missanxiouspants
20-10-09, 21:43
Hello everyone,
I am really happy to have found this website and other people who suffer from health anxiety. I didnt even realise that there was a name for what Ive been feeling, since everyone has just dismissed me laughingly as a hypochondriac and told me to stop being ridiculous.
Ive just turned 21 and for the last couple of years I have gone through phases of getting obsessed with a particular part of my body, convinced that I have some sort of illness. I have gone through appendicitus, mouth/ bowel/ cancer, AIDS, STDs, brain tumours etc, and at the moment MS. Each time I get an attack of it my mind is completely consumed by the thought of the disease, and absolutely everything I do is tainted by 'what if'. I cant look forward to the future because at the back of my head is the fear that I will get ill and it will never happen. I ask my friends, parents, boyfriend about it, check symptoms on the internet, see the doctor, but absolutely nothing I do will stop the worry. Then, without any particular reason, the worry disappears, and I wont get another attack for a few months when I will have moved on to something else.
At the beginning of the year I had a comprehensive blood test done and everything came back clear, which stopped me worrying for a good few months. However, recently I have started to get tingling feelings in my fingers and toes, which turn into a pin pricking sensation. Obviously the more I think about it the worse it gets, and I know I am just over reacting, but at the moment I cant think of anything else. Its affecting my studying, my relationship (my sex drive deteriorates when I am going through a phase) and my general enjoyment.
I know I have a problem, but I dont know how to cope. Can anyone suggest anything that will stop this continual stress and worry?
Thanks, sorry its been long,
Chloe x
I am really happy to have found this website and other people who suffer from health anxiety. I didnt even realise that there was a name for what Ive been feeling, since everyone has just dismissed me laughingly as a hypochondriac and told me to stop being ridiculous.
Ive just turned 21 and for the last couple of years I have gone through phases of getting obsessed with a particular part of my body, convinced that I have some sort of illness. I have gone through appendicitus, mouth/ bowel/ cancer, AIDS, STDs, brain tumours etc, and at the moment MS. Each time I get an attack of it my mind is completely consumed by the thought of the disease, and absolutely everything I do is tainted by 'what if'. I cant look forward to the future because at the back of my head is the fear that I will get ill and it will never happen. I ask my friends, parents, boyfriend about it, check symptoms on the internet, see the doctor, but absolutely nothing I do will stop the worry. Then, without any particular reason, the worry disappears, and I wont get another attack for a few months when I will have moved on to something else.
At the beginning of the year I had a comprehensive blood test done and everything came back clear, which stopped me worrying for a good few months. However, recently I have started to get tingling feelings in my fingers and toes, which turn into a pin pricking sensation. Obviously the more I think about it the worse it gets, and I know I am just over reacting, but at the moment I cant think of anything else. Its affecting my studying, my relationship (my sex drive deteriorates when I am going through a phase) and my general enjoyment.
I know I have a problem, but I dont know how to cope. Can anyone suggest anything that will stop this continual stress and worry?
Thanks, sorry its been long,
Chloe x