I'm sorry you're going through this. I agree with Louna, you could probably benefit from some therapy, and should ask your doctor for a referral. In the meantime, make a promise to yourself that you will not google any symptoms or diseases. Write it down somewhere prominent that you will see it every day. Another thing I've found helpful is setting a dedicated "worry time". Pick 15 minutes of the day where you can sit quietly with your worries (best if it's not near bed time)--you can journal them if you find that helpful. Any other time of the day, if an anxious though pops up, just tell yourself that you will think about that during worry time, and let it go for now. This technique can help segregate the worried thoughts so that you aren't having constant anxiety throughout the day. It takes a bit of practice to really be able to dismiss the thoughts, but stick with it and hopefully you will gradually have less overall anxiety.