worry about everything

[boo12]

i worry bout everything, i cant put it in to words how i feel. i get i pain in my chest and i convince myself im dying of heart attack, or if i cant go to the toilet properly, ive got bowl cancer. or a head ache and its a brain tumor. i even have a tingling feeling on my back, iv thought it was skin cancer and passed through to my lung and now i have lung cancer! i think the worst of everything. my boyfriend is starting to get really pissed off. iv covinced myself iv got cancer and its gone undetectedand that 1 day im just all of a suddon going to die of it!! i think it all started about 2 years ago but its getting worse. im 25 and have 2 children. think im soo scared of dying and leaving them :-( anyone feel the same????

[Catalyst]

Hey

You're not alone hun. You'll find loads of people here that are exactly the same! Me for one.

(I've tried to attach another thread to this that addresses the whole thing about having kids & worrying more.) I know that is a big issue for me. And the mid twenties seem to be a classic time for health anxieties to creep in - getting older, settling down, realising you're not a 'youth' anymore.

I hope you can find some comfort in knowing that other people feel the same as you do. I find distraction is best. Ironically, it is often a new 'symptom' worrying me, that actually distracts me from an old one. Then I suddenly realise that the old thing isn't an issue anymore! Some type of non-HA distraction would, of course, be better!

I hope things improve for you. :hugs:

Carly

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=72357

[Carys]

Yes, loads of people here and out there in the 'real world' will know exactly how you feel. You have Health Anxiety and, as the previous poster said, having young children and being reponsible for them can often be a trigger.

[Primula]

Yes Boo, I have had these feelings. It feels much worse when you have young children, as you have all the stresses that that brings, and you panic about not being well enough to look after them. You are still very young, and it is highly unlikely that you will fall ill to some serious illness. Go to your docs, tell them your worries, explain that you know you have health anxiety but you need some reassurance. They may suggest CBT which is really good, if you health anxiety is not so long standing. Also a good book to read is " It's not all in your head by Asmundson and Taylor", it's a very good book for health anxiety. We all have to learn to live with uncertainty, which I know is not easy, but if you practice it does get easier. Good luck.

[boo12]

thanks, but i really do think there is somethin wrong with me. I bet i do have cancer and everyone thinks im just a moaner, my boyfriend says theres always something wrong with me! but i no what im feeling, i no when im dizzy and gettin chest pains and have a head ache and stomach pains...... errrrr its really doing my head in now. WHATS WRONG WITH ME!!

[Catalyst]

I am sure that what is wrong with you is that you are suffering with Anxiety & a fear of cancer. But do try to pluck up the courage to speak to a doctor to put your mind at rest.

I told you that I feel the same (as in anxious) but I'll elaborate a bit for you..

I get awful chest pains that can be stabbing or aching. The doc says mine is due to a common complaint called costochondritis. Inflammation of the cartilage in the rib joints. I feel it around the area my heart is & it gets worse if I keep pressing on the area.

I often have bowel problems. My grandfather & great-grandfather died of bowel cancer, so when I get bloating & constipation I worry about that. However, I've had a colonoscopy (due to family history) and it just revealed I suffer with IBS. Probably due to my anxiety! It can be incredibly painful sometimes.

I go through stages of having horrid headaches that seem to linger for days. Sometimes they are full blown migraines with visual disturbances. At these times I worry about brain tumours. But in moments of clarity I know they are just headaches.

I often get tingling sensations. Particularly on the side of my face, across the top of my back or in my leg. This usually starts happening when I am worried about other symptoms. It is a common symptom of anxiety.

Dizziness used to be a real problem for me about 8 years ago. I would often feel like I was going to pass out. It used to trigger my panic attacks. I've got that under control now, but I do still get dizzy now and then out of the blue. But it's been 8 years & I'm still here!

I have many other things that bother me from time to time - irregular periods, muscle jerks, twitches, noises in my ears, you name it!

I'm not trying to belittle your symptoms, I wanted to share some of my own issues with you, rather than just say "yes I get anxious too", so you can see that you really are not alone in how you feel. You might not want to speak to a doctor, because you're scared but I really think it will help you if you do. Let us know how you get on?

Carly xx

[countrygirl]

wonderful post Carly. I found the best thing I ever did was admit my problem to my GP in asking for a long appt and openly discussing my health anxiety and asking how best the Dr wanted to manage it - this meant that when I visited which can be as often as once a week I could be honest and after describing my symptoms tell them what my worry was - they could then explain why they thought I was wrong and or send me for a test that would prove they were right:D

If you do this and find your Dr is very unsympathetic then change Drs as with our problem you really need a Dr that will not lose patience with you - most Drs cannot understand out problem but they can be sympathetic to it.

You are describing the main symptom of health anxiety the absolute conviction that every pain or symptom is a sign of something fatal.

[amanda39]

I read your post and thought so easily that i could have written it, I know deep inside that its all anxiety related the chest pains, feeling like my throat is closing over and the dizziness. I too have 2 children and have feel i have health anxiety for all 3 of us, as i said although i know its anxiety its still hard to believe and question it everyday.
This is why i think these board are great knowing i'm not alone and there are others that feel the same way x

[Primula]

Boo, I promise you ,in the past i have totally convinced myself that I have had cancer, and would die very soon. sometimes I've managed to just wait it out until the symptoms have passed, sometimes this has taken weeks of mental torture. Believe me when I say, that I do not underestimate how bad you feel. This has gone on with me from the age of about 29, I am now 48. There have been quite prolonged periods when I have been OK, but about 6 years ago, I got really bad. In the end I had to admit that what I had was Health Anxiety, and my doctor was really helpful. I had CBT and took antidepressants, which have really helped me. I have tried to stop taking them, but unfortunately for me my anxiety comes back after a few months, and I have to start taking them again, but I would prefer to take them for life than feel like I do without them.

Thats why I urge you to go to your Doctor and explain that you are terrified that you are ill, let them do some blood tests and don't think like I did that they are doing it because they think you are ill, they are doing it to put your mind at rest. They may then suggest CBT, which is very effective to try before taking ADs. I feel that if CBT had been available years ago when I first had HA, then I might not have had to take ADs like I do now.

So please, get yourself to the Doctor and get a good CBT book on HA. You are still very young, and the sooner you get this sorted, the sooner you will be able to enjoy your life again. Don't leave it so long like I did, so that the feelings get too entrenched and difficult to shake off. x:hugs: