Hello!

[ANDY40]

Hello.

I've always been a "worrier", but having had some sort of nervous breakdown about fears over my health 4 months ago, I'm now having CBT therapy. I've bought two books to help and gone to a Yoga class (for the first time ever) and swimming to ease the "tension" that people keep telling me is the cause of the pain.

I'm currently worrying that I have something wrong with my liver as I'm having pains around my right side chest, side, lower back and shoulder. I also sometimes have nausea and bloatedness. Doctor says I'm fine and that symptoms are due to anxiety, but I'm finding it hard to believe the mind could cause such specifically located symptoms. I'm meant to be writing down whenever I have a negative thought about this, but I can't do it fully as it is almost constant!

I feel like I'm never going to be myself again....perhaps someone can give me hope I can and how to do it?

[marie1974]

hiya and welcome u will get some great advice and support here and make new friends too hugs and keep posting xxx

[milly jones]

hi andy

we all have anxiety in nmp but about different things hun

lots of ppl have anxiety about health so u will make some good friends and gain support here.

take a look at the nmp website too

welcome to nmp

milly xxx

[weeble40]

welcome to NMP hope to see you around sometime

Emma xxx

[Marginalia]

Hello.

I've always been a "worrier", but having had some sort of nervous breakdown about fears over my health 4 months ago, I'm now having CBT therapy. I've bought two books to help and gone to a Yoga class (for the first time ever) and swimming to ease the "tension" that people keep telling me is the cause of the pain.

I'm currently worrying that I have something wrong with my liver as I'm having pains around my right side chest, side, lower back and shoulder. I also sometimes have nausea and bloatedness. Doctor says I'm fine and that symptoms are due to anxiety, but I'm finding it hard to believe the mind could cause such specifically located symptoms. I'm meant to be writing down whenever I have a negative thought about this, but I can't do it fully as it is almost constant!

I feel like I'm never going to be myself again....perhaps someone can give me hope I can and how to do it?

Hello and welcome from another lifetime 'worrier'. You will get through this. And yeah, anxiety can produce symptoms in very specific locations - I don't know if the symptoms are entirely 'created' by anxiety or whether one becomes so sensitive that normal aches and pains are perceived as larger. But yeah, read the threads in the health anxiety section and you will find plenty of people getting pains in specific locations due to anxiety. My experience is that if I can stop worrying about that pain, it moves to another location just to get me to start worrying again :doh:

I've found that my health anxiety only flares up when I am really (unknown to myself) stressed about something completely different - so I'm working with a counsellor to find out what that is (but when it's happened before it usually passes when the situation changes). However being rational about the health anxieties does help calm the panic.

I'm no expert on CBT but I have read a few books about it and I don't think you need to worry about not catching every single negative thought. The scientific evidence suggests that once you've learnt the habits of questioning 'catastrophising' and other irrational thoughts, it gives you long term coping skills which you will start to apply more generally. It just takes a while to get used to catching those self-destructive thoughts and more practice to develop the skills to replace them with more rational thoughts.

Oh, and welcome to the site ;)
Marginalia

[kellie]

Hiya Andy :welcome: to nmp its lovely to have you here :yesyes:
you will get lots of support/advice/reasurance and make some great friends along the way.
Hope to talk to you soon.

take care

kellie.xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[binashubby]

Hello Andy,
Sorry to hear about your problems. I worry a lot about things as well. Why I don't know, but I just do. And I get the same kind of pains and things as you do. Ignore them as best as you can. Try some really hard physical exercise. Going to the gym and pumping lots of iron helps my mind to focus and gives me a bit of a buzz.
Paul

[Southern_Belle]

Hi Andy,

Welcome to the site. Many here will understand how you are feeling and you will get support.

Take care,

Laura

[Lindalou64]

Hello Andy And Welcome....wish Ya Well......linda

[Nibbles]

Hi Andy and :welcome:

You'll get loads of advice and support here while making new friends along the way.

Take care,

Mike :)