Health anxiety

[tikalouise]

Health anxiety - is killing me before my health is. 
over the last 4 years I’ve been on a downward spiral of anxiety concerning my health. 
every scratch, tickle, cough, sneeze, bowl cramp is something. 
And it worsened rapidly after catching covid for the first time! 
I’m so frightened I only got one dose of the Covid vax because in my head it made me soo sick, maybe it did, I wouldn’t know? Cause my anxiety is so bad I can figure out what is real and what isn’t. 

I live in a constant struggle tallying up which friend is worth seeing cause if I get sick from them will i regret having seen them at all. I always regret it, I don’t want to but I just can’t help it.
 I’ve had a headache for a day and a bit now, convinced myself I’m gonna be bed bound for the next four days, I probably won’t but just the thought of it i don’t understand why!! but just cripples me. My favourite line to say in my head is “what if no one can save you” or “what if today was your last good day” 

I’m so tired I just want to rest, I want my mind to rest. Im done waking up every morning and the first thing I do is swallow to check if I have a sore throat. Im tired of this. 

[Bob_22]

Hi tikalouise,

Thanks for posting and sharing your story. I'm sorry to hear you have been struggling with anxiety. Unfortunately it is a common issue that can be quite debilitiating. But luckily it is well recognised by psychologists and can be managed quite effectively. I have found a resource here which outlines it a bit more: https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Health-Anxiety

I can understand especially some of the anxiety surrounding the covid vaccines. This was a common experience when the vaccines first were released. There some more information regarding vaccine related anxiety on the beyond blue website here: https://coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au/COVID-normal/supporting-personal-wellbeing/managing-anxiety-ab... 

For me personally, I would get quite anxious about chest pains as well as pains in my shoulder or neck. However I learned to manage this with the help of a psychologist who showed me some basic CBT and relaxation techniques. This allowed me to manage panic attacks and look at my physical symptoms objectively and without the physical symptoms of anxiety adding on top of it. I would recommend seeking help from a psychologist or mental health practitioner if this is something you'd be interested in. 

I can imagine it must be quite bad with headaches as tension headaches/migraines can also be worsened with anxiety so they feed onto each other. I hope you can find some help and support on these forums as well if professionally if you're interested. Please keep us updated and I hope your headache eases soon.

Bob