Health anxiety

[Christine05]

I have such health anxiety and intrusive thoughts on getting sick I feel every sensation in my body and think it’s cancer or something else been like this for a long time Any suggestions on how does anyone else deal with this

[blackcat64013]

Hi Christine, there are a few of us who worry about our health on the forum, some more than others. I had to hear reassurance from my doctor that I am going along in reasonable health. Doctor ran a few blood tests to rule out garden variety conditions and gave me a copy to reassure me. I keep this as a small card in my wallet for reference when anxiety creeps up again.

For general relaxation, I love to go on a long walk to my favourite place in the park. If the weather is bad, my therapist said to imagine the walk in my mind, from the front door and back again. While you are doing this, there is no anxiety. At first I was sceptical but with practice, visualization actually works to distract you from your concerns. You can take a short cut if there isn't time for the whole walk. The last few steps to the park or just sitting on the bench will do. If you find it hard to work on this by yourself, book a few sessions with a therapist.

[Hidden]

Hi Christine05

When you starting thinking negative, focus on something positive! Negative thinking will give you anxiety. I pray that God will give you 🙏 peace.

[PT81]

I recently went through a tough time with this too. I thought it was my heart. There is a history of heart disease in my family. I continue to cope with anxiety and it did improve after I had a stress test and some blood work done. After getting reassurance that it’s not physical health issue, it made it easier to reframe my thoughts to recognize it was my anxiety. It’s my worry/catastrophizing thoughts and not heart.