Constantly worried about my health and my children's future

[amitc23]

Hi
I have gone through constant Health anxiety for many years and used to take alcohol for many years, which I have stopped now. I also have diabetes and recently My Doctor identified that I am developing Liver Fibrosis , but he said that if I stop alcohol and control diabetes , there should not be any problems for many years.

However I am in great worry since then and have almost searched entire internet for this and have been particularly worried about my daughters who are quite young (13 and 8). Problem is once you see the internet , only the worst things catch your eyes.

I am particularly more depressed and anxious in the mornings. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks

[Kaede]

I'm sorry to hear you are having such a rough time.

I'm not sure whether I am the correct person to be dishing out advice on this as I have spent almost every waking minute thinking about my health and I'm at the point where I can't even distinguish what is a standard body process and what is abnormal.

But here goes:

1. Don't google - this is something that every one on here should probaly tattoo on their forehead, so they see it in the mirror every day.

2. Follow your doctor's advice

3. Eat healthy, get enough exercise

4. Distract yourself - this is the one I personally find by far the hardest to do. But we have to persist in trying.

5. You mention that it's worst in the morning. Is there something particularly stressfull that happens in the mornings that s triggering this? Could you do something to alleviate the morning stress?

6. Talk to someone about what you're going through. I have burried this in myself for weeks conciously and perhaps even for months unconciously when it came to one particular concern that started it all. Which was a huge mistake and sent me onto a downward spiral.

[Fishmanpa]

Frankly, doing what your doctor says is the best advice anyone could give. If you take care of yourself, exercise (even walking), eat right and stop drinking, you'll live a long and relatively healthy life.

The ball is in your court and it's an easy lay up for the win

Positive thoughts

[amitc23]

Thanks @kaede and @fishmanpa.

I don't know what causes more anxiety in mornings. It becomes better as day progresses. I am following Doctor Advise strictly.

[Kaede]

Thanks @kaede and @fishmanpa.

I don't know what causes more anxiety in mornings. It becomes better as day progresses. I am following Doctor Advise strictly.

Glad to hear that.

So when you start getting anxious in the morning, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you are doing as the doctor advised you to do. I know that it won't make your worries disappear, but it might make it just a tiny bit easier.

[Fishmanpa]

I don't know what causes more anxiety in mornings. It becomes better as day progresses.

Just my opinion from personal experience. I don't suffer from anxiety. That being said, I deal with my own health issues and for the last 4 months the very serious health issues of my wife.

So... I would go to sleep and for those hours I was sleeping and dreaming, the problems I was facing would go away. Sure, occasionally they would enter my dreams but for the most part, I was relaxed and at peace. Then the alarm went off and it was only a moment or two before the reality of life smacked me upside the head and there you go... back to worry and stress. I think this is the same for anxiety sufferers. Then for some, depending on their day, their anxiety reduces as the day goes on.

Positive thoughts

[Kaede]

Just my opinion from personal experience. I don't suffer from anxiety. That being said, I deal with my own health issues and for the last 4 months the very serious health issues of my wife.

So... I would go to sleep and for those hours I was sleeping and dreaming, the problems I was facing would go away. Sure, occasionally they would enter my dreams but for the most part, I was relaxed and at peace. Then the alarm went off and it was only a moment or two before the reality of life smacked me upside the head and there you go... back to worry and stress. I think this is the same for anxiety sufferers. Then for some, depending on their day, their anxiety reduces as the day goes on.

Positive thoughts

This is so true.

Although I haven't been diagnosed with anxiety, so I can't say that I have it. (Just like with physical ailemnts, one should not self-diagnose in the mental health department either). But over the last 2 months that I have been seriously struggling, I have seeked refugee in sleep. I don't really remember my dreams much, so hours spent sleeping are wonderful. Then I wake up often very early in the morning and thefirst thing on order is checking for symptoms and so on.

Btw Fishmanpa, let me use this opportunity to tell you that I admire you greatly. I think that your posts filled with logic are a great enrichement to this board. And it's wonderful that you take so much time to help others on here given all the struggles in your personal life. Thank you.

[Fishmanpa]

Btw Fishmanpa, let me use this opportunity to tell you that I admire you greatly. I think that your posts filled with logic are a great enrichement to this board. And it's wonderful that you take so much time to help others on here given all the struggles in your personal life. Thank you.

Thank you... You know... Everyone worries and has stress in their lives. It's when it becomes debilitating is it deemed "mental illness" IMO. I say I don't suffer from anxiety. That's probably not entirely true. With what I've gone through and currently going through, who wouldn't? I called my worry over a cancer recurrence "scanxiety", which was stress and anxiety related to my cancer coming back. After my 1st heart attack as well as after my cancer I suffered from some depression and sought therapy and took meds. So I guess you could say I'm a sufferer to a degree but it doesn't impair my life and I've learned coping skills to address it. I'm just sharing my experience.

Positive thoughts

[KeeKee]

Not sure if it's true, but I've heard or read that some people are more anxious on a morning as we get a spike in cortisol when we wake up (could we adrenaline but sure it's cortisol).