Am i having a break down??

[DonnaT]

Hi everyone.

I need some help, im worried im having a break down or im about to have one. my health anxiety is so so bad its out of control. I cant stop thinking about it, its even started to go in to my dreams. ive been to see the doctor and she has told me that it doesn't worry her at all and its all related to stress,. What a surprise I don't believe her. im so cross with myself. I keep thinking should I make an appointment with the specialist??

These thoughts are there every second of every day. its causig so much depression. I don't live in the uk at the moment and things are very different here where I am, no out of hours emergency access. I feel like I cant take to much more, I only got over another major health worry a month ago after tests. tests that I really didn't need to be honest.

My family is really affected now, I shout and im irritable with my kids all the time, im so ashamed of myself because this is not who I am. I love my kids so much and if I shout at them I HATE myself When I worry and get scared I seem to get angry to. I think its a coping mechanism. my husband and I are constantly fighting and this morning he said some really awful things to me. I know he doesn't mean it, its just because he doesn't want to deal with this any more.

I want to ask a question, if you find yourself googling, do you find you end up with the symptoms you read?? tell me the truth please.

im getting scared, im so desperate, I have no friends really, my family live abroad, I dot want to put this on them, I phoned up for an appointment to see the doctor it will cost nearly 250 pounds and my husband says no. im so frightened now.

[Zim]

Hi Donna,

I suffer from severe HA and felt like I was having a nervous breakdown until about two weeks ago. I felt as though I was literally going insane. I know firsthand that it is difficult to accept, but the simple truth is that our Doctors are correct. It is all related to stress.

I also suffer from depression as a direct result of this. I can appreciate you being out of your comfort zone in another country and I can also empathise with regards to you feeling irritability and 'snapping' at family members every so often. I do the same. It is tough to deal with but your family members will understand.

I have to urge you to try not to Google symptoms under any circumstances. Without your medical history and the knowledge that you are suffering from health anxiety, it will always point to one of the worst outcomes. I learned that the hard way. Occasionally I will slip up and type a minor symptom and that makes everything worse. I haven't Googled for a while now and feel much less panicky because of this.

I appreciate that the cost to visit the Doctor is a problem and I can only say that if you really, really feel you need to see the Doctor, your partner will probably accept that.

What I will say is that there are alternatives to try and make yourself feel better without visiting the Doctor.

Reading books on overcoming anxiety, getting out of the house to do anything at all and engaging in activities with your loved ones will distract you from some of the worries.

I recently started going to the gym because it gets me out of the house, keeps me physically fit, distracts me and uses up the extra adrenaline that we are producing during high anxiety levels.

Is this something you might consider?

I hope you start feeling better soon.

[percythetrain]

Hi Donna

I'm pretty much on the same boat right now and feel so bad for what I'm putting my family through. It' s just so difficult to relax when you think there is a serious disease that has gone undiagnosed, but when I do manage to relax it does make a difference in my quality of life.

Are you seeing a therapist or psychiatrist? I was prescribed clonazepam and it does help to take the edge off. I'm still looking for a talk therapist though because I need all the help I can get lol

[natalie yog]

I'm going through this right now. Constant thoughts of being I'll and death that go on for 24hrs a day. It's the first thing you think about when you wake up and it's your last thought before you go to sleep at night (if you manage to get any sleep). I constantly ask for reassurance from my family that it must be driving them up the wall.
But then I think I've been feeling this way for such a long time (6weeks of feeling unbalanced, brain fog and even in bed I feel like I'm swimming) surely I would physically be a whole lot worse by now and have more symptoms but of course it's hard to ignore that little voice filling your head with doubt.