Please consider others

[janni]

I have noticed a couple of replies on here, eg. if someone is anxious about headaches, please refrain from telling them that they might have a head injury. 1. This is a health anxiety forum and the symptoms that are experienced are manifestations of anxiety. 2. If someone is going for a test, don't tell them if you know there is something that test does not reveal. 3. Imagine yourself in the posters position EMPATHY people. Our symptoms are real but the causes are not dangerous, we just need help in accepting that. Also remember that many of us have seen G.Ps and had other tests and that if there was anything serious the G.P would have more indication than we could possibly have. We are here to help each other. All I am saying is please watch with your suggestions, think before you post, you may be adding hugely to anothers fears.

[janni]

Hi Sue just a couple of things one in reference to myself the other in reference to someone else, just saying be aware of not suggesting something unfounded that adds to someone health anxiety thats all probably is coming out all wrong cos im tense but i mean well

[nomorepanic]

People tend to reply with experiences and offer advice that way.

I sent a PM out the other day asking members to be careful of what medical advice they offer.

NMP is NOT a health anxiety forum but a panic and anxiety one but yes we have the HA sub-forum too.

[pd]

I see what you mean, and we definately don't need more things to worry about! I post about health anxiety... but if I ever thought that something was REALLY wrong I'd get medical help, for example I posted earlier about hitting my head and health anxietying about what damage I could have caused... if I thought for a second I might have actually injured myself (despite the big lump and splitting headache) I would have gone to hospital rather than seeking reassurance over the net. I'm not making a huge amount of sense here I don't think... What I'm trying to say is that I (and other people) come here for reassurance that there's nothing wrong rather than medical advice, and hearing something like ''oh that could be...'' followed by something really horrible doesn't help!!

[janni]

was someone posted to someone suffering from headaches who had been to docs and someone else suggested perhaps a scan to make sure they didnt get an injury up there its the last thing the person needed to hear, maybe i shouldnt have posted anything im feelin bad now

[kazzie]

Hi Janni:)

I agree with Sue this is not a health anxiety forum but a panic forum of which health anxiety is a small part of the spectrum!!!

If people choose to post here and want honest answers then thats what they get Im afraid

Dont mean to be nasty and hope I havent come across as such but better people post here than go on ruddy Google....Dr Google only has one answer....you are dead lol

Take Care

Kaz x:hugs:

[bottleblond]

We have to remember that most who reply to posts in this section also suffer from HA so will go on their own phobias and fears with their replies.
I believe they are genuinly trying to be helpfull and maybe putting themselves in the posters shoes.

We must remember that we can only advise and all advice should be acted on as the poster see's fit.

Kind regards
Lisa
x

[pd]

Also I don't think anyone would want to say to someone ''it's nothing, you're fine'' if they're describing something that COULD be dangerous, but at the same time don't want to make somebody panic... it's difficult.

[amu]

I think one of the roles of the health anxiety part of this forum is that it helps determining whether what you feel is real or not, is it justified or not.

Therefore what I tend to do is when I see a familiar post about breathlessness, headaches, palpitations, IBS symptoms etc that I have previously experienced, I post to say that I have also experienced this symptom, and it turned out to be just anxiety-related.

Two things I would not do:
1. If someone talks about a classic anxiety symptom that they are having certain tests for, I would never say "oh you should go back to the doctor and order more tests because it could be x and y and z illness" - very distressing for a HA sufferer
2. (HOWEVER) If someone talks about a serious symptom I would never say "oh don't go to the doctors, it's probably nothing" - instead I say something like "yes it's a good idea that you are having it checked and hopefully you will get reassurance" and if I know of someone who had the named illness and was better afterwards, I mention it.

So I kind of know what the original poster of this thread talks about - don't scare the sh*t out of us! HOWEVER, don't endanger people with serious symptoms by saying they should not contact their doctor, as most of us are not medical professionals after all!

All we can help with is our experience with health anxiety symptoms, and common fears of HA sufferers.

[PanicOver!!]

Hi Janni

Im with you we are here to support not cause more worry

X X

[Cell block H fan]

Some people are scared to go to the doctors, so I dont think its automatically true that someone will go to the doctor if they are REALLY worried. Sometimes someone needs to be told to go to the doctor. Health anxiety isn't black n white. I used to be up the doctors atleast once a week, these days ive gone the other way & avoid them like the plague! But I still have health anxiety. You're damned if you do & damned if you dont on places like this. So I think if someone posts on here, they realistically need to accept that they will get varied replies. Otherwise whats the point in asking for advice if we're all going to say the exact same thing? Also I hate to be the one to say it, but just because someone suffers from health anxiety, doesn't mean they will never get genuinely ill enough to actually need medical intervention. Its no good telling everyone they are only sufferring from health anxiety. Stressed people DO get sick.

[Veronica H]

:bighug1: don't feel bad about posting Janni. Debate is good, but as you can see by the replies this is a complicated issue and we tread a fine line sometimes in that we are trying to be supportive to anxious people with a variety of phobias and anxiety triggers. What might reassure me might frighten someone else. I mainly suffer from panic anxiety and therefore donot have a good understanding of OCD for example. I therefore generally donot offer advice in that forum, although I may offer a virtual hug.
:bighug1: ...have another one and keep posting.


Veronica

[nomorepanic]

This is a difficult debate ok cos I was told that my constant diarrhoea was anxiety and then the piles I got were the same.

Then I was diagnosed with a real illness - Crohn's. If I have know this 2 years earlier I could have got treatment but it was left undiagnosed for a long time so I will always tell people my experience cos if someone had told me then maybe I would have pushed for more tests earlier on.

There is a fine line between upsetting people and telling them your experiences and I for one will not apologise for telling people to get things checked out as like I said I was left undiagnosed for a long time and things got really bad for me.

All we can do is advise and give suggestions. These are not meant to alarm people but if just one person gets help by a suggestion on here about something that "could" be wrong then isn't that better than patting them on the head and saying "it is all anxiety - you will be fine."

I appreciate MOST things are anxiety but as someone else pointed out - even anxiety sufferers get real illnesses too.

Just some points I wanted to raise anyway.

[janni]

I agree, there is a fine line, was just a couple of replies I read at the time and I reacted. i.e. One person complained about head aches, the replier said maybe you should go get scan could be injury I wasnt saying that it was intentional but I saw posters reply and was something that she didnt want to hear, I agree with both sides of the argument, but I would say that the vast majority of complaints are anxiety related and I try to reassure rather than add another angle on to a symptom. All is well and all take care.