Any reasons for your health anxiety

[hopeless]

I suffer with a health anxiety about one particular aspect of my health. It began several years ago after coming across an article in a magazine whereby someone had developed cancer because of something they had done when they were younger.. When i read the article i felt physically sick with fear and worry because i had done something similar when i was younger.. Ever since then the fear and anxiety has never really left me, there are just times when my mind seems stronger and i can put it to the back of my mind and adopt a take each day as it comes attitude..But then there are times when i seem to get low and the overwhelming fear and anxiety descends on me again and i feel so afraid..I have had Cbt, counselling & been on/off anti-deps and anxiety drugs for several yrs.. My health anxiety is a very real fear because i feel as if i innocently did myself harm and what i fear most will eventually happen to me do because of it.. I wondered if anyone elses health anxiety is due to something that happened to them when they were younger and consequently fear the illness will develop and become real later on.. If so how do you cope?

[MONKEE_MAGIK]

Hi Hope,

I have had health anxiety issues since I was very young and I understand what you mean about swinging from being optimistic and able to cope with it and then being anxious and depressed which makes the feeling 10 times worse. I have at least one panic attack a day.

I am always worrying about my diet, using a mobile, taking medications etc incase at some point something related to them causes some adverse affect on my health.

However I think, like me, you need to focus more on positive things you want out of life and make the steps to do those.
The reason I worry so much about my health is that actually I enjoy being alive and experiencing new things but I am focusing too much on this being taken away to really enjoy life.
The health anxiety gets in the way of this so don't let it rule your life!

I know it's easy to say but it isn't impossible to do!

Monkee :)