Having a HORRIBLE week...help

[LADennis]

I have had the worst week. First I thought I had throat cancer, didn't. Then I was convinced I had colon cancer, why I do not know. I have about talked myself out of that one BUT I am so stressed and anxious. I cannot sleep, I cannot eat, no appetite, I have lost weight. I stay constipated unless I take a laxative. Upon waking in the morning I am nauseaus for about 10 minutes. All of this has me worried to death that "something else" is wrong with me. My mother and husband keep trying to tell me that I have worked my self up and that all of these symptoms are a result of my anxiety and stress. It that is so then how do I break the cycle? I don't want to be like this. I want my appetite back and I want to sleep through the night. I have been averaging about 3 hours per night this whole week. I feel mentally exhausted. Can any of you shed some light on this please?????

[NatalieSmith]

Hello there :3
Well, everything you're feeling is really normal. The insomnia, the lack of appetite and even the nausea in the morning. It's all your anxiety making these weird "symptoms" appear. I remember that I had all those things all the time, and I used to cry a lot at night 'cause I couldn't sleep at all ._.' The exaustion is mental and physical, and it's horrible D: But you have to understand that all these are symptoms of your anxiety, nothing more! Once you accept that, everything will be easier :3 One of the advices I can give you is try to get distracted; watch a movie before you sleep and try to focuse really hard on him, then sleep eventually will come! Or even read a book, it's really healpfull as well :D You just have to stay calm and trust me, this will pass. But maybe you should go for physiatric help and try to find a remedy that makes you feel better :3

Just try to relax, ok? You will get better no matter how hard it is right now :3

[Jaco45er]

Hi LADennis

Good advice from Natalie there :)

Really, the way I found to overcome this health fear anxiety is to understand that it's your mind keeping you in this negative state, and the anxious mind will suffer from "suggestibility". That is, if you get a pain somewhere, an everyday pain or sensation everyone gets, the person who suffers from Health anx will automatically (and sub-conciously) jump straight to the worst conclusion.

When I had HA real bad, I couldn't even read about anyone my age or younger having a heart attack, without automatically convincing myself that I was about to too, and with the anxiety came the chest pain (harmless) but for me that only strengthened my convictions that I was about to suffer the same fate.

I feel the key to overcoming this anxiety is to channel your energies into how you think, as apposed to reacting to how you feel. Have you ever read any Claire Weekes? her books give a good insight into how to accept the anxiety, convince the anxious mind, and finally overcome the fear and gives you the tools to tackle the negative thinking.

Her books are only a few dollars on amazon, and trust me, I wouldn't recommend it if it wasn't worth the money (speaking from my experience of reading her books).

TC

Jaco

[LADennis]

Thanks so much for the responses. I just ordered a Claire Weekes book. I just have to figure out how to turn my brain off from all the negativity. I have to get better, I have a husband and family to take care of and we are about to be in the middle of a move and I need to be back to my normal self.

[JohnnyLamb]

Dude, take your experience, and have it persist each and every week for two years. That's what I went through from 2007 through 2009. I'm still a mess, but, I gained my weight back, am able to work productively, and be a dad.

My best advice ... exercise. It releases endorphines, stimulates appetite, regulates your bowels, and prepares your body for sleep. I know, it's so hard to get motivated for exercise when you have HA; it's almost impossible. That said, it's the only reliable non-drug anxiety reducer that I know.

I'm a total hypocrite, having not worked out for two weeks because I'm so down. Nonetheless, I know it's the best thing.