Has the internet caused our health anxiety?

[Ronan23]

This is a discussion I would like peoples opinion on. More and more lately, i'm waking up to the fact that the internet has completely screwed me up in terms of all the anxieties and worries I feel.

Maybe I was pre-disposed to be a person who worries about their health but there is no doubt in my mind that the internet has made it 1000x as bad. For example, recently I've contracted a chest infection after a cold. I done a bit of googling and seen something called myocarditis which can cause sudden death. I read about it for a few hours and have completely freaked myself out for the last 5 days and been in a constant state of panic. Thinking I'll die at any second. I'm not sure any of you have had the fear of sudden death before but it's very scary.

Without the internet I wouldn't even know such a condition exists. Without the internet maybe I'd go to the doctor more frequently than I should. But my knowledge about the existence of certain conditions would be nowhere near what it is now and thus I'd worry so much less. I recognize the importance of the internet in society, but sometimes I wish it never came into existence. Life would be so much simpler. I couldn't google my every symptom. I couldn't read up on sudden death and convince myself it will happen to me.

Some of you might say get rid of the internet but it's not that simple. The internet is ubiquitous in society. Just wondering what are peoples thoughts on this? Stopping googling is something which could obviously help but any HA sufferer knows it's not that simple to stop googling stuff. Even when not looking for something about a symptom sometimes I'll read a story about a young person dying suddenly and then freak myself out. It's such a vicious circle. I appreciate any replies.

[almamatters]

I have always suffered with HA but the internet and google has made mine much much worse. I used to look conditions up in medical books but as I didn't always have time to go to the library etc things used to get better and I would move on. The internet is a nightmare for people with HA, like you say it is not easy to stop googling.

[IrishLondon]

I completely think the internet has a huge role to play in the number of people suffering from health anxiety. Not just the internet, but also the fact a lot of us now have smart phones - so that wherever we are, at anytime, when we get a symptom we can jump on our phones and diagnose ourselves with numerous illnesses.

I developed anxiety 5 years ago and although the internet didn't cause it, it made it much much worse. Since then, every anxiety symptom I have had has intensified or got worse because of things I have read on the internet.

Nowadays, I try to just visit helpful anxiety websites like this one - so in a funny way the internet both played a role in worsening my anxiety, but is also making it better.

[jimsmrs]

I agree....there is a fine line between Anxiety and Paranoia, how do we distinguish between the two????

[courierdude]

i suffered panic attacks before i was using the internet but i think even the ritual of living through a computer is detrimental to our mental health. i dont just mean googling away to see how sick we are but even the physical aspect of staring at a light(the screen) seating hunched over a keyboard, the mental damage caused by waiting for things to upload, refresh etc.. its all just not natural and probably not something our brains have evolved to happily live with.

its that technology over taking our human nature and our brains forever playing catch up.. wait until the robots take over and just drug us all to do some laborious task for them once our brains are complete jelly : )

[Ronan23]

I'm glad to see people agree with me and it's not just me who thinks this. The issue is that it is a catch 22 situation. For example, the internet can provide great entertainment, I can read soccer articles, fitness articles, play games online and watch movies or stream sports. But on the other hand it significantly worsens my health anxiety to the point of utter panic. It gives me knowledge about things that I would be much better off being ignorant about.

[courierdude]

i think even without the ability to learn which condition you are next to adopt, that the internet, phones, tv etc are still the major contributing aspect to panic attacks that are there.

its just not right being plugged into electronic devices all day and i think that is what causes the real damage.

[almamatters]

I have learnt about illnesses that I would never have heard of through the internet, I have diagnosed myself with everything from brain stem tumours to rare illnesses that you have little chance of ever getting.
As far as electronic devices go yes courierdude I think they play a part in anxiety. I find the constant charging up, checking, devices breaking down very stressful. I still use them though but really wish I could do without them.

[Fishmanpa]

Has it caused HA? No. Has it facilitated it? Yes. Before the internet, HA sufferers would buy medical books and other literature to feed the dragon. Now, it's a click of a mouse or the touch of a screen. Due to the amount of information available and the many unreliable sources, I do believe it's made it worse for many people.

The internet has opened the door and made worrying easier than ever. That being said, it still comes down to a personal choice to treat your illness or feed it regardless of the source.

Positive thoughts

[popejoan]

Yes it has a huge impact on increasing and feeding anxiety. I just panicked because I googled my symptoms and started thinking that I have a brain tumor. Google is like alcohol to alcoholics it's so weird but when I don't google I feel like there's something wrong, it became my way of controlling things, I almost feel guilty when I don't google. It's horrible.