i've had sickness/cancer/death, etc. phobias since i was very little when i had a bad cause of pnemonia at age five and it has scarred me since. i developed allergies over a month ago and it has escalated my paranoia very badly. because i was so congested, for weeks i was terrified of choking on food or suffocating in my sleep. simply breathing or eating turned into a nightmare. finally, with the right meds, i feel back to normal. but i kept thinking that i didn't have allergies, and that the problem was caused by something else and i had throat cancer. some days i could swear i'd feel like someone was squeezing my throat. i even ended up in the ER thinking i was having some bad allergic reaction when it was only a panic attack and dry mouth.

funnily enough, as soon as that ended, another thing has started. now i am convinced i have a brain tumor and keep thinking my sight is really out of wack. i am going for an eye appointment tomorrow and i'm sure everything will be fine. sometimes doctors help, but other times i don't trust them and think they're hiding something from me.

how do i stop obsessing over my health? i feel like i am crazy when i convince myself of these insane things about my body. i want to be able to get through the day without thinking every ache is cancer or that i'm about to start hallucinating because of some weird brain disease i "must" have. seeing doctors helps but if i just have a physical, then the next thing i'm worried about is something that a physical wouldn't show. the thing is, i'm between schools (i won't be in school again until september) i have no job and i'm home all day, so i get to sit around and recycle these thoughts over and over. what are some good ways of keeping busy or books to read, etc. etc. anything that would help? thank you.

I do the same thing. Mine started back in 2003 when I developed a blood clot in my right arm after having a colonoscopy. They thought the IV in my right hand caused it, however my hemoglobin was slightly elevated at the time and my dr mentioned cancer. Scared me to death and I started obessing about my health 24 hours a day. I got so depressed, was so fatigued and I just knew I was dying. Now with my latest blood work the last two times my white blood count was lower then normal but my dr says I am fine but I still feel like something is wrong all the time. I stay soooooooo tired, they are treating me now for OCD with luvox.

Hey, Like you mention at the end of your post, the best thing to do is take your mind off it all. The more you think about it the worse it gets.

Dont log onto the internet and research your symptoms neither, this is one of the worst things you can do. You will end up convincing yourself you have every illness imaginable, even ones you never heard of until "******" told you about them!

You may think this a bit extreme but CBT might help. I dont know all that much about it, but i think they basically change your thinking process so you dont end up stressing all the time. Its a good method.

Get new hobbies or something and you are sure to start to stop thinking these thoughts.

When your at home all day you dont have much else to think about so the more occupied you are the less this will happen.

Good luck

Wow ya'll do not know who good it feels to know that I am not the only one that does this! I actually have sheets that I printed out and carry in my purse that I have to read and convince myself it is all just in my head. I also take xanax, zoloft and beta blocker for palps. Mine started after my grandmother died in 2000. I was 18 and thought I was dying then it went away and now it is back with avengence.

Ive noticed so many people with health anxiety and Im starting to think it is due to the flood of information that has become so available thru the internet, tv programs (im a bit addicted to discovery health channel myself) --all of these stories of people going to bed at night and never waking up or just dropping dead where they stand. You start thinking these things happen all the time, to the majority of the population. Luckily, they dont. The reason you hear about these things is because it makes for good tv, good news, because it is dramatic and interesting.

I guess you can also consider the fact that we are all going to die, and noone has control over this fact. It is a common goal that we will all acheive. :D I myself am naturally prone to anxiety. Mine channels into other things--Ive already had a health crisis (or two) so I think that actually helps me not be fearful for my health. After you have had cancer, there isnt much left to worry about! So now Im not really afraid of cancer. I know it can come back, but I also know that I will deal with it if the time comes.

Here is what helps me with the whole idea of death: I could die tomorrow. I could die an hour from now. Id hate to think that I would die knowing I lived in fear--because that is not really LIVING. I want to know that no matter when I go, I didnt waste what precious little time I had on this earth. LIfe is really hard but there is alot to enjoy. we cannot enjoy it when we are busy fearing everything and obsessing over the inevitable.

This is not a lecture. Like I said before, I too am prone to lots of anxiety. Ive spent years being afraid, and being afraid is like putting your life on hold. When you think about it, none of us can really afford to do this--any time we spend in this anxiety induced limbo, is time wasted--there is alot out there to enjoy. Sorry if this doesnt help, Ive really gained a new perspective lately and wanted to share it. I wish you all the best and hope you can find peace and contentment. We all deserve to be happy! :angel:

hillaryb,
You go girl!!!! I'm going through a bad episode and you have given hope that this does pass. I think sometimes we need a little perspective in our life. I feel awful right now, but I know this will go away...Thanks for your post it helped me.

Verucah

The problem is that do we really believe it's an anxiety-induced issue?

