health anxiaty is driving me mad

[syl]

well as heading say I have suffered with health anxiaty for a few years .
for the past month i have had sinus that was cleared up with antibiotics but left me with phlegm, a cough and slightly breatless was put back on inhalers which i should have been using anyhow for copd and breathing is a little better unless i get anxious didnt know that effected breathing. not felt like eating much dont know wiether that is down to worrying over breathing problems.
dont normally bother getting wieghed but thought i would yesterday only to find i have lost over half a stone in wieght now of course my old fear has come back bad what if i have lung cancer that makes you lose wieght
does help that i have gone back smoking tried to stop but failed and that just makes me worry over cancer even more but now the wieght loss really has got me worried

[manmoor]

My Syl :hugs: I think the only reason you got weighed yesterday hun was to prove to yourself that if you had lost weight that would be another symptom am I right?. We are our own worst enemies and torment ourselves every waking minute when we diagnose a cancer we get to know what symptoms are attached to them and then off we go telling ourselves we have them I've done that sooooo many times. What I want you to do instead is to say to yourself ok I've lost a bit of weight but what other reason could there be i.e. not eating, worrying myself sick etc. I remember once when my health anxiety was really bad I got a shoe box and wrote down all my thoughts, symptoms and what cancer I had at the time and put the lid back on the box and put it in my wardrobe and told myself it stayed there thoughts symptoms and all. I was in and out of that wardrobe constantly for a few days but everytime I replaced the lid on that box after having a read I knew I was the one who was making myself ill nobody else but me and I knew it had to stop so as days went on I went to the wardrobe less and some days I was able to not go near the box at all and boy was I proud of myself on those days. You go to Blackpool Syl and have a fab time as you deserve it hun and I need to know all about it before I go. Make sure and text me before during and after lol. xxxxx:hugs:

[darkangel]

HI Syl

Like you I have suffered with Health Anxiety for over 10 years. Worried, analysed, panicked, googled and spent my life thinking the worse any time any niggle or pain comes along.

How I deal with it now - tell myself that no matter what I will cope. Don't anaylse or talk it over. Accept and acknowledge that you will be strong enough to deal with it. Im awaiting tests for a couple of different health issues - Ive acknowledged that there may be something wrong, but I know that additional worry will only make matters worse. In order to be strong to cope with the outcome, I need to be relaxed and calm and in a positive frame of mind.

I hope this has helped hunni

Luv Darkangel :flowers:

[miff]

i have the same mental war going on with my breathing too syl and a while back i lost quite a few kilos and i knew i was eatin little,it didnt take long for the weight to drop off and i thought i had cancer, then i kept weighing meself allatime which made it worse.But slowly i got me weight back up by eatin right and i feel better.You'll get back your appetite Syl love.

have a big hug from miffy
:hugs:

[Piglet]

Great replies there Syl - hope you feel better about things today. :hugs:

Love Piglet :flowers:

[Lissy43]

I lose weight so easily, I get breathless when im anxious ( like now) and I lose weight just from worrying alone. Anxiety about my health stops me eating (I don't feel like lunch today for eg) and I will easily lose a lb today. I dropped half a stone in weight a few years ago because I was so anxious and hardly eating.

Take it easy, if concerned see your GP and be honest about how you feel.

[spacebunnyx]

hey, I'm exactly the same about lung cancer/weight etc.:blush: i find exercise helps me.. its like - well i just ran X distance and i didn't collapse and still breathing fine so i must be ok! also it helps boost seratonin which can help lift you out of depression.

hope u feel better soon.

jess xxx