health anxiety question

[ryanmorgz]

can health anxiety make you imagine that you are feeling symptoms of a particular illness?

say if i typed in heart failure into google and look up symptoms would i imagine that i have those symptoms?7

like a few days ago i watched a programme about a woman who was pregant and didnt know it and she had cancer and then she had heart failure and kidney failure. ever since i watched it i have been feeling like i have the symptoms she was describing. is this health anxiety?. should i go to the doctor or not?

i was worried about it before, but after tht it feels worse, i am 16

[snowgoose]

hello Ryan:)

anxiety can mimic any illness believe me ..........awful real feelings .

log onto Dr Google which is big NO NO ..........and we can convince ourselves into all sorts of illness .

it is anxiety mostly .....so dont google Ryan .it always has the worst scenario for innocent symptoms .

wont hurt to see your doctor if this is affecting your every day life .
you are 16 .......so nip this in the bud .xx

[Natalie x]

Hi Ryan. Yes, it is very easy to start imagining symptoms after you have googled or heard about a particular experience. I have done this on many occassions after discovering what the actual symptoms are and then you get so tuned into this which adds more stress and worry. Are you receiving cbt for your anxiety? You are only 16 and as snowgoose says, you really should get some help if you aren't already. I'm 19 and have suffered with ha since before 18. Since that time it has affected ne greatly and has resulted in me not being able to do things like I used to like socialising with friends, going holidays etc as I always worry. It shouldn't affect your every day life so you should speak to your doctor to see what help there is for you :) x

[ciccone-hassell]

hey ryan yeah dr google allways makes my stress levels go up i'm 32 and its controled my life many years i agree with others here go see doc and nip it before you get to my age i no i'm youngish lol but its made my life hell and wouldnt want any 1 feelin the same as i do

[debs71]

Definitely Ryan, without question.

I think that when our anxiety rises, every little thing we feel physically becomes so much bigger than it actually is, and then we start questioning what we 'have', look it up on google, find our symptoms and automatically home in on the most serious illness it could possibly be. If things continue in that fashion then that is HA in a nutshell.

I don't have HA personally, but I certainly find that when I am anxious, I feel worse physically and do fret a bit whether I am unwell. A few months back I had bad left side chest and shoulder pain. At first I didn't think much of it, but after days of it I did start to wonder if it was cardiac. Of course in the end it passed once I stopped stressing.

The fact you are asking that question is REALLY positive, as HA sufferers really struggle with believing that their symptoms are anxiety driven and not real illness.

Basically, anxiety is a total creep that plays tricks on our minds.xxxxx:hugs:

[rainbowOne]

Yes it definitely can.

Ok, think of a child, that child has nits. Yep, horrible little creatures. He's covered in them. Itching away. What's worse he's been in YOUR house near you! And you probably have nits too....

Bet your head itches now?

Our bodies can imagine some crazy feelings.

[s11fyx]

the mind is very very powerful it can make you have any symptom that your worried about and the symptoms will feel awful.

im obsessed with my heart so if i think about it it beats faster i get pain ect x

[vix73]

Hi,
Yes it does. I have imagained myself having everything possibly wrong with me. Looking up syptoms on nhs websites.Don't do it hun! I have had to stop myself from doing it because it only gives you more to worry about.
If you want peace of mind ask your doc for a full blood test and an ecg. I have had one and now realise that there was nothing actually wrong with me other than the anxiaty.
Good luck!
vix