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anxiety about health

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Posted 7/15/2013 11:50 AM (GMT 0)
Hi there to all,

I've been worrying about a health issue now for like 3 months. It defo has induced anxiety and panic in me. Does anyone ever kinda feel that you get to the point where you cannot differeentiate your health issue symptooms from your anxiety symptoms? It's like to both merge into the same monster and get worse.

Also do you ever feel you are on constant watch or guard in case you get symptoms. Like you body is constantly vigilant. I feel like a night-watch man who has been on guard looking for concerns for these 3 months. This constantly feeling "wired and alert" must surely run down the body physcially as well as mentally.

Any thoughts or opinions greatly valued

Posted 7/15/2013 2:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi and welcome!

Yes, health anxiety is quite a common theme here in the A/P forum! We have a couple of different 'subtypes' as I guess you would call them...but they all have roots in anxiety.

We have members who are perfectly healthy physically...but have trouble believing this since they are feeling the effects of so many debilitating anxiety symptoms...

Then we have members such as yourself that do have physical issues while also dealing with anxiety. It is not uncommon to have anxiety with, or as a result of, having chronic health issues. Like you mentioned in your post, it can be hard to distinguish between the symptoms of both issues.

However, there is hope for treatment of the anxiety, and that will help to relieve at least part of the problem!

Have you looked into either therapy, medication or a combination of both to treat the anxiety? Having a talk with your doctor could get you going in the right direction for treament.

I recovered from health anxiety and panic disorder nicely due to CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy). It has proven very helpful to many anxiety sufferers.

We also have a great self-help section that includes book recommendations on the subject of health anxiety, as well as links to stress reducing exercises...and more. Check it out and see if there is anything that looks helpful to you.

Keep posting here with us as well. We are here to undersand and support. It is very healing in itself to have that kind of community to turn to!.:)

Talk to you soon,

Scaredy Cat
Posted 7/15/2013 2:51 PM (GMT 0)
Good Morning and Welcome,

It feels to me like you have what is frequently referred to as health anxiety or health worrier.

Health worriers may be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder, anticipatory anxiety,  depression, or a number of other illnesses, but their condition is really better defined by the mistaken ideas they have about how and why people get sick. Similarly, they have Bad Ideas about drugs, doctors, and other related matters. Bad Ideas are incorrect, but self-confirming, prejudices which lead people to behave in ways that worsen their fears. Treatment is directed to changing these behaviors so that health worriers can see the world and themselves more accurately. This kind of treatment is called cognitive-behavioral, or exposure therapy. The underlying principle is confrontation. It is necessary to confront one’s fears in order to overcome them. This is not easy to do.

 

I have health anxiety but not to the extreme that it is OCD unless it relates to medical issues already diagnosed.  When you have a known disorder it is very difficult to not worry and takes much willpower to stay in the moment, not assuming the worst case scenario.

Stick with us as we are here to help and support you.

 

Posted 7/15/2013 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
Hello

Yes I feel exactly as you do. It's hard fore to differentiate between what is real and what is manifested and yes it's annoying and scary. But I have been checked by doctors and I know I'm fine I'm just at that point of accepting it. First things first if you haven't been I'd go to a doctor first because that should always be the first step in fixing health anxiety. But my therapist brought up an interesting point when I was there. He said that your anxiety is controlled by your subconscious. It knows EVERYTHING about you and memories and fears and what not. But when the anxiety started our bodies may have been thrown off balance or been in an uncomfortable situation and started to react in this way because it only wants to protect you. But instead of running away from the bull you take it by the horns because when you go against what your mind is trying to tell you it will change as well.

He also described fears as a pinwheel so to speak. And we may have one fear or a couple in the center and each individual spoke is like a symptom of that fear such as all of the physical symptoms to remind you of that one big fear in the middle. And to try to eliminate that big fear you have to do basically what I explained above and rewire your brain to think positively instead of it trying to hold you back. Your brain cannot tell what is real in your body and what is not but it only wants to protect you from things getting any worse it wants to protect you from your fear. But the mind doesn't know that nothing is actually wrong with the body.

Hope this helps! Ha sorry I kind of switched around from first to second to third person during that but you get the basic idea.

Jocipher
Posted 7/17/2013 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
That is me, too! I have horrible health-related anxiety!

In fact, mine has been bad since Thursday. It has come in waves. Today was mostly a good day, but tonight (right now) I am in complete panic mode! I was outside earlier visiting with neighbors and I had a pain in my chest. It lasted about 20 seconds and went away. Since I have been having palpitations the last few days, I have convinced myself I am having a heart attack.

I am glad we are all in this together and you all don't think I am crazy.
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