Experiencing health anxiety in a different way than normal

[matt1990]

I’m going on 23 years old and have been struggling with health anxiety for the past several years.
Currently HA is affecting me very differently than how I've ever experienced it before. In the past my HA would be spurred on by having specific symptoms and then after googling them I’d be terrified they were caused by a debilitating disease with similar symptoms. An example is that recently I had bleeding, diarrhea and constipation issues that made me think it was colon cancer. I also had another episode for a few weeks where I feared I was about to die from bacterial meningitis. I have overcome these fears, but am now dealing with something else.

Instead of the typical HA where I would worry about my symptoms, now I am having intense fear of diseases in general that I know I don’t have or have any symptoms of. The thing I am so terrified about is the fact these diseases exist and I am deeply saddened for people going through it. I do not know how to deal with this anxiety and it is beginning to affect my daily life.

This new HA issue started for me a few days ago after I became interested in Stephen Hawkings while watching a show about his theories on the universe. I was compelled to google and learn more about him. When I found out ALS caused his debilitation I did not know what it was and looked it up. Once I learned about als, I became distraught over it. I spent days reading about it and feeling sad for the people affected by it.

I just read up on Lou Gehrig and his story had me in tears.

I have been obsessed about ALS, not that I have symptoms of it, but that the disease is out there and people’s lives are destroyed by it. I am very worried it could statistically happen to anyone including in my family or myself one day.


I desperately want to find a way to overcome these anxieties and would like to hear from others about it. When I've read about HA it's usually people experience symptoms and then become scared of a disease. Is the obsessive worrying that I am currently having common for HA/Hypochondria or is it more like OCD mixed? Thanks

[skippy66]

Welcome to life.

I'm not trying to be funny but if you want to enjoy your life to the full you must not waste it dwelling on what may or may not happen. You may die in a car accident, in fact your chances of that are much higher than getting ALS.

Life is fragile, uncertain and fraught with risk and tragedy. As soon as you start accepting this you can start to enjoy it while you can, not thinking about the future.

I wouldn't bother looking for a label either - just be reassured by the knowledge that you can and will get over this period in your life. It all started for me in my early 20's - how I wish I could write a letter to my younger self now.

[matt1990]

Thanks for the reply. Somehow I've managed to convince myself I'm getting this disease and now my anxiety is at its worst ever. How do you get past these anxieties for good?