I'm cured of my Health Anxiety when I'm not well

[skippy66]

Often I feel so anxious about my chest pains, aches, heart palps, head pains, nosebleeds, twitching, sore throats, shortness of breath, dizziness etc. etc that it stops me wanting to do simple things like go to the supermarket or shopping anywhere. Sometimes I just want to go to bed all day and 'dwell'.

The amazing thing is, when I have a cold or something definitively diagnosed, my anxiety vanishes.

I go to the supermarket, feel lightheaded, chest pains, palps but I DON'T CARE because I know it's being caused by my virus.

It's like my Health Anxiety 95% disappears.

Funny the way my mind works.

It must be to do with fear of the unknown and catastrophizing. If I faint while shopping with a cold, I just tell people thats what it is. If I faint without having a cold, I start thinking it must be something life threatening.

I've got a nasty virus atm but I'm surprisingly calm about it.

[poppy1]

I was thinking a similar thing this morning! Ive got a cold and because i feel rough, im not obsessing about the chest pains ive been having. That said, ive had chest pains all day which i though might be from sneezing but starting to panic slightly now.

[margaret jones]

How true Skippy i am just the same i feel really lightheaded for the last few days but have put it down to a blocked sinuses and ears and i have just been to asda and felt really odd but it was my blocked up tubes , so no panic Have we found a cure for H A always have a small underlying reason for our odd feelings ??? i wish

Take Care Margaret xxxxxxxxx

[Jimpy]

Its a big shame that a diagnosis of HA does not have the same effect on us! Its the same
scenario but I respond different to it. As long as I have something solid, like a bad cold, to "hang" my symptoms on I feel more relaxed. Why does this mind trick not work when we are diagnosed with HA??? I know our minds are powerful things and can do great things but it is so hard to control them sometimes!

[scorpionwhispers]

I had a cold and like others have said I didn't panic about anything. Now I am coming out the other side of my cold I am picking up on every single thing but now because of the cold I am more tired and find the panic harder to fight off...

[amye619]

I am exactly the same! Every little thing I panic about until I go to the doctors and get it from them what's wrong! Suddenly my anxiety will pass and I can focus on what the doc has told me... It's only a virus etc. It's when that virus then passes and my anxiety surfaces itself again I start to panic again!
It's when I go to the docs for something that's related to the anxiety and they tell me it is related to the anxiety... That's somehow different... Feels like I'm being fobbed off somehow! Therefore I feel no better at all! Something I can not get my head round!!

[BornWorrier]

Yes - it's trange isn't it. Me too!

I've often wondered about this, and I think it's because dep down we know that when there's REALLY something wrong, we can get help and can exercise some control.

When it's all based on fear (which I'm sure deep down we somehow "know"), we feel alone and isolated because we're worried the doctor/hospital will be annoyed at us.

[Maj]

t's because your mind is distracted by something else.
Myra x

[Robbs]

OMG how true this is, whenever i feel a bit ill from whatever like a cold or something i actually feel quite good in a funny way or at least i dont have that dark misserable feeling that im doomed looming over me, totally cos there is a good reason for feeling like crap instead of it being unexplained, weird but true, excellent thread we're a funny bunch eh :yesyes: