Okay guys, it's been just about a year and I want to say, thank you to all of you for all the help you guys gave me, the advice you gave me was spot on and now I can definitely look back and say, I WAS BEING SILLY!

Since this thread I went to see a therapist, discovered I was suffering from vitamin D deficiency which was causing me to feel down, depressed, and have negative feelings, it can also cause strange behaviour with muscles so that may explain the twitching! I have improved greatly and whilst I have the odd moment where I'm a little worried, I get past it and continue my life as normal. And most of all, still managed to pass my exams at university

I just want to say, anyone who visits this forum looking for help or any advice or whatever from someone who has suffered from stress relating to a perceived onset of ALS, that it does take time, it takes time for you to get past it, but trust me, you do not have this awful disease, and you will be fine. With time I began to realise that I definitely do not have a neurodegenerative disease because after a while you would see real symptoms. Seek help from a psychologist or a therapist, fight it and eventually the stress, the worry and panic will ease.

I found that it wasn't about convincing yourself you don't have the disease, it was about accepting that there is a infinitesimally small chance of developing it, but we must be comfortable with this, because we cannot control that and we must accept that there is a certain degree of uncertainty to life that we cannot decide ourselves.

Lots of positive vibes and hugs, thank you so much

---------- Post added at 21:41 ---------- Previous post was at 21:35 ----------

Quote Originally Posted by WorryRaptor View Post
I'm terrified of having ALS or MS due to perceived weakness and heaviness in entire left side and face. Logic tells me that these conditions wouldn't effect the entire left side in one go. While I'm feeling weak, I'm not actually weak, so I'm trying to cling onto the fact that functional neurological disorder is a real thing and that my brain is just being a ball of anxiety.
I wonder does persistent anxiety change the brains chemistry enough for it to become a subconscious habit? Almost like anti-anxiety meds would temporarily do, just the opposite effect? So, even when relaxed, we experience unsettling symptoms. For those of us who worry about neuro disorders, this 'subconscious awareness' is probably manifesting the symptoms even more. Like our survival mode is turned up to max levels.
You are right to be afraid of ALS, it's a scary illness, but what you must consider is that the chances of developing it are very slim, and realise that the symptoms you are having are just that, symptoms. To tell whether someone has ALS a number of clinical SIGNS must be present, which another person can measure, and visibly see, you do not have these signs. If nothing else, you must remember that ALS is degenerative, so it will only get worse, there will be no times where it's better, or goes away, 3 months down the line, if you are still the same, or are better, you definitely don't have it. The human brain is a strange thing, it can fixate on things which are very arbitrary and aren't worth stressing over.

I wish you the very best in trying to get over the health anxiety