Physical symptoms of (health)Anxiety. (Lady issues)

[distelfink]

So, awhile ago I had symptoms with my breasts, where I was so hung up on the thought that I had breast cancer. (Purely because I had an ache which turned out to be completely normal...

I'm due for a pap smear, and anyway, I had been focusing on the thought and I said to myself to not think about it as much as I was because I knew that my brain would manifest pains.

Anyway, so wouldn't you believe it... Here I am again. I got PMS symptoms and suddenly, that meant I had cervical cancer. I got a random itch and of course, I googled. Then, I had a pain on the undie line where my thigh meets the side of the groin... Again, googled. (Idiot) and then since then, all I am feeling is random senations in my groin, abdomen etc. I have gas and as the gas and bloating is building, it hurts, obviously. Then my thighs get tired when walking up ramps or stairs and of course, I went to, yep, cancer or something else.

Just like last time, if I'm distracted I have no symptoms. When I feel the "pain"... It would only be a level 1 or 2, it's not even anything bad, but in my head, if a body was normal, it wouldn't hurt or have ANY sensation.

I clean for a living so I'm up and down steps, vacuuming and using a heavy blower every day, so my shoulders are sore, but I know that's related to work.

I KNOW I have to see a doctor, I'll be seeing one soon but the second someone says "see your doc for a mind ease" I read "you're dying, see a doctor"

But why can't it all just go away? How can I stop my brain from LOOKING for the pain when it's distracted? I wake up fine, I look for sensations, I find it, it gets worse and it's a.vicious cycle 😞

[Jackson85]

Hi distelfink,

Thanks for posting and sharing your situation. That sounds like a very stressful way of being! I think maybe something that could help keep your mind at ease is understanding how much the mind can influence what you think is happening (or really is happening) in the body, and vice-versa. The way you think about things in your body really can affect what happens, then throw in the placebo effect and you're bound to find some kind of health issue to worry about!

Have you ever found that you'll be totally relaxed, everything is fine, and then you think "oh god did I pay that bill?" and your body floods with adrenaline, and you lose your appetite, maybe need the toilet, and suddenly get agitated where it can even be uncomfortable to sit still? Then, once you realise you did in fact pay it, it all just drains away, replaced by relief and fatigue, from the ordeal you just put your body through. Your body and mind are linked quite comprehensively, and what goes on in one affects the other, then that affects the first one again, so we get into a cycle! "My knee itches, oh I wonder if it's an alergic reaction, oh man now it really itches!". The message goes from body, to brain, to body again, and it all just builds up.

Perhaps something which can help the constant awareness of your symptoms, and maybe even their severity, is saying to yourself "ok, my xyz is uncomfortable, and instead of thinking it's something bad, I'm going to leave it for 2 hours. If I notice that it's still there, without watching the clock or setting an alarm, then it's not in my head". That way, your mind doesn't have the chance to convince you it's something more than it is!

It could be good to see a doctor if you're concerned though. But instead of thinking that you need the doctor because something must be wrong, try to see it as an opportunity to show yourself that in fact everything is fine 🙂

I'm not qualified to recommend treatment, so just an idea to try maybe 🙂

Thanks for posting, I hope you feel better soon,

Jackson85

[Now]

Hi there,

It's not good to be worried about everything we feel in our bodies, but it happens. I would suggest if you are comfortable enough to go to your GP and speak to them about your fears and feelings, and be honest with them. Have you ever spoken to a psychologist, your GP can complete a Mental Health Plan for you; they are very good and can work with you and teach you various techniques in regards to understanding these body sensations, learning how to accept them, challenge your thoughts to them and much more. I hope this gives you something to think about positively and understand that there are people out there who can help you, no matter what your worries are, take care.

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi distelfink,

Thanks for your post.

I think you've been given some really lovely and helpful responses so far, and I agree that seeing a Doctor can be very helpful.

What happens in our brains when we get health anxiety is kind of complicated. Our brains naturally like to worry and they naturally like to find solutions, which is why we constantly feel the need to google it or figure out what it is. The problem is though, the more that we feed it unhelpful things (like the diagnosis of cancer), the more anxiety likes to feed off it.

So breaking that cycle is tricky and has to come at a few angles. We have to question and reality check some of it, like as a fact we know 100% of your medical google searches have been incorrect so far, and 100% of the scans have been clear. The more we can challenge some of those automatic thoughts, the less your brain will automatically go to worst-case-scenario mode.

The other part of that is trying to be mindful and aware of what you're doing to feed the health anxiety - that means not googling! That might look like having a list of things to distract you or postpone it, or writing it all down to ask your GP later on (and trusting that he'll do the googling for you!).

I hope that this has been somewhat helpful. It is a vicious cycle but you can break it, and a therapist can definitely help you to do so.

If you'd like to read more on this CCI has some great resources here - https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Health-Anxiety