Worrying myself sick, finding out how irrational I was being for months.

[Andrea1915]

does anyone else ever notice this? I have pretty severe health anxiety and I will go through about 2 episodes a year these episodes willLast for months and they will literally debilitate me from my life! After months of fear with googling everything I can about a particular disease that my mind tells me I have I will finally start to come out of it! once I start to come out of it I start to forget about whatever I was concerned about now a few days have gone by all of a sudden when I think about what I have been thinking all these weeks and putting myself through I all of a sudden can't believe that I was doing that! I start thinking about how irrational that was and what a waste of time! Does this happen to anyone else?

[Agora1]

Hi Andrea1915, I imagine this happens to most people with Health Anxiety. The thing is not to Google diseases or symptoms. It will only cause your anxiety to rise. The fear from that is irrational in that it causes the red flags to go up in your mind and before long you think you have the disease. After it runs it's course and you realize it was a false alarm, it makes you wonder how you could believe in that. What you need to do is turn your negative thinking around and start with knowing it is irrational to think the worse. Tell yourself it will pass, you have been fooled before by anxiety playing it's mind games. Ignore the symptoms because they are not coming from a physical issue but rather from your anxious mind. x

[Andrea1915 in reply to Agora1]

Thanks for taking the time to reply what you said is spot on I do need to stop googling things it literally becomes an obsession I get so convinced and literally will look up the same thing over and over for weeks to turn around and wonder why the heck I was doing that I'm sure if I didn't google so much I wouldn't even feel most of the symptoms I get because I think I manifest them through reading so much about them I feel like my health anxiety had gotten so much worse like 90% worse in the last 7 years since I got and iPhone and had the Internet with me all day long! I had health anxiety as a kid and teenager and since we didn't have the Internet like we do now I would look up things in my grandparents medical books or world book encyclopedias lol! I have always struggled with health anxiety but never like this it has gotten so out of control and taking over my life it ruins relationships and takes so much time away from my own kids I do need to do like you said and Stop thinking the worst! I wish I could enjoy life and be content and stop focusing and obsessing I wish I wasn't so aware of every little thing about myself life would be so much more peaceful if you know what I mean 😏

[Hidden in reply to Andrea1915]

My family keeps threading to take my phone always bc I'm always looking things up. I know I shouldn't but I do anyway! My biggest issue is thinking something is terribly wrong with my heart and that I'm going to drop dead at any moment. It's so irrational, but to me it feels so real and no one seems to understand

[Agora1 in reply to Hidden]

We understand Hdelmari. Rather than looking things up that as you know only feed into your anxiety, why not try reading Dr. Claire Weekes book which will explain the fear and how to get rid of it. A more positive approach

[Hidden in reply to Agora1]

What book is that?

[Agora1 in reply to Hidden]

It is probably the most talked about book on the forum. Used by many including myself. I just received yet another copy of her paperback book to carry with me. It's called "Hope and Help for Your Nerves by Dr. Claire Weekes. I got it on Amazon. With it I got a CD (when I'm in my car) called "Pass through Panic by Dr. Weekes.

Her teachings go back some years, but the positive results are the same.

[Chloececilia]

Hi Andrea, just noticed that you have started following me so I thought I would come and say hi.

I too get this and believe it's pretty common in sufferers of health anxiety. Once you 'come out of it' you look back and realise how irrantional your thoughts were. As is the nature with health anxiety! I haven't read all of your posts yet, but have you been to CBT or Hypnotherapy etc for this?

Googling symptoms is the worst thing I personally could possibly do for my health anxiety. It took me quite a while (oddly!) to figure out that googling (or even sometimes coming on here, I am part of Thyroid UK) would get me going. Sometimes when you ask on a forum about medical issues, well-meaning people will say things like 'maybe you should get 'x' checked' or 'is it possible you also have 'x' ? These people are simply looking out for others, but in someone with health anxiety this is petrol on the fire.

As part of a recovery process through CBT I was not to Google or search or talk in forums about medical issues in addition to trying to stop my OCD tendencies like pulse and temperature taking.

I am still bad and have the occasional google and now I can see that it ALWAYS precedes an episode.

[Hidden in reply to Chloececilia]

I'm obsessed with checking my pulse and heart rate! It's so frustrating and I find myself doing it without even noticing it. My husband is very annoyed by it. I wish I could stop. I have major heart health anxiety! It's taken over my life I've started therapy and I'm not supposed to google things either but it's a tough habit to break.

[Chloececilia in reply to Hidden]

Yes, it's extremely hard to break but you will do it! I no longer check my pulse and have been in CBT and Hypnotherapy since around June 2016.

It all works and is worth it. It annoyed my partner also until I explained to him what I was feeling from the bottom of my heart. He sympathises now and is extremely understanding.

Have you had a heart to heart with your husband? Will make you feel better too.

[Hidden in reply to Chloececilia]

I have and he's very understanding for the most part since he also suffers with social anxiety, he just gets tired of reassuring me and wants me to start helping myself. I just started therapy so I know I have a longs way to go

[Andrea1915 in reply to Hidden]

My husband has lost patience w me about my fears if I say the word cancer to him he gets upset and says you don't have cancer!!! And then walks away from me if only he knew how bad it felt to live this way

[Andrea1915 in reply to Hidden]

I have one of those finger pulse oxygen meters by my bed at all times I'm always doing this to it's insane I'm sure I look crazy to my family when they see me siting there w that thing on my finger all the time

[Andrea1915 in reply to Chloececilia]

Oh I know googling things is the worst! I need to get back into therapy I go and then I stop going I am just crying right now because of how much this takes from my life! I feel so bad that anyone has to live like this

[Hms2112]

Hi, yes I'm the exact same way. I came down with norvirus 3 weeks ago and have been googling stuff about it non stop