Health Anxiaty

[Mgarcia0733]

Hi everyone I’m a 23 year old female and I have been suffering from health anxiaty and depression since 2016. I begin by feeling like I had breast cancer every little pain on my breast made me panic and to believe I would die soon. I went to the Dr. multiple times and they assured me I was fine and healthy but then thoughts kept coming and stronger. But now I keep thinking I have stomach cancer. And I keep having horrible thought about it and I keep going to “google” and looking for symptoms and somehow I ended up with those symptoms and it makes me freak out and I just end up having an anxiaty attack I feel like making an appointment with my doctor and just seen if I’m fine. Do any of you experience similar thought or a similar experience ?

[MariaLove123]

Maybe you’re looking for a real reason for your mental illness. We want a reason as to why we feel this way, so thinking we are ill can be comforting. As soon as you accept that you have mental illness, you can work on it and get all that cancer stuff out of your head. Of course do checkups with your doctor but don’t let it consume you that something like cancer is there. I hope you feel better x

[Tikirob]

You just described about the last ten years of my life! Not to make a joke of it...sounds like normal health anxiety behavior. What you may be surprised to find out is that by compulsing you are severely effecting your quality of life. Have you consulted with a mental health professional yet?

[Mgarcia0733 in reply to Tikirob]

Really omg so long ! And no I actually haven’t I lost my health coverage and it’s so expensive for a regular consultation ... but i am trying my best to go see one !

[Tikirob in reply to Mgarcia0733]

Ok cool, yeah it’s super expensive ( with coverage too!) But lots of therapist recommended an affordable book called “the happiness trap” to me. It’s about how to channel your concerns in a way that keeps you productive. Your mind if it’s like mine is going to wave a red flag at everything, a dot on your skin, a person coughing in an elevator, a little tension in your stomach and so on. A Worst case scenario is on a Times Square billboard and we stare at it and watch the message loop around wondering can this be true? But then that becomes our life wondering if a horrible outcome is the real one. And time goes on as we do this. We get stuck in thought not adding any value or experience to our time. And what the book says is weather it’s true or not really is not of much importance because people like us will continue to stare waiting for the next bad message. So how do we change the message? We can’t, ten years, and if I see something unusual my first thought is...is this going to end me! So instead I try to just let the message be...give it a moment at the podium, clap and say great speech! Now what’s for dinner? I have not perfected it but that, with therapy, CBT, ERP, I have gotten a bit better at dealing with the message. You are young, the sooner you start exploring avenues for help the better, I think you can do it.

[Mgarcia0733 in reply to Tikirob]

Awee thanks I’m going to look for the book and buy it thank you so much !

[Tikirob in reply to Mgarcia0733]

No probs, be well!