Health anxiety in old age

[roogirl]

Hello,

I seem to be suffering a lot this year from health anxiety. I've been ill off and on quite a lot this year and not up to scratch once again at the moment. Have to have some tests (not life threatening) however, for me it's always the what ifs. What if it's a brain tumour or some other form of cancer. My doctor is always telling me, no that's your anxiety talking. Once the anxiety kicks in the worst thing for me is the light headedness and feeling a bit out of it. I find this really debilitating and I'm always worried it will never go away. I know this is unreasonable, but the feeling always returns. I retired earlier this year and that has also been a bit of a struggle trying to find your feet in a new kind of world. I volunteer and am part of a walking group, but at the end of the day, I still go home to an empty house. While I have lived alone for a long period of time now, once my anxiety kicks in I feel isolated and afraid. I have a supportive family and friends, plus I see a clinical psychologist. By the way, my health anxiety commenced about 4 years ago with a misdiagnosis and wrong treatment. It's been quite a struggle. Any suggestions or opinions are always gratefully received.

Roogirl

[Underwood]

Hi Roo Girl, First of all well done on reaching out. I am sorry you seem to be going through a rough year. Your symptoms of feeling lightheaded and 'out of it' are very similar to what I experience when I am highly anxious. I know the feeling of constantly feeling like something is wrong with your health only to 'solve' it and then something else pops up. It is a very frustrating cycle.

You sound like you have a good support network. Is it possible to begin to organise some thing at night that will help you feel better - like a warm bath, funny movie, art class or dinner with friends?

I know sometimes the anxiety can make you feel like you don't want to go anywhere but it is good to stay occupied. Also I find meditation works very well. I hope you start to feel better soon and please remember you are not alone with these feelings and we understand on here!

Sending positive vibes - Underwood.

[baet123]

Hey Roogirl,

Sorry to hear you have been struggling as of late. Anxiety is a horrible condition to have to live with and worrying about your health constantly is so detrimental to our quality of life. I lived with health anxiety for quite a while and I will just add a few points to consider:

1) Do you tend to google your symptoms? When I used to do this it only made me feel worse so try to limit the amount of times you do this.

2) Trust your doctors! I know it is hard especially since your anxiety was triggered by a misdiagnosis. However, making a concerted effort to repeatedly tell ourselves that ''I have been tested and the tests are all fine'' is super important. Hard yes, but important!

3) Have you tried meeting new, like minded people? There are some great apps including w3app and meetup. Finding a social group where there are like minded people would be great for you!

4) This may sound somewhat cliché but eating well, exercising often and getting enough sleep does positively impact our mental well-being.

5) Do you take any medication or see a psychiatrist that specialises in health anxiety?

I hope to hear back from you soon and have a great week.

All the best,

Your friend.

Nick.

[roogirl]

Hi Underwood,

Thanks for getting back to me and the positive suggestions. I will try and take them on board. I'm seeing my psychologist on Wednesday and hopefully we can work out some strategies that help with my current issues.

Many thanks

Roogirl

[roogirl]

Hi Nick,

Thanks for getting back to me and the suggestions. Yes, I google too much. You know the old saying ' a little knowledge is a dangerous thing', well googling certainly is when you start to delve too deeply. I do have a great doctor who I trust, and she reassures me constantly that my symptoms are not dire. Of course my health isn't always great, I am getting older and while the brain may tell me I'm still relatively young, the body tells me otherwise. I used to see a psychiatrist together with my psychologist, but unfortunately, my psychiatrist has recently retired. As for medication, no, I am sensitive to a lot of medications and AD's and anxiety type meds make me feel a whole lot worse. So I talk to my psychologist regularly who is great. I can text or email her if things start to feel really awful as well. We keep trying new strategies and I do have months when I'm well, but once I get sick with 'something' my fears get out of hand.

Thanks for the suggestions of like minded groups, I may look into this as well. I do try to keep myself and mind as occupied as I can.

Once again many thanks for being in touch

Roogirl (Glenda)