Please share TIPS for Recovering physical health by not worrying about it..

[~glowly worm~]

Hello all,

In a previous post i wondered whether others found that worrying about being ill has made them ill? This is because i had a year where i was almost anxiety free and my physical health was amazing i never got ill! Now i have really bad HA i get ill all the time and worry non stop about it.

It helped me to learn i wasnt alone in this and really want to get back to feeling that way but inside i worry that if i stop worrying about being ill i will get ill. Has anyone managed to break free of this? Has anyone manged to stop worrying and as a result feel healthier physically? Or been able to stop worrying about not worrying?? Please share your tips as to HOW you did this if you did this or how you are trying if anything is helping you.

Many thanks..

~ glowly ~

[westofengland]

Hiya
The only things that work for me are -
* Exercise. Walking, running, but you have to find something you like. My xmas present to myself is six sessions with a personal trainer at the gym
* Re-engaging with the world. Through work, new hobbies, etc
* Trying to reduce the ressurance seeking
* Thinking about what BENEFITS I get from the HA and reassurance seeking - when I am obsessively Googling I am not focussing on other pain in my life
* Trying to come to terms with the fact that yes, I WILL die one day and WILL get some ailment eventually. Nobody can be 100% sure about their health
* Thinking how I would feel if I got to 80 and realised I had wasted the last 30 years worrying about illnesses I never got
* Reaching out to help other people

I don't think we will ever be free of HA of some kind but we can learn to live with it

Good luck

[I_worry_2]

Hello Glowy!

I am pretty green around here. I haven't written or participated in many threads. The first thread I wrote was written a day after I came to terms with the fact that I probably wasn't dying (not anytime soon) and that all my certainty that I was, was most likely caused by anxiety disorders.
Mainly, health anxiety.

I found this forum, read many posts, then returned the next day and posted for myself first thing in the morning.

That post was my reality check with myself and also my "plan of action"
I want nothing more than to heal from this cycle and stop it before it gets any more consuming than it already has.
In my thread I write about my struggles with health anxiety, and then I wrote out every thing I plan to do to combat it. So far my plan is proving helpful for sure. I do not think there is any quick fix for anxiety..... I also do not believe that any one plan will work for everyone.

Feel free to visit that thread of mine here, http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=86611
maybe you will find some tools you might like to try. Maybe you may just find a familiar story.
I will warn you though..... I wrote a flippin novel, it's really, really long. LOL
You can cut down half the page if you like, and just find my plan for trying to get control.
Good luck to you. I have decided that the beginning steps to getting well are first; knowing you suffer from anxiety..... and second; really truely wanting to take back control of your emotions and thoughts.

I do not visit this forum too much, because while I have had awesome feedback and great support that has certainly helped me out..... I also fear that in some ways, coming here too often, or reading too much..... or posting about a particular health concern and waiting for a reply...... may just aid to feeding my anxiety and worried/negative thoughts.

again, all the best to you. I know you can do it and you sound like you are asking some great questions!!
:welcome::bighug1:

[honeyp1e]

I also suffer with HA and i no its true the more we dwell and worry about something i find the worse i feel ie- f i wake up with an anxious stomach etc.. i usually sit there examine it poke it and just worry about it then for the rest of the day and i find i feel like basically 100 times worse i take it as if i sit here now and tell myself over an over i have a head ache then i no for sure i will end up having a head ache my mum always said to me "its all in the mind" and i never believed her i thought i was always sick but she was always right :-)
i have then decided no matter what am trying mybest to just get on with my day anxiety or not don't get me wrong i still get the bad days but not like i used to or if i do i just try keeping myself busy, tidying the house etc.... just so i don't end up sitting there dwelling on the feeling or sensations and making myself worse x

[Captain Caveman]

* Exercise. Walking, running, but you have to find something you like. My xmas present to myself is six sessions with a personal trainer at the gym
* Re-engaging with the world. Through work, new hobbies, etc
* Trying to reduce the ressurance seeking
* Thinking about what BENEFITS I get from the HA and reassurance seeking - when I am obsessively Googling I am not focussing on other pain in my life
* Trying to come to terms with the fact that yes, I WILL die one day and WILL get some ailment eventually. Nobody can be 100% sure about their health
* Thinking how I would feel if I got to 80 and realised I had wasted the last 30 years worrying about illnesses I never got
* Reaching out to help other people


Great suggestions westofengland.

Those are what I used also to get better. You have to learn to live with uncertainty, and accept the possibility that you may well have a heart attack, or that lump may end up being cancerous etc. You need to get to the stage where you don't keep seeking reassurance from people. Constant reassurance is just a baid aid treatment.

Here is an article by Jonathan Abramowitz about treatment for health worries :http://www.ocdchicago.org/images/uploads/pdf/EP13.pdf

[~glowly worm~]

These are great tips,
I will come back and read them whenever needing a reminder boost and am going to put them into action :)
Glad to hear it can be done!
Thankyou all very very much! x

[swgrl09]

I don't have much advice, because I am still in the throws of bad anxiety. I just wanted to vouch for anxiety making you sick because this year has been a very stressful year for me, and I have been sick more times than I can count. I used to never get sick! Then this year my mom passed away of a rare illness, and now my HA is sky high and I have been sick all the time - which in turn makes me more anxious.

I will try to use these tips, it is hard to find time sometimes to care for yourself when you work and are a full time student but I must try to do it. I had done yoga in the past but I pushed myself way too far and hurt myself, which of course freaked me out. Maybe I will go back to yoga, but gentler!

Also signed up for a massage at the public clinic at one of the massage therapy schools near me - then you get it for like 80% off because the students need their clinical hours and cannot accept payment. If anybody has one near them I suggest going! I am hoping that helps me relax a little.