Parenting with health anxiety

[Drisque]

As I sit here, worried and short of breath, my children are "trying" to decide on a movie they would BOTH like to watch together. It seemingly gets harder to breath with every high pitched "DAD!" that gets shouted in my direction. There's a tightness growing in my chest while each of my two beautiful children try to convince me that the movie they picked out should be the one that gets put in.

Amidst the movie calamity of 2018, my wife, unaware of my impeding "heart attack", yells my name from the kitchen....repeatedly. I'm unable to respond, because now my body is tingling and I'm in my final stages of life.

Meanwhile, my children are speaking well above the standard "inside voice" we as parents have tried to implement. My wife tried my name once more and I've had all I can take, so I walk as calmly as I can to the bathroom, where I go through my cbt routine. 10 successful minutes later, I re-enter the front room where I can finally help my children resolve their movie issues, as a parent should.

I find it very frustrating when I have these episodes during moments where I'm should be attentive to my children/ family. I do my best, but it is difficult at times.

- just a parent with health anxiety and panic disorder

[Heather1234]

I feel it too. I'm a mom though. I have so much guilt over it. The worst is when I'm obsessively checking symptoms and not spending quality time with them instead :(

[Drisque]

Yes! I especially feel guilty when I'm stuck in a Dr. Google rut. I get so drawn into my fears. Cbt is working pretty well, though. It has helped me cut down on my obsessive symptom checking... I still do it, but to a lesser extent.

[Heather1234]

Yes I've been in the Dr. Google rut for a couple days. Im glad you are doing better with it. I just statted a CBT course online.

[Drisque]

Good for you! At first it seems kind of pointless, but the harder you work at it the better the outcome will be.

[ErinKC]

I'm a stay at home mom with anxiety and you've explained it so well. It's so so hard. Kids make every moment of anxiety harder to deal with and the guilt of being detached and distracted makes everything seem so much worse. Solidarity!