Help please.

[HelloPanda23]

I've been going through many fears in these past 2 months. My anxiety started going crazy and affecting my nerves due to drinking a can of redbull, and ever since then, I've had many good and bad days. Starting a month ago, my fear got focused to ALS because I thought I slurred my speech and while searching for symptoms, that's what I found. I never really worried much about it being ALS until I looked at the other symptoms. It's like, if I get these symptons, how can I differentiate them from ALS? That's because these symptoms are super common and nothing to worry about. I know if I never searched up ALS I wouldn't be scared of it, and that my sensitized nerves are making me worry about something that will never affect me. I understand fully that it's anxiety and that I'm completely okay, but the fear is still in me. When I'm distracted and around friends, I forget about this issue and feel super good. When I'm not distracted, I can feel the fear and I get anxious but I have no symptoms. I legit don't have a single symptom of this fatal disease and I fear it like it's the end of the world for me. I know I won't get it and that i'm completely fine, but the anxious feeling is still there and I still get afraid while imagining myself dying with the disease. Can anyone please help me get rid of this unnecessary fear? Any CBT techniques I can use to calm myself, or anything? I will say this now and will feel better days, but at the end of the day, this stupid issue returns and makes me feel hateful towards my life.

[HelloPanda23]

Also, I have a constant change between anxiety and als. Sometimes I fear anxiety because it makes me feel terrible, and like I'm dying, but when I get over that, the fear of ALS comes back and makes me feel just as bad. I know I'm not dying and I'm safe, but knowing that doesn't help. I don't know what life is anymore...Like I never had such a fear over my health because I never did research about diseases. I never knew any person in the world was vulnerable to ALS, and so I never worried about it. I feel like if I were to search up fatal diseases and look at their symptoms, I'd gain the same fear I have over ALS over to them. Just this week, I had a weird mole, and it had a weird pimple type thing on it. I got afraid and kept poking at it, thinking I was getting cancer. The thought in my mind after I felt a fear of getting cancer was, "I shouldn't have felt a fear for ALS in the first place, I knew I wouldn't get it and that's why I fear cancer now." Then, the pimple on my mole disappeared and now I'm back to ALS. I know for 10000000000% that it's a psychological issue, but what can I do about it?

[HelloPanda23]

To elaborate, 6 months ago, I had to go to Vegas, and my fear of a shooting happening was scaring me so much (this is because the vegas massacare had occurred and I was afraid it'd happen again when I was there with my family). At this time, I didn't really have terrible anxiety but it was just there and I still had a huge fear of death. The thing is, my fear of dying was related to someone killing me or dying of let's say a fire. I never for a second feared dying from a health issue, and after I had my first red bull, my fear reverted. My anxiety became entirely health focused and I'd worry about how I felt. It'd go away because I realized I wasn't dying, and I think reading up on a disease that can happen to anyone in the world sparked this fear even more. I think this is the issue, and I'm saying all this because it makes me relax more and understand my situation more.

[Anxiety_Aunt_]

Have you booked an appointment with a doctor? I think you should start there... Ring your GP surgery and ask the reception staff to book you in with their most gentle and understanding doctor. You can use those words too - I did and I now love my new doctor!

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Anxiety_Aunt_]

I don't want to use medication or get reassurance by my doctor because I know it won't help and I'll still fear ALS. I know I don't have ALS and I'm completely safe but the fear is still there and I can't get away from the fearful thoughts. Do you think it's necessary for me to talk about it with my doctor?

[Anxiety_Aunt_ in reply to HelloPanda23]

Yes. Without a doubt. They’ll be able to put you in contact with someone who can help you work through why you’re fixating on this disease and give you clear, tested, trustworthy ways of managing and eventually stopping your pattern of thinking. It’s easy to think that you’ll be able to manage it on your own but a lot of the time we can’t and it’s ok to put your hands up and accept to a professional that you would like some assistance. I think you’re doing yourself a huge disservice if you don’t go to see a GP. Ring up tomorrow, please!

[Anxiety_Aunt_ in reply to HelloPanda23]

And how do you know it won’t help if you haven’t tried? You have to be open minded to these things and above all, be patient. I didn’t think antidepressants would help my depression but now I wish I’d swallowed my pride and spoke to my doctor sooner - there is no shame! Look after yourself, don’t deny yourself the great help that is out there. Love xx

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Anxiety_Aunt_]

I might, I already considered CBT and therapy, but I think I can manage myself with the use of the internet and possibly books about helping out anxiety. Starting now, I'm using positive affirmations and stopping negative thoughts. I thought exposure would help me but it didn't, and that maybe because I'm doing it wrong, but I feel worse. I exposed myself to these negative thoughts and instead of helping, it just drained me so much more. That's why I'm back here. Either way, I'll try to manage with the help of binaural beats, subliminal messages, positive affirmations, and positive thinking patterns. I'll also use herbs and roots to help out, but I don't want to get help from counceling or therapy. My parents are helping me and that's all I think I need. Thanks for the help though.