Annoying thoughts

[Kevin160]

Hey everyone, recently my health anxiety isnt so bad, but its more of feeling always careful, i find myself considering and thinking about my health especially heart heakth more than usual, whenever i hear someone die of a stroke or heart attack, i just feel uncomfortable and anxious, although

*im 17

*im physically healthy

*i dont smoke

*im skinny and tall

However my family they all smoke and they dont listen when i tell me to not smoke around me, they smoke all the time for years and im starting to think that what this could have done to me, i guess im just finding new things to worry about which is very annoying and frustrating , my lifestyle isnt the healthiest, i dont exercise regularly and i dont eat very healthy, i dont eat lots of fruits and i mostly eat meats and junk foods, my brother is a heavy smoker (very heavy smoker) like 3 packs a day ...and recently he tested his cholesterol and fats and they were dangerouly high , considering he is in his early 20’s , im just never really thought passive smoking is really dangerous or can increase my cholesterol and cause my heart health to fall , and cause strokes or other blood vessels to narrow , im being overdramatic i know, but i just feel a bit that the world is a scary place filled with so many diseases and although im young , i keep feeling that what if the odds werent against me , dont get me wrong im not super stressed but like i just started considering alot of things health wise, and hypertension and diabetes run in my family , so it all contributes to me arguments , i guess i just worry that i would get lung cancer or heart disease or something ...and that wouldnt even be my fault

Like even when im not with them and they come and smoke near me and they know how much i hate smoking and its smell , i smell like ciggares all the time and they just dont care , so all these years they have been smoking beside me , and i already suffer from chronic shortness of breath, i went to a doctor about it he gave me meds but nothing worked , everyone was like this is due to anxiety and stress, and its been for years so long to a point where its my new normal , i just cant get a comfortable breath except by my mouth every 2 or 3 minutes , in between all breaths are short and uncomfortable , its terrible and i really always fear something wrong with my health, because everything i complain of doesnt really have an accurate diagnosis or treatment , such as shortness of breath, migraines, diziness, general symptoms that can happen to anyone all the time, but worries someone with health anxiety like me

[Jeff1943]

There are so many ill people in the world whose symptoms are real. You are not one of them, Kevin. Just take things as they come and accept there is no need to worry about illnesses you don't have. Maybe you are still trying to cure yourself of illnesses you don't have. You cannot cure yourself of an illness you don't have no matter how hard you try. I know you are no coward Kevin but remember the old Maxim: " The brave man dies once, the coward a thousand times". Don't die a thousand times, Kevin. All is well with you. You are in no real danger. You are a fit and healthy young man who thinks a little too much about your health. There are more interesting things in the world to interest you at 17.

[Kevin160 in reply to Jeff1943]

Yes i know that im currently fine , but i just worry about the future ..

[Kevin160 in reply to Jeff1943]

I also get severe migrianes with aura , these attacks are terrible and are only getting worse and more frequent , its similar to the cycle with panic attacks, getting panic attacks would make me more stressed about getting panic attacks , so now i feel myself getting anxious about getting another migraine attack, also worrying about how stress can aggrevate it.

[Jeff1943 in reply to Kevin160]

I get those visual auras and have done for over 40 years, just 4 or 5 times a year, they last for 25 minutes.

Tell your doctor about them but the way to deal with them is exactly the same as with all the other symptoms of anxiety: you accept them for the time being in keeping with the method described by Claire Weekes in her first book 'Hope and help for your nerves" available new or used for just a few dollars from Amazon or Ebay.

Accepting means coexisting with them without the need to feel fear or be stressed. This takes practice to achieve; you don't just switch it on.

[Kevin160 in reply to Jeff1943]

Its not just visual though , at first they were, now whenever i get them my tongue,face and palms become so numb i cant feel the, or mover them , i start having difficulty understanding and saying things , i get tunnel vision and blinspots, nausea and diziness , im just worried they would get even worse , like if they didnt get worse or more freuqmet i wouldnt be as worried, but seeing that anxiety could be the reason its getting worse makes it more difficult

[Jeff1943 in reply to Kevin160]

Do keep your doctor fully informed of the symptoms you have described here. I think it would help you if you were referred to a specialist, maybe a neurologist, so you know for sure if this is anxiety driven. I would still put my money on anxiety being the culprit but you need the reassurance that only a specialist doctor can give you.

[Kevin160 in reply to Jeff1943]

Yes i Will that , because i used to suffer from it before anxiety started but sfter i started having anxiety it became much worse

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I'm the same, what makes us vulnerable to these thoughts ? How do some people not have them ?