Major Health Anxiety (I think).

[iron_man]

Hello to whoever is reading this,

First of all hey, if you’re reading this then you’ve probably seen the title and thought that you can relate to it. If that’s you then I’m sorry to hear and I wish you all the best.

Anyway, this is the first time I’ve written something like this so bare with me. I just gonna share some of my experiences with you and I hope it makes you feel less alone.

I’ve been having what I would think is health related anxiety for probably almost a year now. Pretty much everyday, the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep is my health. More specifically, I think about things that could be wrong with me and then what would happen to me and the people around me if these things were wrong with me.

I create full scenarios in my head about what would happen if I was diagnosed with some fatal disease. Every time I feel something I think is wrong I’m straight away on Google trying to figure out what’s wrong with me. I always end up finding something cancer related or life-threatening then I build up the worst case scenario thing in my head.

I spend everyday constantly worrying about my health. I sometimes have panic attacks when I Google up symptoms that I think I’m experiencing and I end up a mess. This non-stop worrying frequently interferes with things such as school and my personal life.

Aside from this, I feel like a different person than I was a year ago due to my anxiety. I used to be a care-free person who loved life and didn’t stress about anything at all. Now my life is just stress and worry, although it may not seem like it because I’m pretty good at hiding it from people.

I’ve also been to doctors various times and even an ER once because of symptoms I thought I was having. The doctors just said it was stress and things like poor posture and lack of exercise and stuff like that. I didn’t take this for an answer and I’m still here worrying about the same things.

Anyway, that’s about it so thanks for reading if you made it down to here (it was pretty long). If you’re in the same boat as me then please leave a comment I would really appreciate it.

🙂

[quirkywords]

Welcome iron_man to the forum.

Well done for making your first post and sharing your thoughts.

Many people have a health anxiety so by reading your words that will feel relieved they are not alone.

I know a friend who has experienced panic attacks and she convinced herself she was having a heart attack.

I was wondering if anything happened or changed in your life a year ago, that may have affected you, could be something small.

Do you feel you have much stress in your life?

How would you feel if you could learn mindfulness or to relax so would not feel anxious?

If you put Health anxiety into the search box at top of the page, you will find different threads that may be helpful.

Quirky

[Doolhof]

Hi iron_man,

I too welcome you to the community here. I see Quirky has provided you with a lovely response. I too was going to ask if something may have happened a year ago to trigger off the anxiety?

As a child, we didn't have computers, they weren't even invented then! My Mum had a book called something like "Should I call the Doctor" and quite often I would see her frequently reading the pages of that book.

I'm certainly no Dr myself, but I have read about anxiety and suffered from it myself. It really is amazing what the body can do to itself! I do believe what the Drs. have told you can be true. It is also beneficial to have your concerns talked about and have issues checked to make sure there are no underlying health concerns.

Have you asked your Dr. about referring you to someone who could help you understand your anxiety?

When you wake up in the morning and you discover your mind is starting to tell you an anxiety story, can you make yourself stop thinking that way? Can you change your thoughts to something else?

If you were to say think of country for every letter of the alphabet, would that distract your mind enough to lower the level of your anxiety?

Like Quirky mentioned, there is a lot of information on the forum and also on the Beyondblue site regarding what helps with anxiety.

All the best, cheers from Dools