Lung cancer anxiety.

[JoanB]

im sorry. My anxiety has taken over my life. even with the medicine and therapist's instructions its so overwhelming that i feel i have nowhere left to turn to.

I know im being a nuisance by constantly posting here. and my googling probably doesnt help things. carcinophobia has ruined my life.

i keep telling myself the chances are low. my rational mind and my anxiety feel like theyre at war

[ankietyjoe]

Don't edit something for being too curt, say what you want. I'm not judging you. That fact is that you (and most of us here, including myself) put ourselves in a place where we created the demons in our mind.

You do not have cancer, but your habitual checking and googling keeps reinforcing the irrational fear that you do.

Hence, your fault. Was my fault too when I used to do it.

Stop doing that, and you can recover. Keep doing it, and you never will, ever. Period. No exceptions.

[JoanB]

I woke up, cleared my throaat and there was a streak of blood. Blew my nose and there was much, much more. My rational mind and anxiety are so at odds right now, and i feel like a broken record.

Thank you for the advice, anxietyjoe. My therapist says the same thing. Im keeping a log of my checking behaviours and trying to reduce them conciously.

[ankietyjoe]

Don't try and reduce them, try and stop them. They serve no purpose whatsoever.

And for the record, coughing up blood and blood when you blow your nose isn't uncommon with an infection. I've had it before.