I was wondering if anyone in here has had severe health anxiety and tried the mindfulness/acceptance of anxiety approach and it worked for you? I really wanna believe it works for health anxiety like it does for regular anxiety, so I am hoping to find some encouragement through you guys.
Thank you!
💜Ash
My health anxiety has improved tremendously since I stopped fighting it. I used to jump from sensation to sensation thinking it was the worst case scenario. I’d get myself so worked up that sometimes I couldn’t even bring myself to go get checked because I just couldn’t hear what I assumed I would. So to answer your question it is totally possible to overcome your health anxiety by accepting it and not fighting. 😁 Keep moving forward, you can do anything you set your mind too. 🤗
Thank you for sharing your story and the encouragement, it gives me hope! May I ask how you stopped fighting it? Did you tell yourself something, were you just at your wits end? Was it scary?
Cheers,
💜Ash
Honestly for me, I just got to the point that I was tired of feeling whatever sensation, and worrying about it. I told myself I’m done with this. I guess if whatever happens I’ll deal with it then. I just couldn’t spend anymore time obsessing over every sensation anymore. One tip that worked for me, I stopped “checking in” you know how you’ll stop and think ok how do I physically feel right now? That’s what was helping to fuel the obsession for me. 😃
Brightfuture, Mindfulness and Acceptance of Anxiety works no matter where
the anxiety comes from. *Health or Situational
I totally agree with Krn's response. Fighting the sensation or thoughts is not the
way to go.
Dr. Claire Weekes' theory on Acceptance goes on endlessly because it speaks the
truth. Watching her on YouTube can reinforce any of your doubts regarding anxiety.
Anyone, no matter what kind of anxiety or how long they have had it, can overcome
this fear. It takes acceptance, practice and then going forward with your life.
I speak from my own experience with health anxiety. There was a time I had a team
of specialists helping me find the answer to my health issues. Little did I know that the
physical issues I was experiencing were coming from my mind. I never believed that was
possible. After multiple testing and doctor after doctor visits, I finally gave it one more
chance. That chance was to believe and accept what the doctors were saying. I was okay.
I went forward cautiously but soon it became easier to realize that I was my own worst
enemy. By not believing or accepting, I was allowing anxiety to continue making me sick.
No more, no way, I've left anxiety behind and even though stress will always be a part
of our lives, it will no longer manifest itself as physical sensations due to us no letting go.
Breathe Brightfuture.... and believe that you do have a bright future ahead of you 
xx
Agora you always know what to say, it’s amazing! I have been fighting anxiety for so long, I don’t even know what it means to accept it. A symptom, whether new or old, always means something sinister in my brain. I must fight to stay alive, is how I feel. So accepting anxiety, accepting what I feel could/would kill me, is just so very hard to understand. It’s like there are 2 of me. One person who is level headed and knowledgeable. And the second who is outlandish and irrational consumed by anxiety. That person overrides the levelheaded me.
I just wish I could get rid of anxiety as easily as it was activated.
Thank you, Agora!
💜Ash
Definitely understand you. We are sisters of the struggle for sure.
When I start to have a panic or anxiety attack l’ll remind myself that I am safe, and in no danger. Sure, it might feel like I’m going to have a heart attack, faint, or throw up but once I identify it as an attack I can talk myself down from it escalating and getting worse. I do a lot of deep breathing in the moment. Some other things that have helped are journaling, meditation, prayer and exercise.
If your anxiety is still uncontrollable perhaps think about some medication. There are meds that will take the edge off the anxiety and then you’ll be able to be mindful or what is going on. Then you can practice being mindful, deep breathing and so on.
I wish you the best in finding a solution.
One of the things that helped in my recovery was learning and understanding that anxiety is a paradox, the more you struggle - the more it persists. That pertains to the mental as well as the physical. The good thing about practicing mindfulness is that we learn and practice detaching from our thoughts and the same thing applies to our physical sensations. The other thing that was helpful for me was understanding that anxiety and particularly health anxiety is about control. We focus on our body sensations in an attempt to stay in control. When I learned about the illusion of control and that in reality the only thing we have any control over is how we respond to something in the moment, I realized how futile my anxiety was and how it was creating my suffering. I started practicing surrendering and just accepting to whatever thoughts, feelings and sensations came up. It took time and practice with setbacks along the way.
One of the books that helped in my recovery was "It's not all in your head" by Gordon Asmundson and Steven Taylor and is available on amazon in print and electronic form
How to accept the anxiety?
why cant i accept this is all anxiety
Difficult to accept this is anxiety 
Hard to accept its anxiety!