I have big problems believing that because I don't feel that my symptoms are all that related to how anxious I'm feeling - if anything the way I feel causes my anxiety (which, admittedly, doesn't help the way I feel) and I'm guessing I'm not the only one

When symptoms are there 24/7 you find it difficult to believe there's nothing wrong and sometimes even when you do feel that way, the symptoms are still there, clawing away at your sanity

Well, ok, if you ARE sick and are certain that you dont suffer from anxiety, then you are on the wrong board. Just kidding!! I think most of the people on this thread were fairly certain their problems were their severe anxiety issues, not actual physical problems/serious illness.

Ive had cancer, so technically Ive been sick, then I spent a couple of years in fear waiting to get sick again,and that was all anxiety, not recurring cancer. Health anxiety and actual life-threatening illness are definately two different things.

If you are on this board, posting on health anxiety, then you have a fair amount of certainty (besides what your anxiety is telling you) that you are suffering from anxiety and not brain cancer. Most people suffering from anxiety describe situations in which they are convinced of one illness due to symptoms, then fixate on another illness and start feeling those symptoms.

On the other end of the spectrum, you have people who are truly ill, and are dismissed by doctors as simply being overly imaginitive or dramatic (or even attention seeking). In those cases, I think the doc cannot find the problem, and due to his/her huge ego, will not accept that he/she is stumped. If you feel that you are in this sort of situation, by all means, fire your doc and find one who can help you. They arent ALL good doctors, and it is your right as a patient/customer (remember YOU pay these people after all is said and done) to find someone better, and more willing to take you seriously. That irks me so much!

Right before my cancer was discovered (I was 15 at the time) my dentist told me my bleeding gums were from poor hygene and said no boy would ever kiss me because I was gross. I left his office in tears. Then another doc told my mom she was over-reacting and that HE was the doctor, not her, I was fine, and that she should just shut up and accept his diagnosis. Luckily, cancer tends to make itself known after a while. ugh!!!!

{REMOVED} I've had a few things wrong with me too. Up until now, I haven't really questioned that I would get better, until someone near me died from something I had (pneumonia). Then I took a rethink. I have wound myself into a mental illness apparently. I feel depersonalised and just yucky and numb. My doc thinks it's 10 years of unexpressed emotion and has put me on Zyprexa (to balance out the chemical imbalance in your brain dear) Of course that's done WONDERS for my anxiety. Now I can be apathetic and worried I have something wrong with my brain. I am so wound up that I feel terrible if I relax, which convinces me that something is wrong etc. It's a vicious cycle. I don't really want to take Zyprexa. I've heard a few bad things about it. Has anyone else ever had to take it? Oh, life is SWEET!!!

I am so sorry to hear of your anxiety. I feel the same way. I was diagnosed with leukemia 4 1/2 yrs ago. Although I am better now, I constantly worry that I will get sick and die. One of my most hated expressions is when I hear people say things like, "It'll never happen to me". I don't care in what context it is used, it is just the dumbest thing I ever heard. One day I was living fine and the next I got a "death sentence" as I see it. You never know what life will throw you. I am on Paxil and Ativan for the depression and anxiety I now have. I believe I am suffering PTSD at this point from the cancer, and I most definitely have OCD. I am starting therapy again next week as my symptoms have worsened. I think it is pretty common from what I have seen for you, me, and everyone else to feel like this. Just get all the help you can. My prayers are with you.

Hillary, yeah I know what you mean, being anxious and being sick are two very different things, I just meant that sometimes, even if symptoms are caused by anxiety, it might not feel that way and thus it's difficult to think about things in terms of battling anxiety, because you don't truly believe that's what's wrong - even if it is actually is what's wrong

And sorry to hear about your dentist/doctors experiences. The dentist in particular sounds horrible

hey, thank you all for responding. i am sorry to hear about some of your bad experiences with doctors. that is an awful lot to go through. i agree, i think there's a big difference between really being sick and the doctor not telling you, for whatever reason, or just being anxious and paranoid. i know my problem is just anxiety because whenever i'm not thinking about things like my sight, i feel fine. i think i have spent way too much time by myself and not doing anything and it's really starting to bother me. thanks for all your suggestions, i feel better knowing i'm not alone.

Ok, this may sound extremely stupid, but at the same time may help anyone fearful of getting really sick. I am glad I got cancer. If I had to do it all over, I would still want that experience. That experience taught me so much and made me so much stronger, that now I dont have to be afraid of pain or death. Before i had cancer, I was scared of needles. That seems really funny to me now. I wasnt afraid to give birth to my children, because I knew nothing could hurt as bad as the things I went through with cancer. I also expereinced such growth from being sick, and I can appreciate it now. I have found that our most traumatic experiences can set us free--what is to fear now?? Practically nothing! :angel:

Hillaryb,

I have heard that from other people also that their suffering was for good outcomes. Like my father, he went through this fear of dying 20 yrs ago and now he says it is the best thing that ever happened to him. He is not afraid of anything anymore and he feels so at peace about death and he is living his life fully. It is just tough for people like me who are still suffering to even fathom getting over it and coming out on the other side of this fear. Everything seems hopeless but people like you telling us your stories do give us hope to think maybe, just maybe we will get past this.