Still afraid of covid

[Alel]

TW HEALTH ANXIETY 

Ive only gotten covid once or twice. But lately I've been trying to overcome really bad anxiety and I live with a really really anxious mom.

She is saying that the covid vaccine is bad and that covid is really dangerous which is scaring me as well as her which then scares me more. 

I can't stop worrying and panicking. I already got the covid vaccine couple years back. But I'm still scared of getting really sick or dying.

Whenver I explain my fears to my family, they just say believe in God. I'm not religious and they don't know that, so it just feels like I have no one that understand how scared I am. 

I'm too afraid to read the news about australia and covid bc I don't want to get more anxious than I already am, but I also have an urge to read on it.

What do I do? 

Does anyone have any tips for health anxiety and covid?

[sbella02]

Alel,

Thank you for posting here with us, we're glad to have you here.

Fellow community member who suffers with health anxiety here, and I can tell you that a lot of what you're asking may be good questions for your GP. They may be able to ease your mind a little and talk you through your anxiety, helping to get to the root of what's the most distressing for you. 

I wouldn't recommend reading through the news too much if it'll cause you distress - in my experience, it doesn't help much. Ignorance is sometimes bliss, particularly with negative news stories and articles that are designed to cause distress and fear. Don't get me wrong, some articles can be good and contain accurate and up-to-date info, but a lot of current news can be really, really negative, and that's not necessarily good for your wellbeing long-term.

Do you have any other friends or loved ones who you would feel comfortable talking to about this? Sometimes it can help to have somebody that shares your opinion and also has insight into your life and experiences. Social support is great for wellbeing and reassurance.

I hope this helps, but please continue chatting with us if you'd like, we're here to support you.

SB

[blues23]

Hi Alel

covid is a hard anxiety to tackle I think we’ve all had that feeling ( I’ve personally had covid 7 times and never got really sick I worked in an industry that is extremely susceptible to it ,health anxiety is hard I have a few chronic illnesses and when covid first came to aus it was very scary along with all the lockdowns and stuff made it actually a lot worse for a lot of people) I personally don’t read the news,  no news is good news , if ur not religious  that’s ok it’s your beliefs and that your beliefs no one else’s. How to deal keep busy , avoid the news. covid is not really mentioned in the news anymore from the little snippets I’ve heard on the car radio Definitely seek counseling may provide some reassurance around the covid / health anxiety. 
Try to live your life for the now don’t focus on the what ifs as they are the hard bits the brain running off and getting into over thinking .