Health Anxiety.

Hi folks


I have a number of diagnosis which you will see in my signature below but the one which I find most bothersome is health anxiety. I have been doing Schema Therapy now for 7 months now and have found it really helpful in fact it is by far the best therapy I have done and I have made breakthroughs on my GAD, Social Anxiety Disorder and Depression which is great and I am really pleased with my progress.

My health anxiety is proving a tough one to get under control they class health anxiety under the OCD umbrella as you become very compulsive in checking your body for symptoms. I also have a diagnosis of OCD and have made some good progress with some of the compilations I was getting and I am also better equipped to deal with the intrusive thoughts but the health anxiety is lingering. I am so in tune with my body that I notice every little thing that happens such as pain anywhere in the body, rashes/marks, breathing/heart palps and I'm constantly scanning my body for symptoms.

I have just had a tough couple of days I was waiting on some blood test results and yes I had come to the worst possible conclusion and had absolutely convinced myself that the results were going to come back with the worst. I did not get a wink of sleep last night I was awake all night worrying as I new my doctor was going to phone me with results today. My doctor phoned me and said my results were clear and that my low WBC was probably due to stress I can not tell you how relived I was and it has made me realise that my health anxiety is out of control and that I now need to put all my effort with the help of my therapist into dealing with my health anxiety as I can't continue to live with the amount of worry this causes me. I know it's going to be hard but I am now going to give it 100% of my time.

I know a lot of you have health anxiety and I just want you all to know that we can get through this together I think you need to tackle it as you would for OCD. One of the biggest things is to not google your symptoms but I fully understand how strong the pull of Dr Google is and I fell into it's trap over the weekend and all that happened was my anxiety got 100% worse I actually made myself sick.

So sorry for the long post but to all those who are suffering with health anxiety we can beat this don't let HA win we are the winners in this fight keep taking small steps every day to reach your larger goal.

I would also like to say to all the other members who are suffering with anxiety that it can be beat we can do it together. I feel our forum is brilliant I am always pleased to see others reaching out to help and support others.

Keep up the fight and have a good week.

Hibee

Hibee,

Thank you so much for your honesty and openess to share with us your experience.

I am so happy that all turned out well, and you are feeling relieved...enjoy this and just relax now and breathe a deep sigh of contentment, after all your discomfort!

I know we talked about this on message...but just wanted to say here as well that you are brave and pro-active in facing down your fears...

...and I need to do the same!!

Your post is very relatable to many of us...and you are inspiring in your recovery efforts!!

Hugs and high fives my friend!! :)

S.C.

Hello friends! I've lurked here off & on since I took a break from the forums earlier in the year and decided to post today.

Hibee- thanks for this post. I've had some struggles lately myself after sort of getting my sea legs back on solid foundation after many months of suffering last year and into the new year.

I just had to say "me too" w/the reminder to work on things that I may have let slide, like the OCD checking regarding health. I had a rush of anxiety earlier, googling some things and I was like omg, I forgot I shouldn't Google! Duh! 95% of the time, it makes me feel worse. I've been good about it but when I get vulnerable, I catch myself doing it and feeling vulnerable is likely the WORST time to google!

Thanks for your candid post & excellent reminder. I'm happy your tests came back clean & hope now this sets you up for a cleared path to work on your OCD/health anxiety! Hugs!

Hibee,

I am so sorry your back pain is still bad. I sincerely hope your pain will be alleviated somehow. I know you have had to endure a lot of pain for a while now. Let us know when you get back the MRI results. Will be thinking of you....sending you a warm hug! ((((((HIBEE)))))

Hibee,
This post is SO what I needed to hear/read! I've been so over zealous lately in scanning my body for the slightest thing that it really is getting out of control and I just need to take a deep breath and let. it. be. Google is fatal. Google is not a doctor, and quite frankly neither am I, nor will I ever be, so I can't diagnose myself or let the computer do it for me!
Thanks for this amazing reminder.

Hi. Melodee

Thanks for your support and hugs I will let you know the results of my MRI when I get them.


Hi CQ

I am pleased you found this post useful I think we can all learn from each other try your best to not look up your symptoms as that is what feeds your anxiety but I understand how difficult it is to not do this.

Hi Blu

I know you have been having a rough time lately so I want you to know we are all here for you and can relate to what you are going through. Your right google is fatal and best avoided but I know that is difficult when your in the midst of health anxiety. Over the weekend I convinced myself that I was seriously ill and that I was having all the symptoms of this illness the mind is so powerful and can trick you into thinking something is wrong when it's not. I am pleased you found this post useful.

Hi Rrakkma

Thanks for you support as I know that you also struggle with health anxiety and I know how difficult it is to live with and I am pleased you can find good support here from others who can relate to what you are going through. I made the decision to go private as the waiting lists are very long here in the UK if you want to access therapy on the NHS. A lot of phycologists/psychiatrists class health anxiety as a form of OCD so maybe if you say you feel you have OCD they will see you sooner?? If you type in OCD health anxiety into google you will find lots of information.

Here's a link
ocdla.com/hypochondriasis


Hibee

Glad to hear that your results were clear. As I very definitely was convinced I had an underlying illness for a time, I hope this good news kickstarts your recovery from this facet of anxiety.

Hi NC &DH

Thanks your support is appreciated.

Hibee