Anyone know the chances of 16 year old developing als/mnd

Have u been diagnosed ? 

I'd say its anxiety. I know people who had this and one day they woke and they couldn't use a leg or a arm. Ur clearly very anxious which will make u very ill. I did this to myself freaking out over ms and brain tumours. Please try and get out before it hits hard and ur left in depersonalisation etc 

As everyone says you really need to stop with the self diagnosing and googling, you really are feeding the anxiety. I know how hard it is, I do - you need to bring these things to your therapy and talk to them about how to stop the compulsion

Hi Emily, definitely your health anxiety no question about it.

Your anxious mind and state over your health is MAKING you believe these things.

X

you really need to go back to your doctors and tell them all these worries you are having now......i know you must have been before but you need to tell them how much this worrying is affecting you. maybe they could send you for counselling...to help you deal with this....and stop you looking things up etc etc. if its not this then you will convince yourself it could be something else. the internet is a wonderful thing.....but not in our cases! like others have said unless you can find out what started this off and why it is carrying on you will get worse with the worrying and nothing will convince you otherwise. if you dont get any sympathy from one doctor ( to have counselling) then see another. you know underneath really that there is probably nothing wrong with you....but that doesnt stop you thinking there is!. something must have triggered these thoughts off and until you find out what that is you will be worrying over nothing. i wish you luck...you should be enjoying your time...and not spending it worrying. please go see your doctor to find out why you are worrying. good luck x

Check out www(dot)nhs(dot)uk/conditions/hypochondria/Pages/Introduction(dot).aspx

One of the main symptoms of health anxiety is that the individual may scan their body for signs that they are developing a physical illness. For example, a person experiencing health anxiety may interpret their headache as a brain tumour. Some people affected by this disorder may also link non physical problems to having a serious illness. An example of this is may be someone who forgets where they have put their phone or their house keys believing that this means that they have Alzheimer’s disease.

Some individuals who experience this type of anxiety disorder are so convinced that they have a certain physical illness, that all of their focus will be placed on obtaining a diagnosis. They will go to as many doctors as they can and if they do not receive confirmation of a diagnosis, they may continue to seek second, third and fourth opinions from other doctors. In such instances, many different tests (such as MRI, echocardiograms and in some cases even exploratory surgery) are requested by the person experiencing the health anxiety or illness phobia. Unfortunately, these tests are often not enough to convince them that they are not physically ill and can therefore be taken time and time again. Often, a lack of diagnosis is attributed to poor medical care or an under qualified doctor. It is important to remember that repeated visits and consultations with health care professionals are due to the fact the sufferer fully believes that they are experiencing a physical illness, rather than due to attention seeking behaviours. The medical profession often refer to the symptoms experienced by sufferers of health anxiety as “medically unexplained symptoms”.

Many people experiencing health anxiety or illness phobia will spend a large amount of their time carrying out excessive checking behaviours where they will look for marks, lumps, sores and rashes on their body which may indicate the onset of a physical illness. These checking behaviours also include asking friends and family members to assist them in checking. The anxiety experienced around the possibility that they may find something to indicate illness or around the idea that they may catch a particular illness can lead to high levels of anxiety. This in turn can increase physical symptoms of anxiety (such as an increased heart rate, chest pain or tightness in the chest, dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, dry mouth or sweating). Upon noticing this increase in physical symptoms, the sufferer’s idea that they are experiencing a physical illness is reinforced.

Media campaigns on specific physical illnesses can also cause problems for people experiencing health and illness anxiety. Often, watching programmes relating to physical illness or reading about specific conditions may lead those affected to feel that they have experienced symptoms of that specific condition.

An individual can exhibit symptoms of health anxiety or illness phobia for long periods of time or may be symptom free for equal amounts of time. Conversely, people affected by health and illness anxiety may refuse to go to the doctor or any other medical practitioners for fear that they will get the worst possible news (i.e. that their suspicion of having a physical medical disorder will be confirmed). Therefore, instead of becoming overly focused on the feared illness, they will avoid any reminders relating to symptoms of the illness and will stay away from people who may be ill. Additionally, they may try to avoid any places where there are likely to be people who are ill (such as hospitals and doctors surgeries). They may fear that any contact with people experiencing physical illness will cause them to catch that illness (regardless of whether or not the illness that they are focusing on is contagious).

Some individuals who are affected by health anxiety may not tell anyone about their fears as they are convinced that they will not be taken seriously.

Health anxiety and illness phobia is found to occur equally in both men and women and can develop at any age.

( Snippet taken from Anxiety UK Website of Sympton of Health Anxiety )