Do u have this too??

Im wondering if anyone is always thinking about death or your health? Iv been thinking about them both all the time. Everytime the smallest thing doesn't feel right i freak out cuz i feel like its way worse then it is. Like a few days ago my stomach hurt so bad and i was so scared but once my anxiety calmed down so did the pain. things like that. Plz tell me this is normal?!

[Hidden]

I used to think like that a lot, the death thing especially, I think it is what a lot of people with anxiety go through.

[Ashley13]

I have been struggling a lot with anxiety lately. And I constantly think about death, or bad things happening that are beyond my control, things I feel “normal people” don’t think about. I mean there is no reason why I should creating these god awful scenarios in my head, but I can’t help it. I too work myself up when I feel something is wrong medically, for example, I have asthma and even though I know I have a rescue inhaler I still freak out when I have an asthma attack and thing I’m going to die, making my symptoms so much worse. But with people who suffer from anxiety, this is “normal.”

[HelloPanda23]

Recently, I've been freaking about dying over ALS and it's been scaring me to death. I don't have a single symptom but the fear is there, and so I understand your pain. It truly sucks, and makes life terrible.

[Jeff1943]

CubanGirl, yes of course, an exaggerated fear of dying and worrying about your health for no good reason are very common symptoms of anxiety and it's called 'Health Anxiety' as opposed to 'General Anxiety Disorder' and 'Social Anxiety'.

When we suffer from anxiety our nervous system becomes over sensitive. So things that are small worries and normal concerns become exaggerated out of all proportion. Every headache is considered a brain tumour, indigestion becomes heart failure, a stomach pain becomes cancer - and as in your case the normal concern not to die before our time becomes magnified into a feeling of impending doom.

It's our mind and nervous system playing tricks on us but it's very common among people with high anxiety.

You could spend a lot of time and money trying to cure yourself of these symptoms but as they are fake symptoms your money would be wasted. You can't cure yourself of an illness you don't have no matter how hard you try.

So instead concentrate on healing yourself of the CAUSE of these symptoms which is anxiety. Cure that and all these fake symptoms and strange obsessive ideas of dying will disappear like the morning mist.

[Icanbeathis2016 in reply to Jeff1943]

I was wondering if you could explain more about the "second fear" and how we could help ourselves control it. I know you've mention many times on our posts about allowing the first fear to run in course but its the second fear that keeps it going. Could you help me understand this better. 😊

[Jeff1943 in reply to Icanbeathis2016]

Avoiding second fear is down to exertion of the will. You know the limitations of anxiety disorder. You know the symptoms are fake. You know that in reality you have nothing to fear from these fraudulent symptoms no matter how uncomfortable they make you feel. And you know that you now have the knowledge to triumph over your anxiety disorder - you have found its weak point - all you have to do is let every muscle in your body go limp and unresisting when you feel the wave of fear approaching.

It takes courage and Yes you do have the courage to remain calm and minimise your reaction to first fear. Welcome that first wave of panic as it gives you the opportunity to practice.

Nobody is given problems without the courage and strength to overcome them, this is a law of nature or God or whoever. It is none the less true for you.

Perhaps my description does not do justice to Claire Weekes' Acceptence method so best to hear it from the horse's mouth as described in her first book 'Self help for your nerves' u.k. version and 'Hope and help for your nerves' u.s. version, both available from Amazon.

[Hidden]

Thank you all so much i feel better

[Elimanuel1]

I feel the same way but I been trying to keep my head occupied In other things and it’s been helping try not to tnjnk about it focus on other things it’s hard but it can be done

[Jeff1943 in reply to Elimanuel1]

Trying not to think about it will not make it go away, that is only distraction. You must FACE it. You must ACCEPT it (for the time being). You must FLOAT through it and past it. And finally you must LET TIME PASS.

These are the four imperitives of Claire Weekes' Acceptance method for recovery from anxiety disorder as set out in her first book 'Self help for your nerves' available new or used from Amazon.