I'm a hypochondriac

Yes I do everyday...you are very much not alone on this subject. try to get an appointment set up with your doc and a therapist they will help you a lot.

Good luck and try not to worry but I know its easier said that done. Keep posting and keep us up to date.

Much love

I'm constantly worried about my health!! I'm always thinking I'm dying from some terminal illness!!! I also have anxiety attacks from all the worrying and stress! Lately I've been thinking im going to have an aneurism!! My head has been feeling so weird! It was so bad that I called the ambulance in myself two days ago!!!! I take lexapro and buspar, I'm making an appointment soon with my phyciatrist to get better meds!! I'm so tired of living in this agony!!!

I am almost 65 years old....would you believe I've been a hypochondriac since I was SEVEN years old??!!!  I was hospitalized with rheumatic fever at that age and after getting home from the hospital I was convinced I had a brain tumor....how does a seven year old even know what a brain tumor IS??!!  Anyway, it's been the plague of my life and even though up to now I've been an extremely healthy person, I have always been convinced I was dying of a terminal illness.  Consequently, I never go to the doctor, as a matter of fact I have a HUGE phobia about even walking into a doctor's office because I'm convinced he's going to tell me I'm dying.  And now that I'm getting up there in years, I'm absolutely convinced I have every disease from COPD, to heart failure to another brain tumor to Emphezema to anything else you can think of.  Now is the time I really should be taking care of my health but the phobia I've developed over the years is so debilitating that I feel powerless to do anything about it.  So I just tell myself, "well, if you're gonna drop dead, you'll drop dead, then you won't have to think about it anymore."  It's not only a neurotic way of thinking but it's also cowardly and not fair to my children and grandchildren.  I keep telling myself I'll muster up the courage to go and, invariably, at the last minute, I chicken out.   When I think back to all those years I wasted worrying about dying when I was healthy as a horse, you'd think I'd smarten up, but NOOOOOO.  Anyway, anxiety, panice, hypochondria have always been a part of my life and I know that the health anxiety is a very common one.  Hopefully you won't be as foolish as I was and you'll go to the doctor who I know will tell you you are fine....problem is, you probably won't believe him.  That's the issue we hypos all have too.  It's a sad cycle I hope you can break out of.

Me too! Whatever I feel sensation in my body I think right away "something wrong". I remember when I was small my mom always was telling me "don't worry, you are live person, you will always feel something in your body or some little pains, they come and go". She knew me better than anybody and she is only one who could calm me down! I'm 37 now, I still freaking out from every sensation in my body and with my anxiety disorder I have a lot of them Good luck and live long to all of us!

Thanks everyone its comforting to know that I'm not alone!! I have an appointment with my phyciatrist today!!!! Ill keep y'all posted!!!

Huge hypo here! It's just how I am. Always will be. Some days are better than others. A hobby helps. Also do not get on the Internet and search symptoms! It's the worst thing you can do.

Hi treacle:)

I think that the lable 'Hypochondriac' is not so appropriate for this issue as saying that we have 'Health Anxiety'.

We are anxious about our health and well being. Everyone has concern about this of course...we just take it to the next level!;p

I recommend CBT (therapy) to everyone, as that helped me tremendously. I still worry about it, but it is not the panic-inducing all consuming type of worry anymore!:)

I am so glad to hear that your nephew is doing well...Great news! What a brave young man. (and he has an awesome aunt/uncle to have gone through his treatment with him!)

Take care,
S.C.

Hi All

Me to I have awful health anxiety I think if you have an anxiety disorder you become very in tune with your body. Google is your worst enemy if you have health anxiety and I am guilty of googling my symptoms and convinced myself I have all sorts of things.

Hibee

Hey you are definitely not alone I am a major hypochondriac!  Every single day for the past 6 months I have been convinced that I am going to drop dead of a heart attack.  I have the symptoms of a heart attack every day.  And to make matters worse I constantly look up the symptoms of a heart attack or of any kind of heart problem on the internet.  And every new symptom that I read about I eventually have started having that symptom.  The people at the ER are so tired of seeing me (lol).  Recently I started having headaches and feeling dizzy, so now I am convinced that I have a brain anneurysm on top of a heart condition.  I just wish so much that anxiety would leave me alone and that I could be happy again.  I wish everyone here the best of luck and I will pray for each and everyone of yall every night.

Take care everyone,

Anxiousgrl26

I'm a huge hypochondriac and have such bad panic attacks and depersonalization. I feel sick all of the time and just scared and out of it 24/7. I've been so bad that I've actually been scared of going to sleep bc I thought I wouldn't wake up. I feel nuts lol

I too am suffering from anxiety/panic disorder, depression and hypochondria at 19.

Recently I have had lots of trouble sleeping, because i feel that i will have a heart attack in the middle of the night and not wake. Im so scared all the time, recently its been my heart, before it was foodborne dangers, brain stuff. Im not sure how i got this way. A few years back, I wasnt carefree, but i wasnt afraid of much, and in fact i was an officer candidate in the United States Marine Corps. I have since had to drop from that because of these issues.. It has added to my depression, knowing that all of this has gotten in the way of the Marine Corps which id wanted and trained for since i was 7. Ive had to cancel dates from this, leave work. And i feel the only people who i can talk to are my therapist and 2 of my friends who seem to be getting fed up with me. (I havent brought up the hypochondria to my friends, only anxiety and depression). Everyone else will just get angry or make fun of me for this.

Its gotten to the point where im not sure what to do anymore.

This is all definitely one big cycle I've found for me. One week I will start feeling anxious, the next worry about my health, and after some time start to feel ok again, but then I get very depressed that it is all happening.

I have never been put on any drugs for this and trying to stay away from them. I see a phsycologist frequently (mostly once a week) but I always feel like things are better when I'm in there and not put in much then a few hours after my appointment it all hits again.

I have found that google is definitely not the best thing through all of this but I keep reoffending. But my health anxiety starts just from reading or watching the news. And I see a headline like "some well known person of the area dies of a heart attack with no symptoms" and all I can think is.. How do I know that wont happen to me? And that's where my lack of sleep comes in.