Awareness of health anxiety

[Sunshinegirl82]

I’ve been suffering from health anxiety since December last year and it really did come to its peak earlier on this year. Now I appreciate and understand it falls under the mental health umbrella but we really do need awareness of this anxiety I didn’t even know it could exist until I was diagnosed with it. I’ve heard of hypochondria but it’s used a such a random word it can mean anything and most of the time people laugh about it. I appreciate and understand raising awareness for illness that are life threatening and of course it needs to be done but unfortunately there’s health anxiety and others also deal with the other side of awareness campaign when people like us read too much init to it and self diagnosing our symptoms with it. I sometimes feel so shameful to think that I keep thinking I have a certain life threatening illnesses when Others are actually going through it. My doctors say you’re ill as well so it doesn’t matter these are the symptoms of your illness but doesn’t help you feeling bad and other people
Don’t really have an understanding of it as health anxiety is something that’s not talked about or not enough awareness is raised about it. When I talk to people now I go out of my way to explain my thoughts and feelings and make them aware that such things do exist. Wether they believe me
Or not is another thing 🤷🏽*♀️. I just feel as fellow sufferers we should be making people aware
Of health anxiety and not to make it an office laugh calling someone hypochondriac or dr Google as for some this is serious and it’s effecting Their way of life.

[alcopop]

Completely agree. I've had terrible HA since childhood and have found very little help and advice anywhere .... except for this site/forum. It really is a godsend.
Lots of people roll their eyes at you or tell you to "go to the doc if you're worried"... but it's not as simple as that...
If you have any ideas of how to spread awareness I'd be up for helping.

[Carys]

I think every disability or mental health condition becomes an offensive language term and finds its way into the cultural language at some time or other - think of 'Spack', 'Schizo', 'Retard', 'Hypochondriac' and now even you hear things like 'hes so OCD', 'shes psychotic' or similar. To be honest, I don't think this is just the domain of HA and a lack of understanding, I think it is replicated about many conditions.

[Pkstracy]

I agree and I hate when people toss the word triggered around like when someone gets mad or complains about something someone will say to them you're triggered bro or don't get triggered for me triggered is when I hear loud noises or smell lemons or hear a certain song it triggers my ptsd causing a panic attack.

[Sunshinegirl82]

I understand it’s very difficult to change people’s perceptions and ideology, but i think awareness is so important even for fellow sufferers. When I first started to have health anxiety I wasn’t aware of it no one told me it existed, I didn’t read about it anywhere I didn’t see it anywhere on Tv like I do about other issues so I just thought to myself have I gone crazy what is wrong with me ? If only there was a poster up somewhere or If a soap covered this in their story line I could have maybe though hang on a minute I might be suffering from health anxiety, the most disappointing part is even my gp failed to recognise this initially and new very little about it and couldn’t really direct me as to what to do or what actions to take.