Do you think this is health anxiety?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hey everyone, I have posted here before about a month ago. I'm an 18 y/o guy and have been suffering from a range of symptoms that have greatly varied over the last 3 to 4 months! At first it began when I was getting lower back pain which I was then diagnosed and told I had Scoliosis after closer examination from the doctor. After this I began walking up with my ring and pinky finger being numb, my doctor told me that this was my ulnar nerve being irritated (as it was only in those two fingers on each hand, not numb whole hands or any tingling). I then began getting a tension feeling in my head, after this I began to think I was seriously ill. I seemed to go into a state of fatigue where I felt tired all the time, my body felt nearly drugged. My Dr told me that he thought it may be thyroid problems but after many many blood tests, hormone tests etc, it has all came back fine. They have tested nearly every blood test possible and all my functions and hormones are fine. For a period of a few weeks then I began to feel like I had a lump in my throat, a tight feeling almost, although I was still swallowing fine. It took a few weeks for this to subside,during this time I was solely focused on it and all my other symptoms seemed to subside. I then began to think i have a brain tumour as I have had a feeling of pressure in the left temple for weeks (and the right sometimes), it is mainly a painless pressure feeling but throbs sometimes. It has been really consistent. The Dr really hasn't taken me on with it and doesn't think it's serious, he even made me get my eyes tested and head pressure checked by the optician, all of which was fine. Honestly not sure what to do as I am falling back into that deep feeling of fatigue and tiredness again.
1 like, 6 replies
jan34534 Ollie126
Posted
Hi Ollie
sounds like all your tests came back normal which is great! I would like to share something with you that I hope helps.
had that same fear back when I was in my 20s. Plus all the symptoms you could possibly think of… muscle twitching, tingling, Head pressure and on and on. etc. I thought I had Terrible diseases and a zillion other things. When I was in my 20s I thought for sure I was going to get a MS because my aunt had it. That thinking was based solely on non-reality. I never developed MS but I tortured myself by thinking so negatively! All my test came out perfectly. I literally wasted over 30 years of my life worrying!
It sounds like you are doing the same thing with your fears of illnesses. As long as you get checked out by your doctor and the test come out good, you really need to put that out of your mind. If you can't do it on your own and sometimes it's hard to, I highly suggest talking to a counselor who can really help. As we all know anxiety can produce so many and such scary symptoms.
it doesn't pay to read too much online, all we do is scare ourselves more. There is a MUCH HIGHER likelihood that your symptoms are caused by stress and anxiety than some terrifying disease.
we can't let anxiety run our lives and our minds. We are better than that and we deserve to feel healthy and enjoy life. We need to be relentless in the pursuit of our health including healthy minds. I once heard the saying "don't believe everything you think "which is so very true. Our minds are so powerful and go to the negative if we let it. I have battled anxiety since my 20s and I am now in my 50s. I'm at the point where I know the anxiety symptoms so well and pretty much ignore them telling myself it will pass. You need to stay active so you're mind isn't focused on the negative. I have found meditative audios online that deal with stress and anxiety to be very helpful, also regular exercise, eating healthy and socializing. Doingsomething for someone else can make you feel great and it takes the focus off of yourself and your worries.
The WORSTthing we can do is isolate ourselves which causes us to think more and more negatively. As long as we follow up with our doctors and if the tests come out normal we really have to work hard at thinking more positively. You can find great books at the bookstore on the power of the mind and stress, depression anxiety.
ALL THE "WHAT IFS" ARE VERY HARMFUL TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH". What if's are NOT based in reality. It is our mind going to the negative.
Please don't do this to yourself.! I wasted years with the "what if "thinking and nothing bad ever happened!
There is a Another reason to get help such as a counselor is that chronic negative thinking Can actually make negative changes in the brain. . I highly suggest seeing a counselor who can provide tools to help you overcome this. It really helps and has been my lifeline! I go even when I start to feel better.
KEEP THIS IN MIND.....FEAR STANDS FOR. False Evidence Appearing Real. Fear is based out of non-reality
Stay Active, exercises dramatically reduces my anxiety! Socialize, eat healthy, look for free meditative audios online related to negative thinking. They're great! Never give up and be a fighter for yourself!
jan34534 Ollie126
Posted
One more thing Ollie,
I can totally relate to that feeling of fatigue and tiredness which is anxiety and stress related. I felt that way for almost a year!
finally, I decided I'm not taking it anymore. The only way to remove the feeling of fatigue is to begin immediately working on reducing the anxiety and stress. The chronic anxiety causes "brain drain "which in turn causes extreme fatigue as well as all the other symptoms. To get rid of that, I found I had to completely change my negative thinking. It's very hard to do on our own so I started seeing a counselor who really helped me . Then I started exercise which literally lifted the anxiety from me. 99% of my physical symptoms eventually went away including the horrible fatigue. It's a process that is totally worth it!
Ollie126 jan34534
Posted
Thanks Jan, it's really good to hear from someone who has experienced everything I am going through! I haven't been to the gym since this kicked off so I am going to try and get back a few times a week and get more active again! I just don't think I can afford a councillor or therapist, but I am definitely open to trying things myself to try and help improve this situation
Wvgal88 Ollie126
Posted
This is the same thing I go through. I don't want to say Im a hypochondriac.. but it seems like I go back and forth between the though that Im having a brain aneurysm.. stroke.. or heart attack..I have crazy tingling/numbness symptoms all the time and Ill think its one of those... I was medicated and it seemed like it helped for awhile but after quitting meds 1 year ago my paranoia is back and with a vengence. I feel so tired and drained of the constant worrying that something is wrong with me. I can't control it. Its like a switch was flipped. Sometimes I can do things to occupy my mind amd it eases up but as soon as I have time to think its back!! I know how you feel. I have done lots of research and I feel like I suffer from Health Anxiety. Hope your days get better!!
tina09709 Ollie126
Posted
Good morning, everyone! I also get the same symptoms as the rest on the thread and go between "I'm having a heart attack" to "I'm for sure dying of something horrible"! I've noticed that if I cut off coffee and breads, and actual do a gluten free diet of sorts, I don't feel as anxious and many of the symptoms definitely lessen. I hope that helps if even a bit!
Ollie126 tina09709
Posted