Severe health anxiety

Hi all,

New to this site and these forums but I’m desperate to share with and hear from others who might be feeling the same way.

For context, I am 30, female, have dealt with anxiety and depression on and off since I was 12, with no major known health issues - I have recently been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) but am for the most part making small changes to help manage my chronic condition.

Recently though my anxiety has made a very strong comeback. I have severe debilitating anxiety around my health and the health of my loved ones. I have always been a hypochondriac and recently it has taken a HUGE toll on me. As my anxiety has returned, my symptoms have also evolved and manifested in the form of prickling headaches, vision changes, sensitivity lights, sounds, nausea etc — all of which were very concerning to me. I have had an MRI done with no red flags (which is great news), however still there’s a little voice in the back of my head that worries about strokes, aneurysms, etc — the things that happen in an instant. Even talking or typing about it brings me severe anxiety.

I have started seeing a therapist again recently after years without needing one. Health anxiety is a topic we will be exploring soon (we’ve delved too deep into other topics our past two sessions and haven’t gotten to the health anxiety part yet). But I am wondering if there are others out there that have been through similar things, and if so, how you manage it? I’m being kept awake at night from my debilitating thoughts and am struggling quite a lot.

Sorry for such a long post!