I've been suffering from HA for several year. Been on citalopram for the past two years, which has helped tremendously, and overall things are pretty good. I still worry about various health conditions in the back of my mind, but usually I can control them.

There is one thing that bothers me though: Like many here, I've worried about various types of cancers at one point or another, and the symptoms that I keep worrying about are bloody stools and coughing blood. I don't know why these two things in particular, but it's almost like I worry more about experiencing the symptoms (and the resulting fear) than any particular disease. Fear of fear basically.

One problem, of course, is that most people probably experience one or the other or both at some point: hemorrhoids, a particularly bad cough, a small tear, etc. Even just tasting a bit of blood in my mouth like the other day (I have a cold with sore throat and very dry mouth at night) triggers me, so I don't look forward what more dramatic symptoms would make me feel like.

Long story short, I am worried that all this worrying about blood-related symptoms will lead to a more generalized fear of blood. I've gotten to the point where I don't want to see blood at all unless I know exactly where it comes from. Any mystery stain is painfully analyzed. I have a dry skin condition, so I frequently get small bloody scratches. My dog has a skin condition as well. My wife... well, she's a healthy woman in her early forties, so there is some blood there too. Bottom line: Blood is a part of life, and I am bound to experience blood from time to time, and I don't want this to become a problem. Do you folks face similar challenges? How do you handle them?