Health Anxiety or Real Illness

keep in mind that you’ve been through this before. From what you were saying, it sounds like the same thing again. your health anxiety is putting negative thoughts in your mind. I highly suggest that you stop reading this online because it’s not going to help you in anyway. All it will do is increase your anxiety. Also your symptoms increase when you read about things online which says that it’s your anxiety.

you could literally drive yourself crazy for the rest of your life doing this. Believe me, I’ve been there and I literally wasted years of my life with worry and nothing bad ever happened. You won’t be able to get back any days or months or years that you spend in needless worry.we all get eggs and pains throughout our life and you can’t automatically go to the negative.

99% of the time everything is fine.

just get a yearly physical check up with your doctor. If everything is OK then get on with your life and enjoy it! We don’t have to go to the doctor every time we get a muscle twitch or a pain or fast heart rate from anxiety. most things resolve on their own.

I suffer from the same problem!, if i feel the slightest of anything, its the end of the world for me. I will think and think and think about how i feel and why i feel that way i do. I've been trying to find a solution or anything that helps. What i have found is giving someone close to me a phone call and talking it out. Now i do have a problem of talking to them while i'm in an anxiety attack or something but i'm working on that haha. But that is what helps me out for now and maybe it will help you. I hope you feel better and maybe figure something out. I wouldn't wish this feeling on any of my enemies.

Thank you both, so much. I do feel like I am driving myself crazy some days, its hard to know what symptoms are real and what are anxiety being stuck in this vicious circle.

Wishing you both good health, stay safe.

👍

Trust me when I say youre not alone with this.

I have suffered with the same thing on and off since I was a kid. Pretty much every serious health condition in the book, I've convinced myself I've had over the years. I'm gradually learning to accept that the body can play tricks on you, and symptoms can be created in your mind.

I know it's easier said than done but when these thoughts enter your mind, try to distract yourself as soon as possible, and dont Google symptoms.

Hang in there

I feel like this everyday. I have a headache and i think i have a brain tumour, i have stomach cramps and i think ive got colon cancer, my heart rate is fast and im having a heart attack. Im aware of what i do but i still do it, its a hard habbit to break and ive still not managed to. I tell myself its all in my head or that these symptoms are just part of everyday life but the other side of my brain is saying "get it checked out" I dont have the answers but i do know how you feel.

I am currently going through this as well, its tough to say the least, every day is a struggle for me. if I feel a different pain or twitch, im googling for the whole day after. I'm on meds now (sertraline) are you? health anxiety is the worst!

It really is tough, so draining everyday, it would be great to break the cycle but no idea how to, feel like I need to reset my brain! Not taking prescribed medication but started with herbal nerveroot the last few days so hoping that will help at some point soon.

Hi Claire,

I completely understand the taxing effects of health anxiety on your mind and body. I've been experiencing the struggle for 12 months now and some days are worse than others. The last couple of months have been worse, the more I channel in on my symptoms, the more they have intensified. I had 2 good days this week, but crashed again today. Tight neck muscles, weak arms and legs. Just take it day by day, one step at a time and have FAITH in yourself that you have the power to overcome the fear that is holding you back. I'm a firm believer that the physical symptoms heighten when I focus on how I'm feeling and it's almost as though I convince myself that it's too good to be true that I'm having a good day. The power of the mind is incredible. This week I've been trying to turn around my thoughts. So when I feel trapped with fear, I reassure myself that these feelings will pass and that I will not give into fear. Fear will not take away my power, I am stronger than this. Breathe deeply and try a meditation or a long bath. You will get through this!!

hi claire

the last few weeks i've been the same. one thing i found very interesting is my GP is aware i have suffered from anxiety for years however during the first lock down believe it or not my anxiety seemed to have been the best its ever been, fast forward to September time I gained this cough that wouldn't go, worried I called my GP and she explained that since we are in lock down i have nothing to worry about so my mind as changed to health anxiety this all made sense however thanks to dr google i am now certain my cough and tight chest is due to lung cancer as of course it cant be anxiety! no matter how much i joke to myself the horrible feeling wont go away so i really understand how you feel. i just wanted to share what my GP told me encase that helps you in anyway.

hi Claire,

I exactly know what you are going through.

I also experience exact same health anxiety almost everyday since last 2 years. I have searched for so many cancers, heart attack, brain tumors etc. i also have pretty bad anxiety about my blood pressure and all these different thoughts drive my blood pressure even further up which make me more anxious and then endless cycle of anxiety and driving blood pressure higher continues.

it is super draining for me.

but I am listing few tips to try. all of these I found online by researching it during last 2 years and I feel these things helped me to manage my thoughts & anxiety somewhat better.

1. get your Annual checkup done regularly. it will give you that mental peace at least for a short while that you are doing ok.
2. use "worry time window". Whenever you feel like searching for some symptom or health issue- instead of searching or thinking about it right that moment , set aside time window. like every night only 9 to 9:15 you will search for anything related to health. this does not help always. but many times it happened to me that by the time I reach to my worry time window I am not thinking about or feeling that particular symptom that I dont feel like researching about it.
3. Try to cultivate a hobby. -whatever makes you super interesting in to it, spend time doing that. gaming, outdoor activity, cooking, painting whatever. try to research more about that activity, look up videos on youtube about it. for me sometimes this helps since my mind gets really busy thinking about that hobby instead of worrying.
4. Let it out. try to talk about it as much as you can. if you have family member who understands this then try to share this otherwise use forums like this to let your thoughts out. This really helped me a lot.
5. Supplements. -make sure you are getting your vitamins. specific for me I recently started taking Magnesium supplement and I feel it is helping me a lot to calm down.
6. Meditation. For me it is not super useful. Many time meditation makes me more anxious because as soon as I try to calm my brain starts feeling my heart beat throughout the body and that makes me more anxious. But this works for lot of other people so it is worth trying.
7. Exercise- try to do high intensity workout at least few times every week. For me this also helps a lot. especially few hours after exercise I feel super calm.

i hope this helps and all the best. I am sure that you will be able to overcome this one day. All the very best. Take care.

You not alone. Try to meditation and breath training. Keep calm.

Thank you all for your kind words and advice, it really is appreciated and helpful. It's also reassuring to know I'm not the only one going through it type of thing so I'm not completely crazy! Stay safe and I'll definitely give some of the suggestions a go.