Still struggling with negative thoughts

[vic003]

Hey everyone,

I am still trying to get rid of negative thoughts about cancer. 3 weeks ago a thought popped in my head about when I was little and how I used to eat unwashed strawberries from my aunties farm. I am fearing that in the future I will get cancer. I am trying to distract myself from the thought and try to think of ways to challenge it. One thought I have been thinking is well there must be other people in the world that don't wash their fruit and not worry the way I do. I sometimes feel I am the only one who has eaten unwashed fruit.. I still need convincing im not the only one!!! Maybe you guys could help me with this... I'm going back to my doctor in a week to discuss this with him AGAIN... not looking forward to the embarrassment!!!:blush: Thanks for taking the time to read this. Please respond if you can!!

[Electric Blue]

Hi Vic,

You sound just like me!! I'm also terrified about getting cancer, except mine isn't unwashed fruit...it's a fear of asbestos.
My parent's have an asbestos cement roof and I use to go up there as a child. One time my dad ordered me to go up there and help in install a flue which caused a cloud of dust to come up from the ceiling and I absolutely freaked out!!

But I can tell you right now that of course there's people who've eaten unwashed fruit & vegies..and people even eat food which has been dropped on the ground where god only knows what's been there.

Just like my fear with asbestos, the stuff is in over 1 million buildings across Australia...and the area where I work there's heaps of factories with asbestos roofs which are still in use today...if they were posing a risk would these people be working there? I think not.

I too went to visit my GP to discuss my fears. Not surprisingly they referred me to a pyschologist which has been very helpful.

If you already have an appointment with your GP I would suggest you ask them about being referred to a pyschologist. Under medicare you are entitled to 12 free 1 hr sessions. I've had 6 so far and I tell you right now it's made a difference.

Feel free to PM me if you wish, good luck and take care

[uk23]

Its not all asbestos which is a risk as far as I know. I used to do urban exploring and went into hundreds of buildings with asbestos 'clouds' in them, I know people who slept in those builds as well and also in very confined spaces and they are fine (10 years on).

[Electric Blue]

Yea I am pretty sure I was worrying about nothing.

The type of asbestos in the roof (and the flue was also asbestos) is asbestos cement. Asbestos is bonded into the cement and not likely to be released unless sawed/ drilled/ sanded or cut.

My Dad just pushed the flue back into the hole it was in...none of the asbestos roofing or flue broke. I believe the dust cloud that came up was ceiling dust which had built up over the 45 years the house had been sitting there and when the flue was pushed up some of the dust came up.

Also, I was out in the open air and the dust disappeared pretty quickly...highly unlikely anything is going to happen.