anybody got advice on how to stay health anxiety free?

[072106]

Alright, so... Most of you probally know who I am.

I'm that 19 year old kid who is obsessed with every new sensation i get in my body and I worry about it until I would get a chemical imbalance in my brain.

Lately, the new problem that was the starting problem is the brain tumor scare.

I was hospitalized early January due to a "scare" if you would.
I got a weird pressure/pain to the right of my head and my right side went numb.
I told my parents and they rushed me to the hospital thinking it was a stroke or a possible brain tumor.
They took a CT scan and it came out with no problems.
Ever since then I have no been the same.

Next was Leukemia, because I was ALWAYS tired.
I demanded a blood test and the only thing they found was UTI.
I got over that quickly and moved on...

Till I got constipated.
Automatically I googled because I was just.. terrified.
My mind started going in circles.. "stomach cancer.. colon cancer... ovary cancer..."
I spent even more money by going to a gastro intestinal doctor.
He said it was 99.9 percent Irritable Bowel Sydrome because of my anxiety of my health, the hosptial scare... full time college courses, and a back breaking job.. That kinda put my mind at ease until he said to raise it to 100% i woudl need a colonoscopy.
All last week I was drained, thinking omg what if... I'm to young for this.. all of this other crap..

Till a few days ago, I just didn't know where I was or who I was..
Almost like a brain fog.
I lost so much weight from being nervous and not eating (constipation and IBS as well)..
I haven't been sleeping right..

And I just have these weird sensatoins and blank mind.
So now I think I have a brain tumor..
Everything I remember from google is like there.
Like I focus on it so much that I forget how to swallow or eat
because my nerves and muscles are so tight.

I clench my teeth, and I have a tendancy of cracking my jaw too to where i think the alignment is getting messed up.

I need some way out to stop thinking about all this herendous stuff before I do give my self a chemical inbalance in the brain.

Any ideas?

[anxious_88]

This sounds exactly like me a couple of years ago. I know exactly what kind of hell you're going through, but trust me it DOES get better. I still get REALLY worried sometimes and have my bad days (and weeks!) but gradually things can change.

There ARE some things that help for me.

Number one rule is: DON'T GOOGLE ANYTHING!!!!!! The internet is a dangerous place for HA sufferers, it just makes you jump to conclusions and start catatrophising thinking everything is cancer. Trust me there are FAR more websites about cancer than any minor ailment, or anything related to stress so just DON'T DO IT. It's really important to relax and distract yourself when you start worrying. Like if I'm at work and I feel panicky I count backwards from 10,000 or count all the red objects in the room, or go for a little walk to clear my mind. At home I find watching an episode of Friends really stops me panicking! Or have a cup of tea, or definitely talk to someone. Don't stay on your own for long periods of time either as that's what always sets me off.

Try and stay busy and active, I try to do a little bit of exercise every day even if it's just a 15 minute jog or a walk in the park. Running and swimming are great for getting rid of stress and anxiety. Also yoga really really helps because it's all about being really relaxed and in control.

I've also been getting some counselling which is a massive help and makes me feel much more in control of my emotions. Try doing some cognitive behaviour therapy: you can either see a therapist or just do it yourself from a self-help book - it really makes you learn to control all the fear and panic.

I clench and grind my teeth as well, it's really hard to stop! Try a head massage, or I'm looking into getting a gum shield to stop me doing it at night. I also get IBS really bad, it has barely gone away for months, just try and monitor what you eat and when you get them, also exercise and eating a lot of fibre help a lot with that. Eating little and often is better than eating big meals.
Relax, look after yourself and don't work too hard as it's when you're exhausted and stressed about other things that you are most vulnerable to HA. I know exactly how you feel. Remember as well that the chances of you having anything serious wrong with you at 19 are VERY VERY SLIM. Just think about how many people you know at your age who had a brain tumour, if any! I don't know of anyone of ANY age, they are relatively rare. You have to start rationalising every thought like that.



