Sometimes I think that I would make a good subject for hypnotism because I'm so suggestive.
For eg, I was experiencing some breast pain and went to my GP. He examined me and said he didn't feel anything worrying but would refer me to the breast clinic just in case. In the course of that exam, he pressed my armpit.
When he pressed my armpit, I remembered stuff I'd read online many years ago, during a previous scare - about lymph nodes. I figured he was checking my lymph nodes.
About 3 days later, I became convinced that I could feel pain in my armpit….I want to stress that this seemed REAL and I was aware of the suggestion aspect of it, but even being aware of that didn't help. And it persisted, for weeks - even after an ultrasound on my armpit and breast at the breast clinic found nothing. Then some other health concern steals my attention (currently, chest pains), and I realise several days later that I haven't even thought of my armpit ONCE. And that therefore that was probably all in my mind. But it FELT real, damnit!
Or there was the time when my husband said 'that scare might be over, but you'll be on to the next one soon enough'. And I said 'no! there IS nothing else!'… but his statement made me think 'what would the next one be, what else is going on in my body that I'm worried about….?' and sure enough, I found something.
It kind of makes me think - am I more susceptible to suggestion than most?Is that why googling and reading stuff online freaks me out? Because most people could read it and not relate it to themselves, but for me it all is immediately applied to me. What is the role of suggestion in anxiety disorders??
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