OCD with health anxiety. what do I do?
Posted , 4 users are following.
Hello everyone. I always wanted to be a part of group like this one and I am so glad that I finally get to communicate with people who could possibly have similiar issues like mine.
I have diagnosed OCD since childhood, It started with rituals and got pretty bad during my teenage years. I always had a pattern, I would choose one specific thing or event and I would start obsessing over it for years, then I would jump to another (for example, I had this obsession about my beloved dog dying and every single day of my life, I would think about that..my dog is completely fine btw) now, I am obsessing over my health. I went through some medical issues during childhood (not big ones, completely manageable) but OF COURSE I started obsessing over it. 'what if it comes back?' "what if I have cancer?" "what If I have an uncurable disease?" and my health anxiety makes everything 10 times worse... I get physical symptoms like muscle twiching, difficulty breathing. lump in throat, vertigo and list goes on... (I am so weirded out that I don't have any issues with my heart but I'll probably manifest that too If I don't somehow overcome this)... I am only 19 and I have university work to deal with..midterms, classes, presentations.. it's truly so hard when you don't feel like yourself... I am not even gonna talk about going out with freinds... as soon as they offer to go out my brain goes "what if something happens there, you faint or cause some issues? that's gonna be embarrasing and you will ruin their day, stay home, be safe" and I do. I always do. I feel like my life is going and I am stuck in my room, curtains closed, searching up diseases that 1% of worldwide population has and think that I have it. I don't know If any of you relate to this but i could really use some suggestions or anything that you could possibly offer...
thank you so much If you read my mumbling till the end.
0 likes, 5 replies
jan34534 ana32759
Edited
I am really sorry you’re feeling this way. It must be very difficult for you. anxiety is a large component of OCD as you probably know already. And the anxiety tends to put negative scary thoughts in our mind even though they are not true .
They are based on fear which is not fact.
I used to have the same issue of always thinking of the worst things that could happen. But I really want to let you know that I wasted over 30 years doing that and nothing bad ever happened. I can never get those days back and they were spent with mostly worry and fear. I could have been enjoying my life a lot more than I did. I really regret it.
so, I think your best bet would be to speak with a professional counselor about all of this. You need support right now because this is very difficult to try and do alone. That’s because the mind keeps overthinking and get us into a trapped way of thought. Unless there’s some help in stopping it. it’s a really miserable way to live!
What if thinking is a complete waste of time and only makes you more anxious. " What if " doesn’t tell you anything. It’s like a dead space. It keeps you trapped.
thats why I suggest the counseling. You could do it virtually without even leaving home. CBT which stands for cognitive behavioral therapy can help you learn how to get rid of the what if thinking ., etc.
i do hope you get support soon and start to feel better day by day. I found that I had to be tough with myself and stop allowing myself to fall into the loop of fear, anxiety, panic, and back to fear again over and over in the loop. feel better soon
ana32759 jan34534
Edited
Thank you so much! I thought I could overcome this on my own but it's already been 6 months and my improvement is very small... so at this point, seeing a professional would probably be the best... Thanks again for taking the time out of your life and writing this, It truly means a lot to me. have a great day!
mimi89353 ana32759
Edited
Hello there I'm sorry to hear you're under this amount of stress. I have been facing the same too. It has been months now and I keep obsessing over the thought "What if I have cancer?" and "I don't want to die so early" and "What will my sister do without me". I too have started getting physical symptoms. I have shoulder and back pain for three months now and every time I think about it the worst possible scenarios conquer my thoughts.
But let us get in touch if possible ?
I pray this gets over for you and us really soon. Lots of love ❤️3
sima36062 ana32759
Edited
Anxiety can create such weird symptoms. I don't have OCD but when my anxiety is bad i get a lot of obsessive, intrusive thoughts about certain things . Its very difficult, once it starts affecting your everyday life you need to try to get help, medication, therapy, self care. I also went to uni and had one of the worst anxiety flare ups but managed to finish my education and did quite well for myself. I am going trough a blip now with my anxiety. Feel free to message me its always nice to have some support.
ana32759 sima36062
Posted
it's so refreshing to hear that someone with similiar issues managed to finish uni and did not give up halfway...really gives me hope that I'll manage to do the same too. thank you so much for replying, It REALLY means a lot to me. thank you.