Bill
19-11-07, 02:46
I'm posting this in the hope it might help.
When I was young and at work, I found I was worrying about every new freckle or lump etc. I remember going to the doctor and asking about a freckle. He smiled at me and showed me his! He was literally covered in them! It fascinated him that I was worrying about just one!
Later I can remember finding lumps etc and every time popping in to see the doctor on my way home from work. Every time I was reassured but the anxiety would re-surface in something else I'd found.
I put it down to stress and boredom because they made me focus on these things. Once I relieved the stress and kept my mind occupied on complex things to solve, the anxiety about these things also went.
I decided to really get to know my body. I examined myself from top to toe so I knew what was and wasn't there. Anything that bothered me I'd ask the doctor. Once they'd all been covered and I'd been reassured, if anything new turned up I'd know and only then if I was concerned I'd get it checked.
Years later I was in the shower and felt a lump on my leg. It was really pronounced and yet I didn't seem to feel as anxious as in all the other times before. I saw the doctor who told me if it didn't go down, they may need to operate. Within a few days it just went down and the doctor said I must have twisted a vein. It was because I knew my body that I noticed it.
A psychologist once told me, "The more you feel you have, the more anxious you'll feel about losing it". In other words, when we're young we feel we have more to lose than when we're old so as you get older, in this aspect, the anxiety can lower.
I've always found a combination of stressed boredom caused my anxieties so doing things engrossing or really enjoyable helped to stop me worrying so much because they kept my mind focussed.
When I was young and at work, I found I was worrying about every new freckle or lump etc. I remember going to the doctor and asking about a freckle. He smiled at me and showed me his! He was literally covered in them! It fascinated him that I was worrying about just one!
Later I can remember finding lumps etc and every time popping in to see the doctor on my way home from work. Every time I was reassured but the anxiety would re-surface in something else I'd found.
I put it down to stress and boredom because they made me focus on these things. Once I relieved the stress and kept my mind occupied on complex things to solve, the anxiety about these things also went.
I decided to really get to know my body. I examined myself from top to toe so I knew what was and wasn't there. Anything that bothered me I'd ask the doctor. Once they'd all been covered and I'd been reassured, if anything new turned up I'd know and only then if I was concerned I'd get it checked.
Years later I was in the shower and felt a lump on my leg. It was really pronounced and yet I didn't seem to feel as anxious as in all the other times before. I saw the doctor who told me if it didn't go down, they may need to operate. Within a few days it just went down and the doctor said I must have twisted a vein. It was because I knew my body that I noticed it.
A psychologist once told me, "The more you feel you have, the more anxious you'll feel about losing it". In other words, when we're young we feel we have more to lose than when we're old so as you get older, in this aspect, the anxiety can lower.
I've always found a combination of stressed boredom caused my anxieties so doing things engrossing or really enjoyable helped to stop me worrying so much because they kept my mind focussed.