do you avoid things because they trigger your fears?

[jojo2316]

Hi - i've just realised that so many ordinary everyday activities are hard for me because they trigger my 'checking behaviour' (i am an obsessive checker), which in turn makes me feel awful: anxiety, sinking dread, panic.

for me the list is:* having a bath, because i always end up checking my breasts, underarm lymphnodes and tummy for lumps.\
*Doing a poo (sorry tmi!) because I always end up looking at it for signs of blood and weird shaped stools (my stools are usually either loose or narrow, which panics me!)
*wiping my bum in case there is blood on the paper
*blowing my nose in case there is blood (scared o nose cancer)
*looking in the mirror in case I look in my mouth at the many little weirdnessess in there that worry me.

The list goes on and as I write i realise how sad it is...... but doing all these simple things fill me with dread! Is anyone else the same? I am an early thirties mum, who has had terrible anxiety since my son was born two years ago.:ohmy:

[lucyeast]

hi i am very similar to you and my anxiety started after having my second daughter in sept last year its horrible im in a constant state of fear that something awful is going to happen to me.
im almost scared to get up in the mornings as i know im gonna feel dreadful again, this did improve for a while but right now i feel like im back at square one

[jojo2316]

Hi Lucy - yes, mornings are the worst, aren't they? You know, I think post-natal anxiety might be an under-reported thing...... with me it isn't depression, exactly, but this horrible feeling of doom, dread, that i am going to die and leave my babies (I had another one in october last year, and my anxiety has gone up a notch since then...)
xx

[marley]

Yes! I hate showering now because it means I have to look at my body and I'm noticing too many things. I resent exercising, because if I lose weight I'll fear I have cancer. Bahhhh! I can't win!

[Starscream]

Yes.

I don't read newspapers or online articles cos they will probably have stats of health issues I fear.

Some TV shows as well.

I have been laying off junk food and keeping up at the gym and people say I am looking leaner and I am getting worried in case it's weight loss through an illness.

[barbn]

and I thought it was just me....I know, doesn't it seem "silly" when we wrtie it all down? Yet, it is very serious....I am also a "poo" checker, a few months ago I was convinced I had colon cancer....I can't stop checking for the symptoms. Unfortunately, I think my anxiety and constant "checking" of everything has lead me to prolonged stomach aches....it is one big circle!

[jojo2316]

I know! And now i think about it a whole lot of other things has come back to me: Occasionaly swallowing, because I hate the sensation of food getting 'stuck' and i fear it indicates throat cancer..... and at other times I have felt anxious about exercise (which i love to do), in case I get head or lung pains, which make me panic about brain or lung cancer.......... it goes on and on!!

[Adelle]

Wow. Jojo. You sound just like me. Im also in my thirties and have had bad health anxiety since having my son 2 years ago. I also check ALL of the things you do. When I brush my teeth I check for mouth cancer, when Im on the loo I look at my skin on legs for skin cancer plus always check my stools, when getting into shower I have to do a mirror check of all my skin. So time consuming but its so the norm for me now which is sad. Im on Zoloft but I still do it. Adelle.xx

[mikhail1028]

im trying to stay out of everything,, google/medhelp the papers myths and hearsays itll just get me worried

Well upon having HA for the last 2 months ive just realized that its just need one fuse to raise our HA I was never afraid,conviced,thinked that i can contract a serious illness such as cancer,HIV name it. I think we are just being guilty or just coming to the point we realize how bad we put ourselves in risky situations. GUILT my friends is the number one factor we felt in some point of our lives we have made a simplest mistake resulting in the most complex disease we can imagine. We love food,Alcohol,Sex every guilty pleasures we enjoy but coming to our senses and realization that MAYBE one day it will come to haunt us thats were our HA rises to the occasion.

[jojo2316]

Thanks for your replies..... Adelle - hello! Another post-natal anxiety person! It so helps to know I'm not alone...... So, do you find your checks help you, reassure you, or do you oten find things to worry about...?
xx

[Starscream]

I bought a newspaper yesterday to read about our football over the weekend.

Ended up skimming it for any illness related articles so I could avoid it.

There was an article, just a small one, on a particular illness I fear, and I KNEW something like that would be in it and threw the newspaper away :weep:

[cassy1989]

I definitely avoid things that trigger my anxiety.

For example I try to avoid nuts and new foods because I am convinced I am going to have an allergic reaction at some point to them.

I avoid exercise because I think it will show up some underlying health condition even though I walk alot and have exercised alot in the past and never had problems.