Health anxiety. How do you cope?

[User1999]

Hi everyone. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s stories of health anxiety and how they cope with it. I work in healthcare, with people who are terminally ill. And I find myself constantly panicking and obsessing over little symptoms of my own and convincing myself I’m really ill. I’m only 21 and I don’t have any major symptoms of anything. My paranoia has gotten to the point where I’m terrified to go see my doctor about anything, for fear of bad news. Which is very irrational. But I finally have made an appointment with my GP next week to discuss my health concerns, and organise a mental health plan to see a psychologist about my anxiety. Has anyone here experienced this? How do you cope? Did a psychologist help? I want to hear all about your experiences with health anxiety. Thanks!

[User1999]

Thanks for writing! It’s quite debilitating hey. I never realised how intense it could actually be! I also have been diagnosed with OCD and anxiety and was put on SSRIs 8 years ago, only recently have I stopped taking them because of emotional bluntness. I saw my gp this week and made him check all my health concerns and getting the reassurance that I’m healthy was SUCH a relief and I highly recommend going and chatting to the GP about it. Also planning to try a new medication and see a psychologist again for a while to get my worries off my chest. We can totally beat this! I wish you all the best, you got this!

[CatastrophySam]

Hi User1999,

My psychologist works in the oncology ward and is also faced with the same. She has to do regular maintenance on herself in terms of meditation and taking regular breaks from work otherwise it gets a bit overwhelming for her. Coming from someone that seems so steady and strong minded it was enlightening to know that everyone no matter who they are, they can be affected by stress and anxiety.

Cheers,

Sam

[jemma09]

Hi again User1999

Thank you! I am glad to hear that!

That is understandable. I wish you all the best with managing your health anxiety.

Thanks! Be kind to yourself 🙂

[User1999]

Update for anyone interested/needing advice: my gp prescribed me a different medication. My health anxiety is pretty much gone - like magic. Now when I get a headache or a pain I think: “I must have strained myself” - not: “omg it’s cancer” like I used to. It’s stopped my constant panic and ‘worst case scenario’ mindset. I’d been on one medication for 9 years and thought it was working well, but the medication switch has really helped me. If you’re feeling obsessively anxious and struggling with debilitating health anxiety, I really recommend just seeing your gp and chatting. It was very nerve racking but it’s quickly solved the issue for me. Goodluck everyone!! You can handle anything 🙂