Thomasd
23-06-18, 04:11
Hey, there. This is my first time visiting this forum and my first time posting. If you’re reading this, thank you. It feels nice to know that there’s a community of people who struggle with thought patterns similar to my own.
Just a couple quick details before I get into the meat of this post. I’m a thirty year old male, physically healthy and active. I’ve always been a bit of a hypochondriac, but I got sober a little over a year ago, and that’s when my health anxiety really kicked into high gear. I believe that for years I had been using alcohol to cope with my anxiety, health related and otherwise.
So, for the last year, I’ve jumped from one absurd anxiety to the next. I’m not going to list them because I don’t want to trigger anyone, but it’s been exhausting. At first I would go at least a few weeks between resolving an anxiety and finding something new to worry about, but the spaces in between have been getting smaller, and just this last week I moved between three different possible diseases. All unrelated, and different symptoms. As soon as I’d rule out one of them, I’d move on to something new. As much as I hate my anxiety, I feel like on some weird level I’m creating things for myself to obsess about and worry over because I need to have something to obsess about and worry over.
Nothing would make me happier than to be anxiety free, but as soon as I find a little relief, I’m racing to find something new to fear, like I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I wasn’t in a constant state of anxiety. I feel like I replaced my addiction to alcohol with an addiction to anxiety.
Has anybody else experienced this? I’d like to speak with a therapist or psychologist about the addiction to anxiety, but I can’t afford to see one right now. I’m hoping that someone here might have some insight, or at least be able to empathize with me. Thanks for your time!
Just a couple quick details before I get into the meat of this post. I’m a thirty year old male, physically healthy and active. I’ve always been a bit of a hypochondriac, but I got sober a little over a year ago, and that’s when my health anxiety really kicked into high gear. I believe that for years I had been using alcohol to cope with my anxiety, health related and otherwise.
So, for the last year, I’ve jumped from one absurd anxiety to the next. I’m not going to list them because I don’t want to trigger anyone, but it’s been exhausting. At first I would go at least a few weeks between resolving an anxiety and finding something new to worry about, but the spaces in between have been getting smaller, and just this last week I moved between three different possible diseases. All unrelated, and different symptoms. As soon as I’d rule out one of them, I’d move on to something new. As much as I hate my anxiety, I feel like on some weird level I’m creating things for myself to obsess about and worry over because I need to have something to obsess about and worry over.
Nothing would make me happier than to be anxiety free, but as soon as I find a little relief, I’m racing to find something new to fear, like I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I wasn’t in a constant state of anxiety. I feel like I replaced my addiction to alcohol with an addiction to anxiety.
Has anybody else experienced this? I’d like to speak with a therapist or psychologist about the addiction to anxiety, but I can’t afford to see one right now. I’m hoping that someone here might have some insight, or at least be able to empathize with me. Thanks for your time!