Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 29

Thread: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

  1. #1

    Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    Hi,

    I was just wondering if there were any other people around with the same sort of anxiety. I am a nurse, but i have health anxiety. Sounds strange, i know...a nurse with hypochondria! Im a doctors worst nightmare! (And, believe it or not, i actually started the job AFTER the anxiety began....talk about becoming my own worst enemy!)

    Anyway, i tend to find that the symptoms i get and the health problems i fixate on are related to what speciality im working in at the time. So, it used to be that i thought i had PVD, now its heart disease. I KNOW that its all in my head, its psychosomatic etc, etc, blah, blah...but the palpitations and pains i get in my chest, and the panic i feel when they occur, ARE real and, when im in the middle of the anxiety/panic attacks, i cant seem to sort out the facts from the fear.

    Ive read posts from people who do the whole angel on one shoulder/devil on the other, arguing with themselves and rationalising the symptoms vs. the anxiety, and i do that myself, but i think its the fact that i have a broader knowledge than a lot of people that is my downfall. For instance, there are maybe some symptoms that only a health professional could know to look out for, so i get fixated on that, then i start to develop that symptom ON TOP OF all the others. So i MUST be ill, right??? The brain, its great, but its a bit of a monkey, too....

    Thanks to anyone whos read my rabbiting... Just typing it has made me feel a little lighter...

    x x x

  2. #2

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    Hello . I work in health care and suffer from health anxity but i am only an auxillary nurse! People say im the biggest hypocondriact they know, i get a slight pain in my chest and i think im having a heart attack but people dont realise that im genually fear striken and do believe my heart is going into attack and im going to die. I am only 18 and i wish i didnt think about these things but i cant help it.

  3. #3

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    Its strange how your body works vs. your mind.

    x

    ps, theres no such thing as 'only' an auxiliary nurse! You lot keep the hospitals going!
    __________________
    'Ive got a guardian angel tattooed on my shoulder, she's been watching over me...'

  4. #4

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    I know exactly what you mean. I'm a nurse and I've worked LTC, oncology, and med surg so I've seen a little of everything and whatever "illness" I have always seems to be related to wherever I'm working at the moment lol. I think I have found oncology to affect me the worst though.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    55

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    we call the devil/angel thing 'being in two parts' and parts therapy is very powerful for resolving inner conflict. In no way can i do it justice here but you should get the gist, don't do it just learn ok, its a mini demo.
    pick a hand for one thought and the other hand for the other (opposite) thought, these are the parts. you are asked to 'ask' the parts in turn to find out what it is trying to get for you, and after some deeper questioning you'll often find they both want the same thing, for instance...
    "Whats important about fear for health?"
    "uuum I want to be healthy"
    "what will this give you"
    "peace"
    this is very abbreviated! both parts lead to the same goal, then we intergrate them back together using an imagination technique and both parts are back together again and this lead to a sense of certainty.
    This is done by some hypnotherapists/ NLPers I use it often and it really works!

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Posts
    246

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    im a psychologist and i have it.
    __________________
    -My Life.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    243

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    Hi....im nearly 4th year into my pharmacy degree! i know what you mean, sometimes knowing more can be good for some worries but an absolute killer for others. I too have arguements within my head about my symptoms, sometimes i think im kidding myself by putting my symptoms down to anxiety even though im 98% sure they are!

    When training to be a pharmacist we are taught to recognise so many warning signs and subtle symptoms, which makes it so easy to make a differential diagnosis on yourself.....more often than not for me its the worse case scenario or the 1 in a tenthousand chance illness. Ironically im very anxious about taking medicines too x
    __________________
    “Organic chemistry is the chemistry of carbon compounds. Biochemistry is the study of carbon compounds that crawl.”

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    613

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    Ex Psychiatric nurse and social support worker..oh! yes have Health Anxiety surrounding cardiovascular issues for years also Depression , GAD and panic attacks. Phew!
    __________________
    Mhairi

  9. #9

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    Hi, Im a Nurse and I too suffer with chronic health anxiety. At present its ectopics and heart issues. It gives me panic attacks all the time. Sometimes wish I had chosen another profession!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    3,735

    Re: Health Professional = Health Anxiety??

    I worked in a Drs surgery ( lowly in comparison to everyone else on this post!) but gave me access to everyones health records and tests etc - I found that I would be updating someones notes and come across a symptom that ended up being cancer and of course I had had that symptom! I also used to issue prescriptions( pre dr check) so knew all about huge number of drugs including their side effects. I find health anxiety means my brain is like a sponge retaining any health info ( have been told I would have made a good diagnostic Dr! by another Dr) its not so bad with lay people who look wonderingly at me and ask how I know so much medical info if I forget myself and say something and I can say oh I worked at a Drs for ages but have come unstuck with other Drs who look at you and say how on earth do you know that which straight aways alerts them to health anxiety.

Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Health anxiety?
    By madmxe in forum Health Anxiety
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-11-08, 16:46
  2. Health anx or health probs ?..
    By richieshealth in forum Health Anxiety
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 29-10-08, 01:06
  3. Replies: 12
    Last Post: 28-08-08, 15:35
  4. Needed suggestions from health professional
    By louid in forum Health Anxiety
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 15-01-08, 06:58
  5. New - Health Anxiety
    By Sanjay in forum Panic / Panic Attacks
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 29-09-05, 01:49

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •