Really Bad Health Anxiety Please Help Me

[becca_k]

Hi My name is Rebecca...

Last year i went through horrible anxiety and depression which was brought on by birth control pills. The symptoms i experienced were tingling in arms and legs, dizziness, heart palpitations, weakness in arms and legs, shortness of breath, headaches, stiff neck, loss of appetite and muscle twitching. I was so scared that i was dying that i went to emergency nearly 3 times a week for 3 months. I was being reassured by doctors that i was fine but i still get anxious about my symptoms and feel like i have ms, als or that i am having a stroke. My Health anxiety is completely ruining my life. I am so scared that i am going die, i hate this feeling and i keep having body aches because of my anxiety. I am suffering and i have been on antidepressants and have seen psychologists, counsellors, neurologist and to no avail. I feel lost and worried that i will never ever be back to normal. I have started feeling depressed because of this. I really hate myself and i think i am so ugly inside and out. Please someone tell me i am not alone. I feel so, so overwhelmed and crippled. Even as i am writing this i cannot stop crying and i'm only 20 but i feel like i'm 80. I go uni and i work but i hate going because of my symptoms. I have no quality of life. I cannot afford a psychologist or psychiatrist anymore. I don't know what to do. I keep praying and trying to meditate. I am so worried that i am going to be left disabled.

please someone help me...

[jess334]

Hi BeccaK

Welcome to the forums. You are not alone. There are so many of us that have health anxiety. There is a longish running thread of like minded people here:

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/online-forums/anxiety/health-anxiety-my-living-nightmare.

You did the right thing going to the ED. I would completely freak out if I had the symptoms you describe. It must have been terrifying.

Please don't stop trying to get help. If you cannot afford a psychologist anymore, use the free helplines to get you through. Keep in touch with your doctor, or get a new one if you need to.

Anxiety can be debilitating, but it is possible to live a fulfilling life even with anxiety.

Helplines:

Beyond Blue 1300 22 4634

Lifeline : 13 12 44.

Kind thoughts, Jess

[Midean]

You are not alone Rebecca.

I have struggled with heart focused health anxiety for years, always thinking there is something wrong, ending up in the ER far more than i like to admit.

I can tell you this though, the longer you fight it, the more you understand it, and the less it impacts you.

It takes time, and persistence but i promise you it will get better.

[Luvlife49]

Rebecca I told my sister ...I’m not worried about dieing it’s the before that worries me

personally I take a comedic or funny attitude to death

not for everyone but it helps to lighten up as we all go one day

[Alexlisa]

Hello Rebecca.

That sounds so tough and I think you’re being really brave to be facing these challenges. Health anxiety can feel so overwhelming and like it will never end, but I know from my own experience that it can get better. So please don’t give up hope.

You mentioned that you can’t afford to see a psychologist/psychiatrist, so I have a few options you could think about, because I think you need to continue to get professional help. You shouldn’t have to do this alone. Would you consider going to your university counselling service? During my uni years I wasn’t able to afford a private psychologist, so I accessed one through the uni service. It was a positive experience and I was able to continue with the same person through most of uni. I also accessed a psychiatrist through the uni health service.

Another option is going to a Headspace Centre. They are all over Australia. They offer free counselling to people under 25 and I believe it’s ongoing. I recommend you contact them anyway just to ask what services are out there that you can access. They are the best people to ask. Because you’re young there are actually a few options for free services. Info about the Headspace Centres is at:

https://headspace.org.au/welcome-to-headspace-centres/

There’s also a great resource on health anxiety that I think might help. It’s at:

https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself/Health-Anxiety

I hope this is helpful. Trust me, I know how debilitating what you’re experiencing can feel. You’re not alone in this. Please keep reaching out ok.

Take care,

Alexlisa

[Guest_2496]

Hi Alexlisa

As someone else with health anxiety I’m wondering if you have your own thread, or if you can share here some of the things that helped you. You mentioned that in your experience it can get better...

[Alexlisa]

Hi Annie,

I think the main thing that helped me is realising that no matter how much I tried to be rational about my worries, I couldn’t reduce the distress. I’d had a lot of CBT based therapy (which relies heavily on our ability to reason with our thoughts) and found that I could see lots of reasons why I logically shouldn’t worry that I had a certain illness, but it didn’t help.

I ended up finding a psychologist that used Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and I found it an amazing relief because for the first time I felt like it was something I could work with. Rather than arguing with my thoughts, ACT is based on noticing that the thoughts are there and then creating some distance. They call it ‘defusion’. It’s a little hard for me to explain at the moment, but if you do a search there’s plenty of information out there about ACT and defusion. The main voice in the field is Dr Russ Harris.

Having a psychologist you can trust and connect with is vital too. You need to feel like your experiences are being validated and heard. I love my psychologist because she’s very proactive in finding answers that will work for me, rather than just trying the same thing over and over with no improvement. There are SO many different, specific skills that psychologists can teach us to manage anxiety. I think sometimes it’s about finding someone who knows what skills exist, can teach the skills, and then practicing them to identify which ones work for you.

For me, my health anxiety waxes and wanes. It’s nowhere near as chronic as when I was younger, but it’s something I guess I need to accept will continue to be a part of my life.

Alexlisa

[Guest_2496]

Hi Alexlisa

Thanks so much for your reply - very clear and helpful.

I have heard of ACT but will do some research / reading about it tomorrow.

I was seeing a psychologist recently and she was somewhat helpful for a while in getting me to challenge thoughts / responses but didn’t teach me any skills and fell into just asking me about my week...