why cant I just stop?

Dottie,

I know how you feel. I went through the same thing. After being tested for numerous things, my dx was anxiety and panic disorder. I didn't like the sound of that, so I found another doctor. 3 doctors later, I said to myself, ok I have anxiety! Once you can accept it, you can start to fix it. Zoloft has worked very well for me so far. I don't have that spacy anxious feeling in my head all the time anymore. I was having anxiety all day long, and panic attacks everytime i left the house. i have not had n attack in 3 days. I am slowly trying to work on myself because anxiety took over and fear controlled my life. I used to get so frustrated and think that I was going to have this problem forever, but after only 3 days of freedom from anxiety, I am determined to keep working on my breathing and changing the way I think and react to the anxiety. There are many self help books out there, I am currently reading "from panic to power by lucinda bassett, and found it to be great help. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help. I am still trying to find all the answers myself.

Stephanie

I have suffered with health anxiety all my life (as you will see if you read any of my previous posts) and it is the most debilitating thing, I agree.  about six years ago I experienced my first job layoff....about two months later I started having stomach problems and was CONVINCED I was dying of stomach cancer.  I refused to go to the doc as I'm terrified of them so I decided to self treat by basically eating nothing except boiled chicken and mashed potatoes.  Well the positive side was that I lost 35 lbs I needed to lose and after about four months got another job and my stomach calmed down.  After that I started eating again and gained back 40 lbs over a year but had no stomach problems (just the usual mental anxiety/panic).  A year into that job I was laid off again and the entire process started over....ended up even worse than the first time, barely able to put a bite in my mouth without experiencing stomach problems, diarrhea, you name it and I was once gain convinced that THIS time it really must be something serious (but still wouldn't go to the doc).  After four of the worse months I have ever experienced I had lost that same old 35 lbs again and finally landed another job.  Surprise, surprise, the stomach issues went away and it's now been three years with NOTHING - I eat like a pig (gained back 40 lbs AGAIN), rarely do I get indigestion but I still suffer almost daily with anxiety/panic.  Now you can't tell me that if I really DID have anything serious that I'd still be up and walking around after six years??  So I've come to FINALLY realize that most if not all of these physical symptoms I suffer from (no matter how REAL they feel, and they do) are really just another form of anxiety and they can really wreck havoc with your life.  So, believe me, I really know how you feel but I can almost assure you that it's "all in our heads" as they say, even though it feels so real and unbearable.  And especially since you've had all the test I'd say - trust your doc.....your just one of the millions of us who suffer from this debilitating health anxiety.  Good luck.