How do you conquer Health Anxiety???

[Panic1971]

Hi there

Does anyone have any tips on how to conquer Health Anxiety? I have done CBT but dont feel it has helped me at all. It says you have to challenge your thoughts, by first rating your thoughts then challenging them and re-rating them. This is so hard for Health Anxiety as I cannot accept that the symptoms are not due to some horrible disease etc.

All the time I am scanning my body for aches, pains and feelings that dont quite feel right and I think of death/dying up to 100 times a day and I feel so low.

I have a brilliant husband and 2 great children but I feel so cr*p!!!

I have had numbness in my face for over 2 weeks now and made the unfortunate mistake of googling. It came up with a guy that started with that and it turned out to be lymphoma and he died within 6 weeks. I went back to see the doctor about it as I got myself into such a state and he tried to reassure me that it wasnt that at all but a problem with the nerves in my face. He did no tests or anything though. I kind of accepted that last week - but today the morbid thoughts are creeping in again. I am going back to see him next Tuesday.

If it isnt one thing though it is something else, cancer, stroke etc etc etc.

Any thoughts???

[mirry]

my sister used to have terrible health anxiety ,
so she stopped reading magazines , watching the news , told all family and friends not to talk about anyones health to her, and tried to stay away from her gp unless really important.

Now shes alot better , she can talk about it but she still avoids magazines , papers and the news & she doesnt go on the internet.


Sometimes i do believe avoidance can actually be a good thing.

take care :hugs:

[Panic1971]

Thanks Mirry for your reply, it is greatly appreciated.

Glad to hear that your sister is doing a lot better with her health anxiety.

I have been told in the past to avoid newspapers, magazines and news which I do to some extent, but then health issues appear in soaps and normal tv programmes too - also in conversations at work etc. There seems to be no way of avoiding it.

I have tried to stop myself going to the doctors with every twinge etc, but sometimes it is easier to speak to the doctor than to spend weeks and weeks on end dwelling on it.

Do you think this site could be feeding my health anxiety too then?

I just seem to be at rock bottom again. I am due back at work tomorrow and I am absolutely dreading it as my anxiety makes me feel so bad and scared and there is no way of escaping whilst I am there.

[dinkydoo]

The probs with your face is my main prob too, along with IBS, but tension causes us to have bad posture, which then causes a vicious circle..... my shoulders are tense, my neck is too...... are yours? I am sure if you could afford to a Chiropractor would reassure you that this is tension. I did the same and am reassured too. WOrth the money.
I now frequently rub a little lavendar oil into a base oil,grapeseed mine is, then massage as much as I can reach of my shoulders, neck and temples,even my cheeks. Maybe you could do the same.
It is tension, I would put a hundred quid bet on it. Try not to worry. xxx

[Panic1971]

Thanks Dinkydoo

I think I will go and see a Chiropractor as I do have tense shoulders and problems with my neck. What do they do - and does it hurt?

How did you go about finding one?

[mirry]

ann , ive been doing yoga since xmas day , my mum got me a dvd to do and its fantastic for loosening the neck and shoulders ..........
its gentle and the best ive ever tried to do.

I posted about it last week , heres a link ........
http://www.leahbracknell.com/dvd/dvd.html

Its better than any chiropractor in my book and alot cheaper way of doing it.,also it helps get rid of stress . It is the best thing ive ever done :yesyes: .

And as for avoiding this health forum , to be honest no i dont believe it helps at all to keep visiting it day in and day out (sorry nic ,:blush: ), yet is fantastic for reassurance , so its a double edge sword really , so i try to limit it to once a week if possible, then let it all out , lol.

Its impossible to completely avoid this subject but as my husband says to me ......."dont wallow in it" , and i think hes right.

take care hun :hugs:

[Panic1971]

Thanks Mirry:hugs:

I will try to get back into Yoga again - I had a problem with it as you have to concentrate on breathing in and out on the certain moves and it used to make me feel really dizzy. Will give it another go though and let you know how I get on.

I dont know what I would do without this site - but I do agree that it can also hinder us. I get anxious just waiting for someone to reply to my thread:wacko:

Thanks once again and you take care too.:yesyes:

[mirry]

ann , this paticular dvd is very relaxing , and as i suffer with vertigo and balance problems , it actually helps me.

Let me know how you get on with it .:yesyes:

[dinkydoo]

Maybe you could look on ''yell.com' for a chiro?? It normally costs about thirty pounds for an initial consulation.
Worth it tho in my opion.
They can give intense massages and they also do manipulation to free up any stuck joints. This is not painful but can sometimes be uncomfortable and take a bit of getting used to.
Let me know how things go. xx

[mynameis]

I've got to agree with the CBT. I found it useless, mainly because there wasn't a `hot thought' (their words !) that triggered my anxiety. I'd be watching tv with my feet up loving life, then it's like my impending death's happening ! The palpatations, the shakes & the aching chest and you're supposed to challenge it and basically tell it to bugger off ! Not recommended and with all the accepted methods in dealing with anxiety, this was easily the worst. I must admit that I only visit this site now when I'm low or anxious, because as you rightly say, it's a bit of a double edged sword. Saying that though, it's comforting that everyone on here knows what we're going through rather than have someone just humouring you. Somewhere out there is an answer to all our woes !