Other people's symptoms

[Lana]

Guys,

Hello and good health to all,

I have a question, asking for a piece of advice: sometimes, when I go through people's posts, I see that some say: "I read that illness A produce symptom B and symptom C... Not always, but sometimes, I get high anxiety after reading it, because all of a sudden i "recognize" that very symptom in myself, and start obsessing about something that was not on my HA radar at all. It happened last night with a post, I am not going to mention which one for other people's sake. How do I stop that? Every bit of advice would help , and thank you in advance.

[Iwant2bhealthy]

You can't simply stop that. Unfortunately that's how HA works... The anxious mind is searching for something to latch onto. In my opinion the only way to stop that is to deal with your HA directly, by the means of theraphy and medication when needed. Are you getting any treatment for your HA at the moment?

[NoraB]

I have a question, asking for a piece of advice: sometimes, when I go through people's posts, I see that some say: "I read that illness A produce symptom B and symptom C... Not always, but sometimes, I get high anxiety after reading it, because all of a sudden i "recognize" that very symptom in myself, and start obsessing about something that was not on my HA radar at all. It happened last night with a post, I am not going to mention which one for other people's sake. How do I stop that?

You sort your health anxiety out.

You will know you're in control of your health anxiety when you see words like 'cancer' and your heart doesn't start racing. However, to get to that point takes time, effort, and determination.

[pulisa]

It isn't helpful to go through people's posts because you are bound to be suggestible to some symptom or other which triggers you. It's the morbid fascination with illness. I do think that you need to be very disciplined with yourself over what you read/"research".

[BrokenGirl]

It's a reason I tend to stay away from the forum a lot. I often think I'd like to help and offer advice to other people here but I just can't. I'm not in a good enough place in my HA head to do that.
I've often been triggered by just reading the title of a thread, never mind going in to it.
When you're in a bad place with HA you have to expect that you will be triggered by reading some posts. Working on your HA is the only was to get around this

[Lana]

Guys, all of you

Thank you so much. Of course , I know I need to sort the damned HA, and I have been trying for years. My HA is much worsened by my OCD, which has been diagnosed as a real , clinical OCD, very severe. I find that what Pulisa said is , for me, the best option: simply do not look, and, for God;s sake, do not google. When I feel my OCD raging on any given day ( or days), I go back to reading "The Man Who Couldn't Stop", by David Adam. In my opinion , it is the absolute best book about OCD (it is NOT one of those worthless "self-help" books, that almost never help anyone); it is the story of his extremely severe OCD that, in his own words, took away many years of his life, forever. It is just his story, and how he tried to find relief, looking everywhere. But, as BrokenGirl said, I also love to come to the Forum and offer some help to other people, if I can. In any case, the Forum is very valuable, and thank you all who keep on maintaining it for all those sufferers out there.