Anyone Successfully Treated HA?

[jordanbdailey]

Hey all, I’m curious if anyone has successfully treated their health anxiety? I’ve had health anxiety for over 20 years and I’ve decided I can no loner live like this and am looking for a few stories of those who have been down that road. Did you have therapy, medication, etc?

[Thelegend27]

i'm 26 years old and i've had HA for probably around 7 years at least, i have yet to successfully treat it 100% but i've found major relief at times, and i've also been able to socialize and get out more for several months before spiraling back into anxiety. but for the past 3 years it seems i've been stuck in a loop i can't get out of. it all started with heart palpitations and Google, and that carried on for about 6 years, and now i have an obssesion with cancer, i'm always thinking i have cancer, this started a year ago after discovering some nodes in my neck and you'd think after a year i'd get over it and realize i'm not sick.

HA can be beat with or without meds, i've read many peoples success stories, i just hope i can join that discussion someday soon.

[snowflake293]

I was treated with medication and CBT and managed a whole year free of health anxiety. Sadly it has returned but I am revisiting the techniques I learned through CBT to help me cope with it.

Recovery is possible so don't give up hope. It isn't always easy and sometimes we have to try really, really hard but there is a way out of living in fear.

[Blonde123]

For me the reason I have HA is when something isn't right health wise. From a twitch twinge or ache and pain, something really simple is blown out of proportion by my fears and that's when my HA kicks in which feeds the symptoms and prolongs them. Its a vicious circle. I suspect most people are like that. Periods of being free from symptoms but the minute something happens it sets of their anxiety and they spiral. that's what Im like anyway. I can go months or up to a year being healthy but the minute a headache or at the moment nose bleed with my son happens Im awful.

[snowflake293]

For me the reason I have HA is when something isn't right health wise. From a twitch twinge or ache and pain, something really simple is blown out of proportion by my fears and that's when my HA kicks in which feeds the symptoms and prolongs them. Its a vicious circle. I suspect most people are like that. Periods of being free from symptoms but the minute something happens it sets of their anxiety and they spiral. that's what Im like anyway. I can go months or up to a year being healthy but the minute a headache or at the moment nose bleed with my son happens Im awful.

I can relate to this 100%! At the moment my HA is on 'high alert' and even my achy legs from wearing new shoes yesterday are making me on edge!

[ServerError]

I was treated 100% successfully. That's all there is to it in my case really.

[budgie1979]

For me the reason I have HA is when something isn't right health wise. From a twitch twinge or ache and pain, something really simple is blown out of proportion by my fears and that's when my HA kicks in which feeds the symptoms and prolongs them. Its a vicious circle. I suspect most people are like that. Periods of being free from symptoms but the minute something happens it sets of their anxiety and they spiral. that's what Im like anyway. I can go months or up to a year being healthy but the minute a headache or at the moment nose bleed with my son happens Im awful.

This is my experience as well. One little thing will go off (as you get from time to time, because we are human) and then it's like a chain reaction. I'll have a stomach bug, and that starts the anxiety, which means my stomach never quite recovers, then it's headaches, vision disturbances, etc. Right now, I'm dealing with IBS and acid reflux that I'm sure have been exacerbated by my anxiety that flared up months ago when I had an ovarian cyst and had myself convinced it was cancer. The cyst resolved on its own, but the anxiety-related problems persist, and since they are actual health issues it leads to more tests (have to do an endoscopy for the reflux), which leads to more anxiety. I'm sure I'll get a handle on it once I can be done with the testing, but right now it's just awful.