Health worries

[Debs]

Am I alone or does anyone else convince themselves that they have an incurable disease. If I get a headache it's a tumour. Chest pains it's lung cancer. Migraine- I'm having a stroke. I could go on forever, but you get the idea!!

xxDebxx

[nomorepanic]

Debs

Meg is currently writing a new page for the website on Health Anxiety and I think it will really help you.

Watch this space as Meg is still writing it so it will be ready soon.

I have had all the tests under the sun cos I was convinced I had to be really ill and they all come back negative so at some point you have to say "ok enough is enough - it is just anxiety".

It gets easier in time trust me.

have you had any tests done?

Nicola

[sadie]

Hi Debs,

This type of thinking is so common in people who have anxiety and in particular a health phobia. I too think like this... migraine is a stroke and chest pains is a heart attack... you know what I mean.

The only way to break this cycle is to challenge our thoughts and lose our fear of them... easier said than done I know but it is the only way.

You are definetly not alone with this one.

sadie

[Debs]

Thanks guys,

I've not had any tests done, recently, because I'm too scared of what they'll find. In the past I've had x rays on my back, scans on my ovaries and a scan on my breast.

At the mo, I've got two swollen glands under my jaw, which I'm sure is down to the fact that part of my filling has come out, but I can't help worrying it's a lymphoma.

I'm sure the net doesn't help, because you look for things that could be causing your symptoms, only to find it could be a type of cancer etc.

Sometimes I feel like I'm going mad and imagining things. I think if I go to the dr's he'll think I'm a hypochondriac!!

xxDebxx

[FAN]

i think most of here have at some time felt this way we cant just have a simple headache it has to be a brain tumour etc but it seems you know that rationally thinking you dont have anything serious so im sure you will soon feel better about it

fan x

[Meg]

Debs,

Health Anxiety is fast growing . You are not alone with this one.

As Nic says I've just about done writing an article on it as we've seen a huge surge recently.

How much do you really know about lymphomas ?
You're absolutely right - you are imagining things but you are not mad .
Go and see your dentist and get the fillings sorted out .




Meg
www.overcominganxiety.co.uk
You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance

[Debs]

Thanks Meg,

I don't really know much about lymphomas, and I know that don't really have one. I just get scared that I'm going to die and leave my children behind. God, I hate it so much!! It just seems neverending.

I'm going to my dentist next week to sort my teeth out. Thankfully going to the dentist is one thing I don't have a fear of!!! :D

xxDebxx

[jo-jo]

Debs - hope your visit to the dentist soon puts your mind at rest chuck.

Meg - looking forawrd to your new pages - do you think there's scope for further reserach regarding health anxiety from a health psychology perspective (I'm currently fishing around for PhD ideas)?!

Best wishes
Jo

"courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear"

[mojo5]

Hi Debs

You are definitely not alone on this one !

Best wishes
Mo.

[silentcalligraph]

Hi Deb

As other have mentioned, you're not alone with this one. And the net sure isn't helpful at all for people with our condition. I hope your check with the dentist will bring some relief (lucky you - not afraid of the dentist!).

One thing that has helped me a lot with regards to this constant worrying about my health was starting to work conciously on my body awareness (I'm doign Qi Gong but there are various other exercises out there to chose from). At the beginning I was worried about doing that thinking it might increase the problem, since you are asked to concentrate on your body which is exactly what we're doing already way too much. But the trick is to change the mindset with which we're doing that and if you manage to find a good teacher you'll learn how to do that. This sounds like a major challenge and I must say I couldn't have done that had my teacher not first taught me to 'just' relax. She's from China and after one lesson when I had suffered a major panic-attack (a silent one, nobody noticed, I told her afterwards) she actually phoned back to China to talk to one of her instructors and he told her that 'some people' just can't immediatley think positive and that they first have to learn to relax and let go. It sounds simple but it was a major relief for me.

I still have 'silly' moments but in general I'm coping much better, feeling more in control of what's happening as I'm more aware of my body.

[lainey]

Hi Debs

As the others say, you are definetly not alone with this one.
You don't have lymphoma, I can assure you as my hubby had it last year.
If both glands are up then it's probably your fillings or the start of a cold etc.
I have self diagnosed on so many things this last few months, and the worst thing we are all guilty of is surfing the net.

Happy drilling !!

Elaine x

[Tracy68]

Hi Debs
I can so relate to what you are going through. Horrible isn't it. I'm having one of those days today infact. I've had a funny head all day so i've got a tumour, my left arm has had pains in it and twinges in my chest so i'm going to have a heart attack and my hearts been racing, had a coughing fit and could that be lung cancer? I have two girls age 11 and 7 and i'm like you thinking i don't want to leave them etc etc. I hate the way i feel. But i do get the goods days and hey i'm sat here typing 10 hours after all the symptoms started lol.
Take care
Tracy
xx

[linjane]

Hi Debs,
As everyone else says, YOU ARE NOT ALONE with these symptons. My main worry lately has been palpitations/ectopic heartbeats (lately being for the last 3years!!!!) but I also worry about everything else, including my husband and kids. If the kids bang their head I am panic stricken!! If I am not having palps/missing beats, but have headache, I worry about that, etc... etc...
Silentcalligraph (long name) I would be interested to know more about Qi Gong, I am one of those people who find it very hard to relax.
Take care,
Linjane

[silentcalligraph]

Linjane

I'm adding a link to the Wikepedia article about Qi Gong below, because it sums up things much better than I ever could. As you can see there's also a bit of controversy surrounding the practice and it's better to know such things beforehand. If you want to give it a try I'd say the most important thing is a teacher you feel you can trust. Folks who will scare you by talking about dangerous side-effects if you practice the wrong way are a definite no (not just for panic patients), a good instructor will not teach those intricate exercises on a beginner's level. And of course people who claim they can solve each and every of your problems are charlatans, a good instructor will always tell you to check with your doctor if there's a serious health problem. Anyhow - I chose Qi Gong because Tai Chi classes were not offered where I live and I'm glad I did. What I wanted to learn was a method for relaxation where you're not supposed to lie still and motionless, because I was never able to relax with those methods. Just hearing a spooky voice from a tape telling me to relax was enough to send me into panicking at times. I can focus on the movements if I feel that my mind is wandering into panic territory. At the beginning that happened quite often but now only rarely and I have learnt to listen to my body and to realize that it does not have to be the source of constant worrying. I don't think it makes a big difference whether you'll opt for Yoga or Tai Chi or anything else as long as you can achieve those things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_Gong

[linjane]

Hi Silent,
Thanks for your reply, I will have a look at that link tomorrow (haven't got time, today, another bad trait of mine, never finding time to learn to relax!) Also, I have tried yoga and found I couldn't do the breathing properly so I gave up. I must try something else to learn to relax.
Thanks again,
Linda

[Meg]

Linda, how long did you do the Yoga for ?


Hope you have all seen the new Health Anxiety page on Nomorepanic homepage


Meg
www.overcominganxiety.co.uk
You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance