Severe Health Anxiety

[Joey7]

I suffer from severe health anxiety and have for the past 6 years which all started after my son was seriously iill and we came very close to losing him thankfully we didn't. Since that time my anxiety has gotten a lot worse these past 2 years have been so bad with my physical symptoms worsening to the point I'm googling my symptoms all the time constantly thinking I have some disease that relates to the symptoms I have at the time. I guess I just don't believe that even though my anxiety is so severe it can cause these weird sensations and symptoms in my body which with having health anxiety the symptoms just escalate my anxiety and I can't function at all. I'm constantly waking up anxious hoping I won't have a the symptom that day then when I do it makes me so upset and frustrated I think I must have a serious disease for it to still be there. Can anyone else relate to this and has the horrible scary physical symptoms that go along with anxiety what did you do to help I don't want to be like this anymore the Physical symptoms are horrible. 

[pete62]

HI Joey7, you are not alone and if you read through other posts in here you will find that others suffer along similar lines as yourself, My health anxiety has gradually worsened as I have gotten older and lived and seen and heard things along the way, I don't fully understand why I have this anxiety or why it has effected me in the way it has but I suffer terribly with it and am still trying to come to terms with it and  try to manage it, yes the physical symptoms are all there also , the ones that make me feel like I have a disease of some sort and I will die an agonizing death, Joey, stay off Google, I too had a go at self diagnosis and it will only do your head in and make you feel ten times worse, easy to say but hard to do I know, you are not suffering alone and I hope you get some comfort from knowing that, have you consulted your GP ? I found it a lot better to go to my Doctor and just spilling it all out no matter how weird or odd my symptoms sounded , I was also referred on to a Psychiatrist who is very good and I have been very up front and Honest with Her no matter how weak and small I felt at first, now that I have an idea on what is going on feel somewhat better knowing what and why . I hope my reply gives you a bit of comfort knowing that you are going through this with others, let us know how you go , hope you can start to get some sense out of your anxiety and you can start to learn to deal with it.   

[Joey7]

Hi pete62 thanks so much for replying to me it's so hard being like this its good to hear from someone who understands exactly what you mean and what you are going through. I'm really struggling with the physical symptoms especially with me having health related anxiety. If you don't mind me asking what types of symptoms have you suffered from I guess you read all about these symptoms over the Internet but actually talking to someone is totally different who's experiencing these weird symptoms sensations. I have had jelly legs, saw jaw , shaking,feeling sick,sweats,dizziness, stuff neck the list goes on the weirdest one I have experienced lately is like twitching/vibrations if that makes any sense hard to explain across my stomach,top of my legs and in my feet it's the most scariest symptom by far which is why I guess I don't believe it could possibly be my anxiety although I know I have been really low and extremely stressed and anxious I just feel as though I am never going to beat this and I want to so badly it makes you depressed. I have been to my GP and have just started seeing a psychiatrist have been to 4 sessions. Thanks so much for your reply again and I'm so sorry to hear your going through this also but looks like you are doing the best for you also to get better. Is very nice having this site for people to talk to each other and help each other out with their own stories knowing we aren't alone. 

[pete62]

Hey Joey7, Im feeling your pain,, symptoms? all of the above and a few others, anxiety seems to  do some pretty nasty stuff to our system, I get all that when I spin out of control with anxiety, Im lucky in the sense that I have a great Wife who has stuck by me and reminds me of what I should be doing rather than laying around thinking of the what ifs, it seems to me that anxiety likes to take the easy route and just make me worked up , the difficult part is turning it around and putting things into perspective , that bit of advice just rolls of my keyboard and makes it sound easy but we know its not, this is something I am learning to live with, this is who I am, I have been very up front about it with my friends and of cause my family and have been overwhelmed with the love and support I have received, yes it is a crazy thing to suffer with but I think when you finally accept it  then is starts to make it  just that little bit easier to live with, I say a little bit as I know how easy it is to become anxious again and let it run away into that spiral of worry , like I said before, you are not alone , you are as Human as the rest of us, we all live with our burdens, some are just a bit harder than others, Take Heart Joey7 you don't suffer alone  

[Mummybee]

This was like looking into a mirror.

thank you.

every morning I wake up with dread at what will be wrong with me today, prey that the symptoms will be gone, feel my body flood with adrenaline and it starts all over again before I lift the covers...

[Iruleanxiety]

I was the same..Until one day mid last year I just stopped caring. I got sick off worrying all the time and just accepted my own demise.  I stopped caring about symptoms.  I started ignoring every  slight pain, tick or a weird hearth beat. I stopped anticipating what might happen.  I accepted that I had no control to a larger extent of what might happen next.  At the begging it was hard but I made a rule if it hurts try to stick it out if it gets unbearable visit a doctor.  Never ever Google symptoms.   

[Jessme]

Hi guys, I'm a newb here,

my health anxiety has gotten out of control, I've become dangerously underweight as I am constantly in a state of panic over disease and dying ( not just myself but my husbands health too) I don't sleep without pills and I spend my spare time pacing about the house and googling symptoms. Is anyone learning how to get better?... I tried cbt but my mind seems to overpower any logical behaviour... My husband is super logical so doesn't understand my behaviour very well..

[Jessme]

I understand completely... I seek reassurance from family members but it doesn't suppress my fears for very long...I wish I lived in a blissful time before Google existed. I have to try and remind myself that google doesn't supply you with results for minor ailments because they are not worth mentioning.

[Queen_Diamond]

Hi Joey7 and other Health Anxiety sufferers.

PART 1!

Joey you are definitely not alone. I too obsess over physical sensations and am always worried about death (only from disease/illness) and being taken away from my 3 beautiful children. I am also a Googler and have been told by my therapist that this is a "safety behaviour"; just like carrying instant hand sanitizer everywhere; always having phone close by (in case need to call ambulance), symptom checking etc. All these behaviours make us feel.like we have control of the unpredictable and are keeping us safe from what we fear; but they are also impacting our anxiety.

Overtime I have been able to slowly reduce or eliminate my safety behaviours and believe me it makes a difference. Googling is the biggest one to improve anxiety but for me also the hardest habit to break.

My fears seem to come in waves. I can go a few weeks or if I'm lucky a month or two without needing to Google symptoms or diseases. If I have a pain I recognize it's just a pain and it will pass. I can feel when my anxiety is starting to creep back in again because I am not able to brush ofg physical sensations as easily anymore and will start Googling again. It may start off as just Googling one little thing for a minute then I can leave it. Then the next day it will be a bit longer, till before long I'm back to Googling for hours at a time, obsessing and convinced I've got or am going to get whatever illness I happen to be fearing that day. Soon I can't distinguish between what may be real medical symptoms and what my mind is producing in my body. Eg Is this chest pain anxiety or is it pneumonia?

[Queen_Diamond]

PART 2!!

I'm having a hard time at the moment because I recently had gastro and now I'm afraid I have ruptured esophagus. I know it's illogical. It is rare for this to happen and if it did happen I likely wouldn't be sitting here on my phone right now. I know this logically but I just can't stop those "what if" thoughts. "What if I'm an exceptional case"?!! Another common one is "What if the Dr is wrong". Which they often can be. Mistrust or Dr's opinions is common in health anxiety. Hopefully you can find a good regular GP and build an open and respectful relationship. Be open about your condition and your fears/concerns. I have been able to find a GP who I can openly say "I think I have ------". He sometimes chuckles because I'm always coming in with ultra rare diseases!! But he always takes me seriously. He says he would rather run a non-invasive test than lose a patient. He always rules out the possibility of my fear first then we discuss my anxiety. In result I trust his opinion and diagnosis. He is also always right!! Joey the physical symptoms are horrible. Your mind can create the most random sensations. I too have gotten the tingles and buzzes in different spots, hot spots that feel like someone holding a warm coin on my body, classic anxiety things like chest pain, tightness, neck tension, loss of appetite and everything in between. Be assured though that your anxiety can be managed. Try first by picking a saftey behaviour and reducing or eliminating it. If you feel like Googling distract and delay. Write down your fear and why your are concerned in a diary. Rate how concerned/anxious you are out of 100. Set yourself a time (eg: 4.30pm) to Google and limit it to 15 mins. If you are still worried about the fear at 4.30pm then Google for the 15mins only. You can return to diary later or next day and rate again your fear. I have found as time passes my fears reduce and something that might have had a 80% anxiety rating will reduce to 60% at end of day. Sometimes I go through my diary and am astonished I was so concerned about a particular thing! I also hop onto these forums as a strategy to not Google. Hope some of this has helped and stay in touch. xx