Health Anxiety - Every symptom i get, i think its cancer. Does anyone else do this?

A lot of people with anxiety do this. I’ve done it myself but have since stopped. It’s a complete waste of time and you make your self worry for nothing. Everybody has aches and pains etc. at some point in their lives. That’s just a part of being human. And 99.9% of it is harmless.

One of the worst things you can do is constantly google because what you read does not pertain to your individual situation. They don’t list the most common non-serious reasons for symptoms.

if you continue to do this you’re just going to have a miserable life and you can’t get back one of those days! I wasted many years doing that and nothing was ever wrong. Please don’t do that to yourself. Just get a yearly check up at your family doctor and when that is fine then go and live your life because life is short. Take in every single day and enjoy it. Think about what you’re grateful for. Enjoy your family. Experience the beauty of nature, and so on.

Remember that the negative and scary thoughts in your mind or not based on reality or fact. They are only based on fear. And they are just thoughts. They have no power and you can let them go. Listen to some great meditations on YouTube for anxiety and over thinking. Take care

yes! i do this near enough everyday! you're not alone lovely, it is so draining and really upsets me sometimes as when im in the moment i truly believe what im thinking. its scary. im still learning and struggling myself to find ways to cope and stop this but just remember that the doctors know signs to look out for and i find that once ive stopped panicking about it most the pain/aches go away when my anxiety does that also can he quite reassuring 😃 x

Yes, i am like this too! i also have ocd and this tends to go hand in hand with health anxiety. It's so hard when it rears its ugly head. Nobody really understands as it's irrational. I know it's irrational but I'm powerless to stop it. Thankfully it's not always present but when it is it's like being in hell

i experience health anxiety, too – and while i have learned to cope with it, it is the worst. the first thing you must do is PLEASE stop googling, and also visiting your doctor for every little thing. you might not realise it, but that's making your anxiety worse. a lot of my anxiety is actually fuelled by all the googling i did, remembering the reddit posts i read, etc. it took a lot of self-assurance and affirmation to get over them, though i still struggle sometimes. if the doctor says you're ok the first time, you're ok. take care.

i do this near enough daily, i think ive diagnosed my self of nearly every cancer there is to be honest and its absolutely horrible, it actually seems to make the symptoms worse.

Happy to chat about symptoms etc if it makes u feel better.

hello i understand how you are feeling ,i have this to ,im getting a very painful rumbling tummy ,which is worse in the evening ,constanly looking on line ,and reading some fright ing stuff .im scared to go to see my doctor so my mind is constantly overthinking ,i just want to feel normal .hope you are feeling okay today

Oh how I feel for you. I had at least 7 cancers, 1 brain tumour and 2 heart attacks. It's the nature of the beast that makes us feel for certain that we are going to die. All the time, every minute of every day, that beast feeds our anxieties. All that time we are so anxious it stops us from living in the NOW. This is how I managed my beast. I got a check up at the surgery. Nothing bad from tests came up. I was still convinced I had something terrible, even syphilis. That's how bad it was for me. I was certain that I was going to die. All that time and energy I spent in fear. What a waste of my time, I hope you agree. I had 30 years of those feelings that dominated my life. Well, I'm now 72 and still alive and kicking. I can't be bothered with my beast, it still tries to take charge but I got the better of it when I decided to ignore it. I wanted to live NOW not when it tells me I have cancer or a brain tumour. I've never had any of those terrible illnesses. I was more likely to worry myself to death. All those wasted years, don't do this to yourself. It's not worth it.

Logic goes out of the window when this kind of anxiety gets to us, we believe the beast.

Live for the moment and let the future take care of itself. It's said that when you take a bus you buy the ticket then. You don't spend your time thinking about it before hand. When your time comes to take the bus, you will get the ticket that makes the journey worry free.

If you ever develop cancer, you'll deal with it, just like the bus ticket, you'll be given the strength to face that journey.

You owe yourself a wonderful life, trust me and let that beast go.

Thanks for all your replies - i managed to get out of the cycle but now im back in it with a whole set of new symptoms and a new 'cancer'.

I also have terrible health anxiety which has got much worse since losing my husband in his sleep 2 yrs ago. The oast 2 months I have lost my appetite completely. The Dr has tried to reassure me that its to do with grief depression and anxiety but im convinced I have some awful cancer even though my blood tests were all normal. I can't stop googling and wake up every morning in an anxious sweat. I just cant believe that anxiety can cause thus awful appetite loss. Always at the back of my mind is "What if" Its a living nightmare