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New Member SCL13

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Anxiety & Panic Disorders
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Posted 10/1/2013 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi
This is the first time I have ever posted on anything online so forgive me for rambling. I have been experiencing what I think is health anxiety as I have been obsessing about having different illnesses one after the other. I guess I have been under quite a bit of stress in the last 6 months with getting married and finishing my teacher training. My mum also got extremely sick back in January and nearly died. I also had a little girl in my class who was battling cancer and I have just found out she is now terminal. I've had lots of niggly problems since about August with getting tonsilitis and going on antibiotics which then disagreed with me and have me an upset stomach. I've also had thrush/ UTI symptoms and still waiting for a urine test to come back. On top of all that covered in moles and obsess frequently about getting skin cancer. Basically I'm absolutely exhausted of feeling all this anxiety and finding it really hard to function. I'm convinced that every pain is some form of cancer. Do other people suffer with these sorts of things? How did you get it under control? I haven't always been like this.:( any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Post Edited By Moderator (Scaredy Cat) : 10/1/2013 8:32:51 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 10/1/2013 2:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hi SCL and welcome!

I am sorry to hear of your anxiety and the fears/worries that it is causing you.

You asked if anyone else worries about such things? Oh my, you have come to the right place! We have many members who have varying degrees of what you referred correctly to as health anxiety.

There are many reasons why we experience anxiety...and specificallly focus on certain things such as health, or other worries.

For us, the fears seem rooted in health related matters and illness/disease and death...but it is still anxiety, and can be triggered by any number of things. Our own health struggles, other's illness (like your mother's and students) and a number of other factors that we may or may not even be aware of.

The good news is that this is treatable. I once had daily panic attacks due to my constant worry about health. Mine was triggered by an intital attack, that left me feeling as if I must be dying of the horrible physical symptoms that I was experiencing.

I sought help in the form of CBT, (cognitive behavioral therapy) along with self-help/books, and the support I found here.

I would recommend looking into our Resources on the first page. There you will find a vast collection if ideas for getting your anxiety levels down, and working toward managing the issues.

We have breathing and progressive muscle relaxation exercises, along with book recommendations...this includes two on health anxiety specifically! (if you can't find them, post back and I will be happy to pull up the links for you)

See what looks helpful for you and give it a try. If you find, or think that you need further help...you can ask your doctor about a therapy referral, or other treatment options such as medication.

Keep posting with us as well. It is helpful to connect with others who understand. We are here to listen anytime.:)

Scaredy Cat
Posted 10/1/2013 3:02 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you for your advice scaredy cat. I will have a look at the resources on here. I'm also trying out hypnotherapy at the moment so hopefully that might have an impact. I will look further into getting some CBT as I've heard several people recommend this now. It's really difficult to differentiate between real symptoms and anxiety induced stuff. I'm struggling to be rational about what is real is what is self induced and I cant stop the thought patterns at the moment. It's tempting just to keep going back I the doctor and having another test done to check further but I know that's probably perpetuating the situation more. But there is always that niggling worry you are ignoring something vital. How do you tell the difference and be more rational? From experience?
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