Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi everyone, I'm having a really tough time with my health anxiety. This started when I was 11, I felt a lump on my testicle, didn't tell anyone (I know, what a stupid thing to do) and assumed I had cancer, by the time I was 16 I assumed that it had spread everywhere, therefore was hypersensitive to things in my body, pain, spasms, etc. At long last, as 19, I had my naive self-diagnosis falsified, when the doc said there was nothing there except a cyst, nothing to worry about. However health anxiety was now a thing, there to stay. After that, at 20, I believed I had MS, which my dad also had before he died, suffered huge anxiety attacks over it, symptoms also began to show, tingling, numbness, dizziness etc. Went to the doctor, no tests done but he suggested it was most definitely my mind. However, at 18, or maybe the year before, I had started getting abdominal pains, ranging all across the abdomen, left to right, top to bottom, infrequently and not so painful as to render me incapacitated, this has been a constant thing, even through periods when my health anxiety has been 'gone'. It's recently got worse, alongside a feeling that food is stuck in my throat, pain at the end of my esophagus/ stomach area, heartburn etc. My health anxiety has instantly made this a huge issue, do you guys think there is an underlying issue? I've booked to see the doc again, just need help from others on how to distinguish HA from real issues, and don't want to overlook possibly real issues because people say oh it's just HA. Really need help here!
Thanks a bunch!
0 likes, 8 replies
Becky183 alexander04446
Posted
alexander04446 Becky183
Posted
Thanks, Becky! To be honest, it's always the time just after my anxiety starts and the visit to the doctors that I'm really bad! Thanks for your advice, means a lot!
GerardCB alexander04446
Posted
Alexander,
I 100% urge you to see a therapist. You are visitng your doctors and they are giving you diagnoses for your physical symptoms, but since you are aware that you have health anxiety, you need to shift your focus from "making sure you don't have a physical illness" to "getting rid of your health anxiety".
I think if you talk to a therapist about that they can offer you solutions to your restless mind.
I recommend looking up books on anxiety. Books for me really helped me overcome my panic and GAD. I don't read, but it gives you daily hope if you read and learn about your anxiety a few pages a day.
A supplement that I believe might help you shift your focus is L-Theanine. It is a supplement that calms your thoughts. I find it useful for me to not overthink things
alexander04446 GerardCB
Posted
Really appreciate you taking the time to give me feedback, it's crazy what your brain can do to you, the cyclical nature of Health Anxiety is just awful.
Finding a good therapist isn't always the easiest thing to do, but I will ask my doc to forward me to. Where can L-Theanine be brought, is it something that can be added to drinks such as tea etc?
Thanks again!
Mummyt2 alexander04446
Posted
My health anxiety is bad at the minute and it's hard to tell if the things we feel are real or caused by our anxiety currently at the minute I'm having upper back pain rib pain also leg pain I've visited doctors lots and never really found much to be wrong outer mind plays tricks on us
shekme10120 alexander04446
Posted
I suffered from this mildly but only got to the stage of constant Googling and fretting. A 6 week course of cognitive behavioural therapy really helped but sometimes it creeps back so I am considering maybe another course or something similar.
You don't want to get into a cycle where going to the doctor for testing is the only thing that will calm you down, you want to reach a stage where you can relax by yourself.
Please take comfort in the fact that each time you've gone to the doctor, it's ended up being "all in your head".
Anxiety does crazy things to your body and for a sufferer, much of the time, that's all it is. Reading and hearing about other people's experiences comforts me because I feel like "well, we can't all be dying". It reassures me just how powerful our thoughts and fears can be and reminds me that it's just in mine and many other people's heads.
sara59490 alexander04446
Posted
Hey, I just want to say I have had ALL of the symptoms you just described. It lasted around 2-3 months for me before I finally sought therapy for help. It has helped and now I only have minor symptoms of anxiety once and awhile. I can't say my health anxiety is gone yet but it has decreased in severity majorly. I would suggest trying therapy and if they don't think they can help they will at least tell you the next step you should try. They don't just leave you hanging and it feels good to know someone is trying to help you and is finally listening.
Hope this helps and I hope you start feeling better soon!
alexander04446 sara59490
Posted
Apologies for the long reply Sara, been a busy week or so, I went to the doctor who referred me for CBT therapy. What you've said about CBT does sound very promising and I actually do look forward to starting and hopefully getting better in the long term!
Many thanks to you for sharing your experience!
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