Hi all, I've been struggling with HA for the past 15 years, maybe longer and have been having CBT for 12 months.
Recently I said to my therapist that I find CBT helpful for specific illness fears eg. to calm down when I think I have a symptom, but not for the underlying feeling of dread that some health related disaster is imminent.
That's me every day. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed I feel like something is wrong with me. Sometimes it's a specific illness, but often it's just feeling like some health related criss is inevitable. So when I have a symptom of something I think "This is it." It's getting worse as I get older and more likely to actually have something happen.
I also find it hard to think about or plan for the future. Every time I get excited about something I start to think "but what if I get diagnosed with x,y,z?" and then I either rob myself of the joy of waiting for an event or don't start a long term project because I think "what's the point if I get something terminal?" or I need to lose weight but every time I start to see success on the scales I have a panic attack that it's because I've got cancer! The thought of something good happening is as scary as something bad.
My therapist is referring me to a colleague who is experienced in schema therapy. Schemas are underlying beliefs that you develop in childhood and there is one where you fear that something terrible is going to happen all the time, including health things.
I was relieved to hear this because I was starting to feel like I was running out of options for treating my HA. I haven't had my first session yet, but will update this thread if people are interested to hear how it goes.