Some of you seem to be looking for a 'magic bullet', something that will cure your health anxiety and get your life back without you having to do anything.
Sadly this isn't going to happen, but there is a trick that you can start putting into action today which should make you feel better.
First you need to understand that one of the main driving forces behind health anxiety is fear - fear of the unknown, of death and disability. This fear in itself can create symptoms which then spiral and create more fear - it's a vicious cycle of fear and horrible worrying symptoms and once you're sucked into this vortex it feels like there is no escape no matter what you do.
So here's the trick - to understand that you are always going to have symptoms, no matter what. Everyone has weird symptoms, nearly every day. As humans we are not born perfect. Maybe you were born with one leg slightly longer than the other, which starts to cause hip pain when you're 35 - you may think this is cancer, but it's just a 'variation of normal'.
The best analogy is cars. Sometimes your car (especially if it's older) will start to squeak, or roll slightly to one side, or vibrate in an odd way - your car gets 'symptoms'. Yes, there is a chance that these symptoms will cause the car to be a complete write off, but the odds of this are EXTREMELY small. More likely, the car just needs a tweak or a service. Rarely a part will need replacing. But the car, in itself, is just fine.
This is like the human body in so many ways. The thing is, as you get older you will get more weird symptoms as your body ages. This is not to say that you'll get a fatal illness, but that your body will creak and groan like an older car.
As health anxiety sufferers you will have a hard time accepting this, but this is the trick - once you have accepted that you will NEVER lose the symptoms, you can start to get better. Too much of an emphasis is placed on getting rid of the symptoms, when what is REALLY needed is getting rid of the FEAR which surrounds the symptoms. When you can accept that what your body is doing is a variation of normal, however uncomfortable it may feel at the time, you can start to improve.
I am free of health anxiety now, but I still get weird symptoms. The other day I woke up with my left eyelid drooping. With HA I would have run to the doctors screaming 'stroke!', but now I just go 'OK, that's annoying' and don't give it much more thought at all. I am able to brush it off because I AM NO LONGER AFRAID OF IT. This is what you need to strive for too, and hopefully reading this post will have opened your eyes (excuse the pun) to what's needed for recovery.
Happy to answer your questions/comments below...
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thank you.
Originally Posted by Fishmanpa