I really hope things get better. Hope this helps and isn't just rambling! Lots of love x

[agingwuss]

Really brilliant advice! Thanks anxious for your great tips - and thanks to 072106 for asking & setting this off!
These are just what I need at the moment, I don't know about anyone else.
I agree about the need to not be alone more than you can help. Unfortunately I work at home so I'm alone most of the day - and does that mess my head up!
If anyone's got any more tips for a poor homeworker who needs distraction from those awful HA thoughts, I'd be eternally grateful.

[anxious_88]

I know what you mean - I only work until 2 and then I'm on my own for hours, that's normally when my anxiety gets out of control. Lately I've tried to make a routine so that all my time is accounted for. And take regular breaks from work, get out of the house every two hours for a walk to the shop or a run. Also listening to music really helps. Singing/dancing crazy as it sounds! Try and stay as active as possible! Hope this helps x

[Captain America]

i found this last fall. it helped me so much i can't tell you

Overcoming health anxiety will be much easier if you can avoid some of the most common mistakes made by people trying to do so. So what follows are 3 of the most damaging and common mistakes you should do your very best to avoid:
1) Don't Google Your Symptoms:
People with health anxiety will often Google their symptoms - by that I mean they will look for more information online about a particular feeling or symptom they may be suffering from. Even though this is done with good intentions, it almost always ends in disaster.
This is simply because people with health anxiety will typically continue to research their symptoms until they find something that backs up their worst fears. So anything reassuring they find will be dismissed in favour of the pessimistic discoveries.
To break this habit of researching your symptoms online, begin to limit how much time you allow yourself to do this. Make the reductions small to begin with, so they are easy to stick to.
And then slowly, over time, reduce the amount of time to zero.
You're much more likely to stick to a slow, steady reduction like this when compared to going "cold turkey."
2) Don't Look For Reassurance From Friends & Family:
When you have health anxiety and you develop a physical symptom that worries you, it's understandable that you want to tell someone and have then reassure you that it's nothing serious.
But problems can develop when you do this too often with friends and family members.
It's impossible to understand health anxiety unless you've experienced it firsthand, so those you're closest to will generally not be able to empathise with you or your situation.
Approaching friends and family too often with your health worries can often lead to them becoming frustrated and angry with you. This tension can rapidly increase and the stress that follows can cause you even further problems and even further physical symptoms.
Your relationships with those you're closest to can also be damaged if you begin to discuss your health anxiety worries with them too often.
The solution to all of these potential problems is to only talk about your health anxiety to other people who have - or have had - health anxiety themselves.
They'll understand your situation completely, and they'll also be able to offer you the reassurance you're looking for.
3) Don't Ask Yourself How You Feel:
If you have health anxiety then you probably ask yourself how you feel hundreds of times more often than someone who does not. This can lead to you noticing even the slightest physical sensations that most people would never notice or be aware of.
And then when you notice a physical symptom you'll begin to monitor it obsessively, constantly asking yourself it feels worse or if it feels better.
People who do not have health anxiety simply to not think like this, so it should be your goal to stop this way of thinking.
The best first step to take to stop this kind of thinking is to give yourself routines and tasks to complete at the times of the day when your mind is most likely to wander onto the subject of, "How do I feel?"
One of the times this is most likely to happen is first thing in the morning when you wake up. The first thing on your mind, every morning, may be, "How do I feel?"
The best way to stop this is to get up immediately and get right into a pre-planned routine to stop yourself having time to let this train of thought develop.
So have a shower, make breakfast, get dressed, and if you have any free time then fill it with something - cleaning, exercising, anything to stop yourself from having a mind that's free to wander.
Try to implement a similar strategy at all times of the day that you're likely to slip into asking yourself how you feel.
By successfully avoiding these 3 common mistakes you'll massively increase your chances of overcoming health anxiety.

[Wee-Mee]

^^^^^ THAT IS AWESOME^^^^^

I'm actually saving this to my laptop.

Honestly thankyou so much for posting that.

xxx