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severe health anxiety

Posted , 5 users are following.

julia65539
julia65539

i have health anxiety and it,s ruining my life..Does any one have any proven  ideas on how to overcome this?

0 likes, 40 replies

40 Replies

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  • jonathan17833
    jonathan17833 julia65539

    Posted

    Yes I have them too and also been opticians and my eyes are also fine nothing wrong, googling is the worsed for this I've had health anxiety for 5 years on and off I did have cbt and that did help and also I was on medication called mirtazipine help a little with that and helped me sleep also im suffering now with health anxiety and awaiting therapy for this but they did send me out some modules in how to deal with this and currently I am takinh pregablin tablets two a day.
  • kim88402
    kim88402 julia65539

    Posted

    Hi julia65539, I've suffered from anxiety for years now, and u fortunately overworrying about your health is all apart of the deal. I have conquered a lot in the past few years by simply accepting the anxiety for what it's and waiting, like a cloud, for it to pass. The same goes for health anxiety. I garantee you that if you take a moment you'll find that your mind is soo trained to worry about some part of your body at any given time and the answer in your mind is almost always cancer. like "that lump" or "that headache" or "that abdo pain". Our body is made to want to go into survival mode when our health deteriorates, BUT with anxiety those instincts are increased 100x fold when there is really no threat at all. My best advice for this is:

    1. DONT Google your symptoms. Your keen fingers will always find a way to get to cancer somehow. This is not realistic

    2. I find if I have to google something, google 'help with health anxiety'. It redirects your mind to something realistic and can help you better understand how your mind deals with illness

    3. This worked especially well for me. I spoke to my doctor about death after lots of health anxiety and he told me that's it's actually really hard for people to die. Our bodies are made strong, and even if something is wrong with our body the likelihood of death from it is super minimal. Try to focus on the joy of being alive and healthy.

    4. Therapy. CBT will help you align your thoughts to be more positive.

    Good luck!

    • julia65539
      julia65539 kim88402

      Posted

      Hi Kim, it,s so nice to know there,s others out there with the same awful problem..not that i,d wish it upon my worst enemy but i used to think i was the only person who could ever feel like this..i will try to stop googling although it,s so tempting ...and yes the bottom line is i,m so scared of dieing,i suppose that,s what,s scary to everyone on here? or else we wouldn,t be worried about getting ill all the time..
  • joanne71205
    joanne71205 julia65539

    Posted

    Hi Julia, I am off work currently with severe health anxiety, following Labarynthistis and now post viral fatigue. However, I am convinced I have something much more sinister. I completely feel your pain, it has taken over my life and affects me 24/7. I can feel spaced out, brain fog, and completely detached from my family. It breaks my heart the impact this had all had on my little boy. If you need to chat further, let me know x
    • julia65539
      julia65539 joanne71205

      Posted

      Hi Joanne, thanks for your reply..it,s so surreal hearing people say they know how i feel and they feel the same..it,s so sad to be feeling all this anguish and dis stress all the time...I hope it hasn,t had too much effect on your little boy..x
    • joanne71205
      joanne71205 julia65539

      Posted

      Thanks Julia, yes you are absolutely right it is sad people go through this. My little boy is 9 and his world changed overnight when I got poorly. The PVF saps my energy, but he has been so grown up and brave and says he loves me and we can have fun again when I am better. I pray for that day to come. I hope you get well soon x
    • julia65539
      julia65539 joanne71205

      Posted

      Oh i,m sure your son loves you no matter what..i,d never heard of PVF before, but it must get you down being tired all the time..i feel tired keep worrying and not sleeping much..x
    • julia65539
      julia65539 joanne71205

      Posted

      Hi again Joanne..what were your symptoms with labarynthistis?..As my ears have gone slighly deaf and i,m getting worried as to what it is,
    • joanne71205
      joanne71205 julia65539

      Posted

      Hi, My main symptoms were slight dulling of the hearing in one ear, feeling sick and off balance as well as having vertigo when moving around and brain fog. At the beginning I had very shaky legs and felt like I would pass out on standing up. x 
    • julia65539
      julia65539 joanne71205

      Posted

      Mine seems to be both my ears feeling slighly death on and off for last 2 weeks, it,s scaring me now, don,t appear to have other symptoms although feel sick at times..how long did your deafness last? x
    • joanne71205
      joanne71205 julia65539

      Posted

      It came and went for about 12 weeks. It will flare up again still if I go into a noisy environment. Often this will make the dizziness flare up too. x 
    • joanne71205
      joanne71205 julia65539

      Posted

      Hi , Yes I had Labs for approx 12 weeks on and off! The deafness tended to come and go with the dizziness but episodes got less frequent the longer I had it x 
    • julia65539
      julia65539 joanne71205

      Posted

      Oh right, well i don,t know what i,ve got but it,s getting me down, and like yourself i am thinking   its something serious of course with this health anxiety i suffer from..  :O(
    • joanne71205
      joanne71205 julia65539

      Posted

      Have you had your ears checked, maybe you need them stringing? Or could your anxiety be causing very slight tinnitus which sometimes makes your hearing feel very slightly dulled, even though the ringing may only be very quiet? I feel your pain - health anxiety is bloody awful! x
    • joanne71205
      joanne71205

      Posted

      Syringing not stringing...... doh! 
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