How to ride it out...

[Limeslime]

So, sometimes I have irrational flare ups in my health anxiety, but I’ve learned just to ride them out and in a few hours or days it will pass.

But sometimes it doesn’t. Like today. Today is day 4 of panicking over a symptom.

I just wondered what you guys do in this situation? My usual fix is to see a doctor, but I’m going too often and it’s getting embarrassing now! Anyone have any other tips to ride this one out?

[kay1218]

I hope you find the answers you’re looking for! I am currently wondering the same thing.


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[ankietyjoe]

Whatever you do to ride it out for a few hours or days, do that...but for longer.

Tell yourself you're fed up of pandering to irrational fear. Tell yourself over and over again.

[Limeslime]

Whatever you do to ride it out for a few hours or days, do that...but for longer.

Tell yourself you're fed up of pandering to irrational fear. Tell yourself over and over again.

The hardest part is convincing myself it’s irrational in the first place!!!!

[ankietyjoe]

The hardest part is convincing myself it’s irrational in the first place!!!!

That's why you need to keep repeating it to yourself.

[jray23]

The hardest part is convincing myself it’s irrational in the first place!!!!Create an alternative explanation to your symptom that you won't freak out about, and then keep feeding that explanation rather than your feared one.

Example - Early last week I had a few instances where my 2nd and 3rd fingers in my left hand would twitch rather heavily for about half a minute. And beyond that my fingers, wrist etc felt on edge/fatigued/weak. Now I didn't really even give myself the time of day to come up with a scary version at all, but I came up with two "rational" explanations - one was that I had been playing video games literally all day (and I rarely play at all) long the day before this started so I wore down some muscles, the other explanation was that two days before, I banged up the tip of my left elbow/funny bone so maybe a nerve got some injury. I have no idea if either is a legit medical explanation but I ran with it So every time I felt the symptom last week I just told myself it was sore from one of those two things and to give it a week or so to improve. Well now it's a week later and it's mostly improved. I've been able to do this with varied success even when I have a scary explanation as well.

Oh and of course, did NOT google anything!

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---------- Post added at 16:17 ---------- Previous post was at 16:12 ----------

If this seems difficult at first, try using the app called "Thought Diary". It kind of takes you through each step you need to do and even gives assistance. And as a bonus, after awhile you'll have a nice handy history to look at of times that you were worried and then calmed that worry (or didn't calm it, but even then you'll see how often you freak out for no reason and that could help down the road too!)

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[Limeslime]

That advice is amazing! Thank you so much! I’m definitely gonna try that app!

So...the brown streak on my toenail is NOT melanoma, it’s dried blood from when I knocked it in the night.
That mark on my boob is NOT breast cancer, it’s a new stretch mark cos I’m in my30s now and that’s gonna happen. Mother Nature never did like females!
The armpit lump is NOT cancer, it’s just scar tissue from an infection I had there in spring.

Woo!

[ankietyjoe]

That advice is amazing! Thank you so much! I’m definitely gonna try that app!

So...the brown streak on my toenail is NOT melanoma, it’s dried blood from when I knocked it in the night.
That mark on my boob is NOT breast cancer, it’s a new stretch mark cos I’m in my30s now and that’s gonna happen. Mother Nature never did like females!
The armpit lump is NOT cancer, it’s just scar tissue from an infection I had there in spring.

Woo!

That's exactly the right thing to do, and it works. :yesyes: