Aa
Anxiety is ruining my life.
I have severe anxiety and panic attacks on a daily basis. I'm also an extreme hypochondriac but have a phobia of doctors. It's a terrible combination. I wake up afraid, am afraid and nervous all day, and go to bed in the same condition. I can't see a psychologist because they are like doctors. I get chest pains and dizziness all the time and fear it's my heart and it will kill me. I'm in good physical health and There is no reason why my heart would be bad. I'm also afraid of having cancer. And dying early. I need some help... I don't even know where to begin. It's ruining my life.
Hello and welcome! I'm sorry you're suffering so much, thankfully, you've landed in a good place. You're among people who truly understand what it's like to live with debilitating anxiety.
I agree that it's very unfortunate that you have both health anxiety AND anxiety surrounding seeing a medical professional. That definitely makes it difficult to seek out the help that you obviously need.
You're going to have to dig deep and find a way to start getting to see to a mental health professional. Can someone go with you to the first few appointments? Also, when you call to make the appointment, explain in detail how much anxiety you have over going to see a doctor. They may make some exceptions for you, like perhaps allowing you to speak to the doctor or therapist on the phone before coming in for your first appointment.
Ideally, seeing a psychiatrist AND a therapist would make the most sense. With the severity of your anxiety, and the fact that it's been unmanaged for a long period of time, medications to help manage the symptoms would be a reasonable route to take in addition to therapy. For that, you'd need to see the psychiatrist. The p-doc would then likely recommend a therapist for you, one with experience in CBT would be optimal.
I know it's easier said than done to just say "do it", but really, you need to. If you can accept that it will be rough in the beginning, and you'll have a good deal of anxiety, but that it will get better as you start going more consistently, you'll be ahead of the game.
Best to you...let us know how you're doing!
I agree that it's very unfortunate that you have both health anxiety AND anxiety surrounding seeing a medical professional. That definitely makes it difficult to seek out the help that you obviously need.
You're going to have to dig deep and find a way to start getting to see to a mental health professional. Can someone go with you to the first few appointments? Also, when you call to make the appointment, explain in detail how much anxiety you have over going to see a doctor. They may make some exceptions for you, like perhaps allowing you to speak to the doctor or therapist on the phone before coming in for your first appointment.
Ideally, seeing a psychiatrist AND a therapist would make the most sense. With the severity of your anxiety, and the fact that it's been unmanaged for a long period of time, medications to help manage the symptoms would be a reasonable route to take in addition to therapy. For that, you'd need to see the psychiatrist. The p-doc would then likely recommend a therapist for you, one with experience in CBT would be optimal.
I know it's easier said than done to just say "do it", but really, you need to. If you can accept that it will be rough in the beginning, and you'll have a good deal of anxiety, but that it will get better as you start going more consistently, you'll be ahead of the game.
Best to you...let us know how you're doing!
Hey I have recently been battling with anxiety, started about 7-8 weeks ago when I thought I was having a heart attack, did EKG, CT scan of my brain and blood work and everything was fine, well within those first 3-4 weeks I ended up in emergency 3 x due to I think anxiety, ever since the first emerg visit, every little thing I feel on the left side of my chest I think I'm gonna have a heart attack or have some sort of problem, recently went to my family doctor for more blood tests and he said my vitamin D levels were low, which can cause fatigue, increased blood pressure and anxiety in some ppl, so if you don't get enough sun where you are or if you have darker skin, maybe get your vitamin D levels checked, hope this helps.
If the anxiety is effecting your life the way you state it is you should highly consider seeing a psychiatrist. Doctors like your primary care physician have little experience in the area of mental health which makes a psychiatrist much more helpful to handle mental health issues. It's worth a shot to see a psychiatrist because at the very least they can help you deal with the condition with
medication or recommend a therapist who can be of help.
medication or recommend a therapist who can be of help.
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