Apparently it's not health anxiety!

[Nutmeg]

I was just wondering if anyone else is like this. I have OCD and I always thought that I had some form of health anxiety but apparently I don't - it's my OCD. I'm not scared of having the illnesses I obsesses about what I am scared of is not knowing. I think it stems from my OCD I need to know answers. So I freak out about symptoms I'm having if I don't know why if someone gives me an answer I can calm down a little. And I'll check over and over again that it's that.

I know this doesn't make sense but I was wondering if anyone else is like this/ They're not afraid of the illness but rather not knowing they have the illness.

[Jayuk]

I'm a bit like you although my doc has told me that anxiety in general can stem from the ocd which is what i'm with!

So I wouldn't rule out the fact you do have an anxiety disorder. Your checking because your anxious :)

[Nutmeg]

Yeah I know I definately have OCD - I'm just a nightmare because I need to know answers I get panicky when I don't know. My docs just started calling it my anxiety problem!

[hopefulis]

My pschologist told me that Health Anxiety is a form of OCD. Whatever it's called, it's bloody awful :-(

[WeeSmallHours]

I attribute my anxiety issues to my OCD. OCD has been around since I was a kid, but the anxiety started later in life and becomes worse and harder to manage when the OCD is really messing with me. But there are times where my OCD is pretty under control and anxiety is awful.

That and they feed on each other. At times it is difficult to tell whether the anxiety is messing with the OCD or the OCD is causing me more anxiety. Sometimes I think it is both. It really is hard to have one without the other, a lot of mental disorders like this have a lot of overlap. It also doesn't necessarily help that medical professionals only really know so much, and I never get straight answers as to why meds work or don't. This is why I take no medication for these issues.

[Nutmeg]

Yeah I've noticed my medication helps certain elements of my OCD but not all of my anxiety. It's bizarre. My OCD though normally is separate to my other problems. I have severe mood swings and the anxiety produced by those is separate from OCD anxiety. I have my therapist stumped! I think it wouldn't be such a problem if I didn't need to know answers for everything!

[WeeSmallHours]

I hear ya on the answers thing. I sometimes have a hard time letting things go and just obsessing about answers or having a complete understanding. I've noticed that it has started to creep into my days where I just flat out avoid doing things or really have to force myself to do them because I am too worried about doing it perfect and knowing everything. Quite annoying. I used to be able to just jump into anything, but this is at times affecting my work.

[randomworry]

i think in general an anxiety disorder is just that we are all very anxious people and it varies as to what triggers it.

[UFC_fan]

This post is very relevant for me at the moment, for the first time in my 10 years of GAD suffering the doctor has suddenly suggested that my problems are very much OCD related, the not knowing thing is the problem for me and I obsess like mad over everything thing including getting intrusive thoughts that depress the hell out of me.

I am due to see a psychiatrist privately in the next few weeks so we'll see what he thinks