New guy with health anxiety

[ItchyOne]

Hello everyone, I'm new here and I just like to tell someone my story.
I've been worrying about my health for the longest time. I often dwell on worst case scenarios with the smallest symptoms. I'd been worried over contracting lupus, heart problems, thyroid disorders, lung problems, liposarcoma, throat cancer... my latest obsession today is pancreatic cancer because my stool is mustard in color.

The problem with me is that I google my symptoms too much. I'm so acutely aware of my body that every little change would irk me. Once I get obsessed with a possible medical problem, I would dwell on it all day. My personal and work life becomes very adversely affected. I know it's irrational but I just can't help thinking about the "what-ifs".

I just hope that I can get out of this mess soon and return to my normal healthy life. sigh...

[bexy1970]

hiya,youll get loads of advice on here,theres loads of us with HA one main thing is DONT GOOGLE!!!! XXX

[valleybear]

Hi there,I have had health anxiety for years and the first and most important rule is , as last poster said , DO NOT GOOGLE....no way, no how!! Sometimes I am not strong enought to resist and it ALWAYS results in my anxiety spirally wildly out of all control!! I know it is difficult, but try to counter every negative thought with a little positive voice and gradually you will listen to the positive words more. Every time you have a frightening thought, counter it with a reason for it to be untrue...and so on. Just my way of dealing with my health anxiety, does not always work but really helps me. :blush:

[Willbrand]

Dr. Google is the worst enemy of us HA sufferers.. Try doing something or finding a hobby that will keep u really busy to distract your mind of thinking heatlh issues.. I too suffer the same..I know it's hard to do it.. But you can do it.. Just one day at a time,read other threads here..that too will be a great help,because instead of thinking what dr google is tellin you , you will find more facts here..because we all suffer the same..

[ItchyOne]

Thank you guys for your advice! I will try to stay off Dr Google as much as possible! :blush:

[ItchyOne]

Hi again, since I mentioned my anxiety on pancreatic cancer (above post), I thought I should give you guys an update. Eventually, after days of having mustard (almost yellow) stools, I decided to visit the GP. The doctor, after hearing my story, decided to run some tests just to be sure. I had a blood test on my liver function, complete blood count, an ultrasound sound on my gallbladder, and a two-day stool sample test. Yes, he is very thorough and I like that very much.

As you would have expected already, everything checks out. I'm as healthy as can be. Apparently, I must have eaten something that causes my stool to turn yellow for days. You can't imagine how relieved I was after seeing my stool turned back to normal brown after a week of mental torture.

As far as HA goes, I'm not off the hook yet. I still get anxiety every now and then, and the intensity varies with the kind of symptoms I have. However, I've been staying off google for weeks now and I think I can live with that. Life is better now... well, until the next worrying symptom surfaces...

[no_name]

Yeah, it's the same situation with me. I "imagine" some illness that has hit me and then go to make some medical tests... Usually nothing turns out and i am relieved for some time, but as you say- until the next "disease" worries me again... The hypochondria is a hard to defeat, but we must do it! I am in this condition for 8 years now but can't find a way to do it, it hits me from time to time:weep: