We all do it some time in our lives. We know we've got anxiety disorder but we still worry that some ache or pain is the harbinger of heart disease, cancer or some other serious physical illness.
So we consult Doc Google who occasionally brings reassurance but more often than not confirms our worst fears. We may go see our doctor who sends us for tests. But even when the results come back negative we're still not totally convinced. Even though all along we really know it's anxiety disorder. If you're in any doubt you only have to look at what this forum is called, the clue is in the title.
The problem is it's all wasted time and energy: reading up and accessing medical assistance for something we haven't got. Because you can never recover from an illness you don't have - no matter how hard you try.
Instead we should put that effort into recovering from the illness we do have: the one that begins with the letter A.
When our nervous system becomes over sensitised through too much worry, stress, over work or disappointment it magnifies our normal concerns ten-fold. That's why we always fear the worst and some people end up obsessed that death is imminent.
Even when we accept that the problem is anxiety and are prescribed medications to bring relief many people have an exaggerated fear of the side effects or becoming addicted and won't take the meds. Nobody wants to rely on medications to feel normal but they can provide much needed temporary relief which is important if you've got family or job responsibilities to consider. Any side effects are minimal compared with mental suffering and nobody should become addicted so long as coming off them is slowly tapered over time.
So I say that medications have a part to play in recovery and don't deserve to be demonised. The breathing space meds give should be used to look into self help methods for recovery from anxiety disorder and the secondary depression that sometimes comes out of the anxiety.
Merely listing one's latest symptoms on this forum on a daily basis is never going to exorcise the beast and neither is just waiting for some spontaneous recovery.
Self-help for recovery means reading up on how we get anxiety and how to overcome it, there are scores of good books out there waiting to be discovered. They can bring reassurance, understanding and courses of action that can lead to full recovery. But many people feel they haven't got the time or concentration to read a book on the subject, though they'll willingly spend hours Googling illnesses they don't have.
The book I always recommend is 'Self help with your nerves' written years ago by Claire Weekes who was first to develop and advocate the Acceptance method that has proved so successful.
So it's important to stay focussed on overcoming the illness we do have and doing something positive about it.
