Health Anxiety

[AnxiousBird123]

Hi everyone,

Hope everybody is doing better then I am right now. I'm wondering if anyone has the same anxiety as me. I have this new sensation in my hand, it's like a sharp shooting pain that runs down my hand. It comes and goes and only last a few minutes, I'm trying not to over think it but I keep thinking maybe something is wrong with me.

[Ggrand]

Hello Dear AnxiousBird123

I am sorry that you’re struggling with health anxiety, it’s something that I think I went through many years ago,  when I was first diagnosed with heart disease…every little niggly pain sent me to my Dr…in fear of heart failure…I soon learnt that my days were being wasted because my days were full of my mind constantly being alerted to scanning my chest/arms etc for any signs of pain or discomfort….It took a while but I started trusting my Dr and Cardiologist fully, after all they did go through years and years of schooling to become the professionals they are…now I live my life not even thinking about my heart anymore, doing my daily activities the best I can…If I do feel my heart go into ectopic beats, I distract my thoughts onto something I like to do and off what my mind what’s to pull me down with…

Have you reached out to your Dr. about what you’re feeling in your hand?…if not maybe doing so will ease your mind a bit….I find that constantly scanning our bodies, we will more likely  feel/fing something that doesn’t feel right…Anxiety can and does very often cause us different types of unusual symptoms….

Talk here when you feel up to it…we are here to help support you the best we can…

My kindest thoughts Dear AnxiousBird..

Grandy..

[Bob_22]

Hi AnxiousBird123,

Thanks for the great question. Similar to you I have issues with health anxiety. Instead of my hand I will commonly experience stress in my chest and right shoulder. This is especially painful if I'm in a state of panic. That being said, it is definitely worth getting it checked out by a GP. They can eliminate any physical causes and refer you for CBT to help with controlling your anxiety. Here is some more info about health anxiety: 

https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/CCI/Mental-Health-Professionals/Health-Anxiety/Health-Anxie... 

Bob

[Dk_alexander]

Anxiety is an incredibly powerful physcial force as well as a mental one. I personally suffer man physical symptoms of anxiety and i have health anxiety so the vicious cycle is horrible. What i can recommend is observing how you are feeling when the symptoms occurs, if you are feeling anxious and then it arises, it is likely anxiety causing it. There is also no harm in going to the doctors though. There is  usually a great sense of relief when they work out it is nothing. As for the specific pain, it does sound like a median or ulnar nerve issue which is very common. If you work a desk job or spend a lot of time sitting or leaning on your elbow this issue is especially common,. good luck!