The curse of health Anxiety?

[livvyloo]

Okay so who else is cursed like me,with health anxiety? come on, hands up!!

It destroys me, yeah everyone has there fair share of rubish in life but i have had my fair share already at 24, I think probably enough to last me a whole life time.

I got through it all, without turning to drink and drugs-yrust me the temptation was there-mostly wine was calling me, lol.

I dont understand why you get through your hell then wheneverything is supposed to be going good, yet again my health anxiety bites me on the ar** "Boom"

Well, when I get sick, or get an attack of my anxiety and health anxiety its miserable, I feel like a prisoner of my body and mind-Im sure you guys out there can totally relate to that one?!

We all know the hurrendous symptims with anxiety, but I get them even when I dont think I feel nervous or anything, The racing haert,palpitatipns and eptopic beats (Missed beats) chest pains, back pain and My ibs-well..... my bowels feel like theres a westling championshio going on in there!! haha. All jokes a side it drives me mad-that woopsy feeling in my tummy then needing the loo. makes you feel soooo attractive.

Anyway Im a bit of a nightmare and im not very good at accepting help-very independant and stbborn-which prob causes my anxiety-catch 22 hey!

If I have a headache for more than a day I worry I might have a brain tumour, if one foot is colder than the other I think it might be my arteries closing up. If I have that lump in the throat feeling I might worry my throat is closing up and im going to stop breathing, if I get a rash I worry its meningitus.

Its crazy but when im feeling this way there is totally no rationality.

So, Im emarrassed but im asking if anyone elase out there is in the same boat or has been in the past, just for a bit of comfort?

Thanks xxxxxx

p.s Im sorry to sound so angry in this post but im so tired of fighting this.

[Slimboy Jim]

Don't feel embarassed to open up about your condition, and also there's really no need to apologise for sounding angry in the post - we all have to get it off our chests sometimes!! And besides, it sounds like this health anxiety must be immensely stressful so it seems justified to get a little vexed now and again.

I personally haven't experienced anxiety directly related to health concerns, though it amazes me to learn of all the different forms this illness can take, but i can definitely relate to what you say about feeling like a prisoner in your own body. As you say, it's because your body becomes taken over with all these invasive physical symptoms even when you know there's no logical reason to feel so threatened. And it's REALLY frustrating!! You just feel like you wanna be able to shift your mind into someone else's body for a change. If only that were possible... 

[ch4i5]

hi livvyloo,

i have been through some tough times and have had some of the simptoms you listed above like the IBS stuff and health anxiety as that caused me so much pain the it made me pass out and this happened so offten i developed a phobia from it, but in the end im sort of over it as i learned to ignore the pain by relaxing and learning not to rush things. i went to see a dietition and they said to change my diet eat three good portions of food a day and snack regularly so your body can prosses the food over a period of time, from this i have managed to control my diet and the results are amazing as i dont have really bad pains anymore and it has lead me to being able not to focus on the ibs and allows me to focus on getting better

the same sort of goes for the anxiety as well as shifting focus from your fears and phobias and reassurance that the thoughts running through your head are just irrational is the way to approach the anxiety. well it is for me as i am taking my time and trying each day to say to myself these thoughts are just irrational and not true so why do i beleve them so, and have obtained a overcoming anxiety tape set that over a period of twenty weeks for 30 mins a day of training your brain helps emmensly.  I am half way through it but it is working for me as i am doing things i haven't been able to do in months.

cheers chris

[Sasha]

livvyloo

Yeh, don't worry about sounding angry. Anxiety is tough and it's no wonder we get angry.

Chris

It's interesting that you thought your anxiety about health had turned into a phobia.
My problem is more social anxiety but I feel that this has become a phobia too. Repeated experience has made anxiety a pavlovian response.

You sound like you're making ssome good progress though.

Do you come to the meet ups? It would be good to hear from you if you do.