health anxiety

[bluepuppy]

I need help…. Have been going to a therapist for 4 years…. I look forward to going…. But still have health anxiety…. I wake up most days with anxiety…. A lot of spiraling…. My health concerns always seem real…. But I know I have anxiety related to this…. It is hard for me know if it is just my health anxiety or is there something physically wrong with me!!! Just want to be happy again and not to be always in my head!

[SouthernSally]

Would you consider taking Clonazepam? Your therapist would need to refer you to a psychiatrist to prescribe but it could really help. Especially if you get that kind of wound up physical feeling too. It comes in small doses and the smallest one can be split in half as well to make a very small dose.

[bluepuppy in reply to SouthernSally]

I have been taking Xanax…. I am done to s tiny dose…. Thank you for the suggestion

[bluepuppy in reply to SouthernSally]

even benzos don’t work anymore

[Agora1 in reply to bluepuppy]

Hi bluepuppy, as good as benzos are in subduing that anxious feeling,

eventually they do lose their power. At one time, I too was on the smallest

dose of Xanax once a day, until it stopped working.

Through my own experience with what you are going through, I can say that

you can and you will gain control of your life once more. It takes some work

and won't happen overnight. Finding other tools to help you is important.

Therapy & Medication are meant to be more short term. As BedBug stated,

"The trick is how you respond to it". I call it the "key" to my success.

Have a talk with your therapist regarding what's out there that can help

you. I found that Meditation and Breathing Exercises 3 x a day worked better

than any pill I could pop. Retraining the mind can be a safe, fast and beneficial

way to overcome Anxiety. Keep coming here and interact with others like

ourselves that can give you some guidelines in what to do. Everyone responds

differently so never give up. The search for the right method/tool will bring you

to your goal. Life is Good xx

[bluepuppy in reply to Agora1]

Thank you for all the feedback.. I have had health anxiety for all my life…. I was bit by a fog when I was 4 and had to have rabie shots…. The needles were so long…. They had to hold me down.. I think this is where it all stems from!!! All through my life I have thought that every ache or pain has been something sinister… many scans…. Many doctors later…. I thought I had it pretty well licked!!! I was taking lexapro and felt pretty good. No doctor visits except for annals or colds!!! 4 years ago I was diagnosed with Afib.. finally a really diagnosis…. I was scared to death!!!! Have a great doctor and had a heart ablation and as far as Afib I haven’t had any episodes but.. now I stress about everything…. Like I have gotten a diagnose like I am dying!!! Every ache and every pain is a death sentence!!! I have been going to therapy for 4 years and I am still in my head all the time!! Not sure I will ever get well!!! Praying for some relief!!! My mind just thinks the worst!!! I don’t think I know how to think differently

[Agora1 in reply to bluepuppy]

Trauma at any age can stay with us and cause anxiety in different forms.

The AFib was just another unforeseen event that triggered your health anxiety.

Understandable but not realistically true since you have had it treated and

are doing fine. Treating the underlying causes through therapy is beneficial.

One day you will realize that you can think differently when you react differently

to the aches and pains in just being human. xx

[bluepuppy in reply to Agora1]

I know…. I want to be there…. I feel so weak when it comes to this…. I want to overcome this but my mind just goes over and over what it could be! The what if’s have just got me!!! I am always spiraling!!! I only have control over how I react…. And I always react horribly!!!

[Agora1 in reply to bluepuppy]

The way you react will one day change. The "what if's" use to control me as well.

Once we learn how to stand up to Anxiety and no longer believe it's lies, we

start moving forward. It will happen for you bluepuppy when the time is

right and you are ready. Believe in that xx

[SouthernSally in reply to bluepuppy]

Clonazepam is slower and longer lasting while Xanax is more immediate. I've taken both. They help me just a little bit with physical symptoms like when I feel someone's standing on my chest wearing boots.

[BedBug]

Anexity will come and go when ever it chooses. The trick is how you respond to it. You have to be flexible as what works one time may not work the next time. Keep a open mind. One small step at a time, one day at a time. Celebrate your victories no matter how small. It will get better, trust me. I leave you with this thought; anexity you are nothing and a nobody and I laugh in your face. Take care. Remember you are not alone.