Health Anxiety reassurance

[Indigojoe]

Lately there have been dozens of posts that seem to have similar questions about physical symptoms.

I suffer and have suffered from the, WHAT IF disease, too.

The disease goes like this, What if I have.......What if the doctor missed something, what if I'm going to....................

You know the drill.

I have found out over the years that the WHAT IF's, wreaked havoc on my mind, therefore my body.

It's true that our bodies hurt, get sharp pains, our heart skips, thumps, thuds, or races, & pains radiate, buzz, or an arm goes numb during then night.

We all have weird symptoms. We can Flip out at work for seemingly no reason at all.

I've been known to flip out on the highways in traffic........not proud!...

All of these symptoms end up to be nothing. NOTHING <real>

My guess is that our families, and now social media has scared all of us into thinking THE WORST.

THE WORST is seldom what happens to anybody. Any BODY

IF THE WORST happens you will not have to question it. IF you get a pain, a twinge, a thud, or a whoosh in the brain, and you freak the hell out, it is not THE WORST.

It feels awful, it freaks you ( me ) out so that I am SURE " this is going to be the time", but it never is. The WORST is the freak out. We have all survived THE WORST. Every last one of you. ( us )

SO when that happens may I suggest that then is when you recall what Jeff and Agora and Uncle b1b1b1b, write about so often and replay their words in your head to give the effects of the adrenaline that has just dropped, a few minutes to cycle out of your system.

The human body is infinitely brilliant. The body KNOWS what to do without your help.

Trust your body.

BUT control your mind. The thoughts, the beliefs that you have ABOUT the feeling are what you can control. SO when you are SURE that the back pain that is radiating to your jaw IS THE BIG ONE..................assume, it is a muscle spasm, or a "knot" that just pressed on a nerve that is intended to radiate to the jaw, but that it is no big deal.

ASSUME THE BEST. JUST think another thought.

This takes practice and I am NOT yet close to overcoming some of my most pain in the ass anxieties. I know there is a pay off for having them and clearly I am not willing to let that "pay off go just yet".

With all of this said, if you are under 25ish, and you have anxiety's may I suggest that you call a family member, your GP, or an older and wiser person you know on the phone first.

Hear their voice, let them soothe you and tell you, "oh, I understand, and I have had that before, you are going to be ok". Seek out person to person contact FIRST before you dial in Dr Google, or fly to the computer for anything.

WE all need reassurance. WE all need to be seen and heard, and our hearts need to be held gently by those who know us.

To anyone who has read this all the way, We are all going to be just fine. We are loved, we are safe, we have some scary programming, and ugly experiences that we want to escape from. But our bodies are strong and they will always try to get back to health minute by minute.

We are SAFE in our bodies at all times.

Indigo

[Dorsey]

Thank you well said and so true.

[Agora1]

Thanks for a great post Indigo. Love the saying "Trust your body but control your mind"

That anxious mind of ours has caused more trouble then necessary. We need that

reassurance from time to time. Thank you for sharing xx

[Hidden]

Ah, this applies for me.. After dozens of tests that they result nothing wrong I'm still convinced my self that I have something related to heart. Or if I feel something my minds start thinking I'm going to have a heart attack. The physical symptoms/sensations I get are awful which I tend to stop focusing in the reality world and start focusing on the the ache I felt. Tbh I get a lot of heart related symptoms but I know it's the anxiety causing it. I just can't understand why it strikes in just one hell of a second. From positive day(with no health worries) to negative, worry, panic, fear state when ever I feel something. I feel that all you said is all true, agrees with you. Great Post.

[vbp123 in reply to Hidden]

Exactly how I feel when I get any sort of heart palps...

[Matt3013]

Love this post. Your words are so reassuring and just what we need to hear, believe and act upon. Thank you so much

[Bungiecat]

This is me to a tee I was sure that my GP was going to put me on a crash diet last Friday as I have a BMI of 31.03. But because I had put myself in the 12 week nhs plan he was more concerned in supporting me and asked me to keep him informed of my progress in the next few weeks Gail

[Hidden]

Wow. That was a great post. Made me feel hopeful!! Thank you Indigojoe!!

[Jeff1943]

Thank you so much for sharing your learning and experience with us.

[designguy]

Really good post Indigo and spot-on with the suggestions. One thing I might add is a good book that also helped me along with the type of suggestions from Jeff and Agora. It also helped me make sense of the why I was having health anxiety and not just general anxiety. The book is "It's Not All in Your Head, how worrying about your health could be making you sick - and what you can do about it" by Gordon Asmundson and Steven Taylor. it's available on Amazon in Kindle and soft back.

[Hidden]

Great post Indigo! I have even catastrophized about my catastrophizing!

There were times when if someone didn't take my anxious ruminations seriously, I would get mad at them and feel even worse.

Like you said, it is what our thoughts do to our body. Look at the thoughts, accept that they are there, and move on. I'm now exploring how feelings of fear are asking for acceptance and love. When I make an effort to embrace my fear feelings like I would embrace and console a fearful child, it helps to calm the thoughts down somewhat.

Bat.

[RealEyes]

Thanks Indigojoe for your thoughtful insights and supportive stance in regards to how our angst can cause more chaos than what is really going on !

Your post was an indirect answer to a similar question i asked in another forum just the other day ... it is something (and at times, truly amazing!) what our minds can do for me (us) ! especially when i turn around the negative and focus on rest, relaxation and more positive attitudes. (+ sometimes a visit to the doc if there is an ongoing recurring body problem or severe pain - a gentle reminder here that when i can access my -calm- intuition, there is info there).

The test for me is to turn around the angst and scary feelings ... into a more productive and supportive place for me - and my body symptoms. And, to do my best to stay away from 'dr. google' and all the fear mongering that goes on out there - on tv commercials (ack) and social media, etc.

Yes, thx again for your awesome share IndigoJoe -along with all the positive replies- and take good care of yourselves ~ everyone ...

in these changing times, r-e

[Prayingperson]

Your comment is very helpful to me. The little things my body used to do that I didn't give a second thought to, now makes me freak out. Especially the heart pvcs. Even after being told my heart is healthy, it still bothers me. Anxiety is like a light switch you just can't seem to turn off. It definitely is a mind thing that needs to be controlled.

[Matt3013]

Love this

[Hidden]

All so true. 👍🏻👏

[Hidden]

I love this post. Oddly enough, for me I couldnt give a s*** about the physical symptoms. Its the mental symptoms that freak me out.