Health Anxiety - self diagnosis

I have never been like this. For the past 4 years, about every three or four months, I get very accute anxiety. The kind of thing you can feel in your chest. It is always about some possible bad event in the future: losing my job, losing my house, etc.

Some of the most severe panic attacks come for health reasons. In 2012 I had a muscle twitch in my thumb that would not go away. Instantly I had ALS. I was convinced. I've thought I had parkinson's (my mother recently died due to complications with PD) and MS. During the Ebola outbreak in 2014, I completely broke down and went to a doctor to get some lexapro, which I took for about 8 months.

I've been good for a while, but today I've convinced myself I have brain cancer. I won't go into the symptoms, because I don't want to engage in forum diagnosis. I am going to see an eye doctor on Saturday.

My anxiety is through the roof. My wife works with doctors who deal with brain tumors where the symptoms start in the eye. She is confident I am fine. Out of the symptoms on WebMD, I only really have one. But on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being debilitating anxiety, I am at an 8.

I know I'm not the only one who deals with this. How do you cope? Did anyone else have this anxiety condition set in later in life? I was 33/34 when these kind of attacks started. Never struggled with it before, but it is pulling me under.

I have a friend on Celexa. I hope it works for you. I can't do SSRIs. I did Lexapro for a 8 months, but when a panic attack hit, the lexapro did not help. It wasn't worth the side effects.

Does anyone else talk themselves into having symptoms they read online? When I thought I had ALS, I initially didn't have muscle weakness...until I read it was a symptom. Then I had weakness in my left arm.

I have an appointment for yet another new therapist, but not until next month. Self help would be great. I would like to learn how to meditate. I lost religion in my life years ago (could be related), and need to replace it with some secular mindfulness.

Mindfulness is my suggestion. Peace

Larry ***