hi there

[westofengland]

My name is Geoff and I live in the south west. I suffer from OCD and in particular Health Anxiety. It's got a lot worse since my wife died of breast cancer a year ago.

It's not been an easy year for me and I have done some things I regret, which I now realise came out of loneliness and pain. This has also fuelled my health anxiety and anxiety about relationships.

I am trying to learn to manage my Health Anxiety as I don't think it will ever go away. I am hoping to try and turn it into a positive thing, a reminder that life is short and I need to look after my health more from now on and try to make the most of every day. This is hard, but it's already improved my relationships with my kids

My particular problem is Googling symptoms and 'catastrophising' so i am trying to stay off health web sites, and even BBC News. Instead, I am trying to come to terms with my OCD and visit sites like this, where I can share my experiences and hopefully help others

[diane07]

Hi westofengland

We just wanted to welcome you aboard to NMP. We hope you enjoy your stay here and get all the support and advice you need.

Please take some time to read the website articles on the left as well for loads of advice and tips.

[Fran74]

Hello Geoff

welcome on NMP,I am sorry to hear what happened to you I am sure though that you are going to find a lot of support and new friends.

Don't loose hope as we can all beat our fears and anxiety we just have to believe in it.
Talking to people on this forum has been helping me so much since I joined and it will be the same for I am sure.

Best
:hugs::hugs:

[peterj]

hi westofengland,
I also used to surf medical websites looking for answers to problems perceived or otherwise but eventually gave up because it's so complex and intricate that without the right knowledge it's far too easy to arrive at the wrong conclusions and scare yourself silly. I frequently made the wrong diagnosis and then thought myself slightly daft. in fact most of my symptoms which i mistook for something serious were in fact (as iv'e just discovered) related to my anxiety which is a little bit consoling, given what i thought it might be.

i try to relax more now....hope this helps

Pete

[Veronica H]

:welcome:Geoff. I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your wife. It must be very hard for you let alone battling the pre existing anxiety. You will find comfort and support here. There is always someone to chat to.:bighug1:Veronica

[thetrainattack]

i have a panic attack everyday! on the trains! bloody trains.

[AndyB07]

Hi Geoff, I'm sorry you've had such a horrible year....you are definitely doing the right thing staying away from googling medical matters, so many people on here will tell you that. But, I have had some CBT, and it was explained to me that avoiding things like the news can actually feed your anxiety. If you can't get any one on one CBT sessions, there is some good stuff online. Alternatively, I bought a book from Amazon on the advice of my therapist called "An Introduction to Coping with Health Anxiety" which is part of the "Overcoming" series. The book explains things far better than I ever could. Cheers, Andy.