Severe health anxiety

Hi @awkwardhighfive

Welcome to the forums! We always like to make sure we welcome all our newest members, and of course thank you for sharing your story with us.

We have loads of friendly members whom will no doubt support you on your journey.

Have there been any things that have worked, or perhaps not worked when dealing with your anxiety, and overwhelming thoughts?

Hi @tacocat , thanks for replying!

It used to be much more easily controlled, but particularly with anxiety about my health I find that I spiral a lot quicker. My usual methods such as breathing exercises don’t seem to work anymore. I haven’t found anything that’s been 100% effective in aiding my anxiety recently, so I unfortunately push through at my own detriment.

Hi @destructive, thank you for the kind words, they’re much appreciated. It is nice to share and hear from others even if they don’t have the same experience.

Hi @awkwardhighfive ,

Welcome to the community and thank you for sharing. As time pass, things might changes. It can feel unsettle when the things that used to work for you stopped working. What are some of the things that are somewhat helpful for you at the moment?

Hi @GardensHeart , thanks for your response. I’ve had a hard time finding things that work for my anxiety recently. As it’s been accompanied by prickling headaches as of late I find that an ice pack sometimes helps, but I don’t always have one on hand. Other than that, I’ve been struggling quite a lot and just trying to push through.

Hi there! I'm quite late to your post but as I'm looking around for thoughts on a similar subject, I wanted to pop in here. How have you been the last couple of months on this topic?

Thanks for sharing your story about health anxiety, I know it can be intimidating to talk about especially when health issues without a clear diagnosis might get excused for being 'just made up'. And even if you're pretty sure it's connected to your anxiety or mental health, it's not like it just goes away with a poof or doesn't hurt to deal with.

I come from a similar situation, only my health has been affected for many years (fatigue, polycystic ovaries, and now IBS etc.) but with unknown causes. The fear of never healing even from small illnesses plagues me regularly, so that the line blurs between stress-induced or circumstantial illness. All this to say, I can imagine how frustrating it must be for you at the moment.

What I found most helpful in handling the fear was to learn, and unlearn, what I was taught about being sick by my family. I have a mother who would try to 'find blame' for the illness (as if you can avoid all of it) and an over-perfectionism with diet. Even though you grew up healthy, what sort of things did people around you teach around illness, through words or behaviours?

In my case, learning that these fears were taught to me was the most freeing thing. It was no longer about arguing with myself if a fear was true or not, just about comforting where it came from.

I can't say I'm totally healed, but by being much kinder to myself and addressing the memories therapeutically, the anxiety reduces and I'm at least able to make the most of what energy there is available.

I hope this helps or gives food for thought and that you find a way to manage or recover, however the journey ahead may look for you. ❤️

Thanks for sharing @Evren .

I read that you have learnt many valuable lessons along the way.

You are right in saying learning that your fears are learnt is so real.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

How are you all going today @awkwardhighfive @Evren @destructive ?

@tyme sorry , just saw this been MIA

Hope you're well