Aa
health anxiety
Hi, I'm a 31 year old female, I have currently suffered from anxiety for around 3 years. the last 2 years I've worked out that I suffer with health anxiety. I have 3 wonderful children and a partner who isnt as supportive of anxiety as id like but it is definately coming between us, I feel like I'm stuck in my own mind, frightened that at every minute of the day i may have a serious deseise. On a bad episode i may visit the doctor 5 times a week, or ring my mum or sister up at 4 o clock in the morning as i am in mid panick attack. I feel ill all the time, constant headaches everyday, i feel sick, and just cant get on and do anything because it makes me so depressed. I cant barely bring my self to hoover or wash up cuz im so terrified.
my lastest issue is I currenltly have lower back pain and right flank pain and right groin pain, and have had a xray several months ago which came back as maybe having kidney stones also i haad blood in my urine, currently to date i have always had this pain ,same place never goes a way and no blood in urine but now inflammetory cells. so am on antibiotics, but even the doctor has told me she isnt alarmed at my symptoms , i cant help but think i have bladder cancer, or something, im due for a ct scan but its horrendous waiting for my appointment. Why on earth do i not beleieve all the doctors or my family when they say im fine, I really just cant cope any more, i want to have a new mind and be like everyone else who thinks rationaly :( Any help???
Sarah x
my lastest issue is I currenltly have lower back pain and right flank pain and right groin pain, and have had a xray several months ago which came back as maybe having kidney stones also i haad blood in my urine, currently to date i have always had this pain ,same place never goes a way and no blood in urine but now inflammetory cells. so am on antibiotics, but even the doctor has told me she isnt alarmed at my symptoms , i cant help but think i have bladder cancer, or something, im due for a ct scan but its horrendous waiting for my appointment. Why on earth do i not beleieve all the doctors or my family when they say im fine, I really just cant cope any more, i want to have a new mind and be like everyone else who thinks rationaly :( Any help???
Sarah x
I would have to agree that health anxiety should be confronted through counseling. It can be a very hard cycle to get out of, but with understanding and knowledge, you can defintely do it.
My first experience with anxiety came from concerns about my health. That 'what if?' thinking and catastrophicsizing anything and everything no matter how minute the symptom took a toll on me. You are going to feel run down with this and in my experience can be part of the reason why it is hard to get out of. You are constantly worried, so naturally you are not going to feel well and that goes against what the doctors tell you....for me I had a hard time accepting that I was ok when I was constantly feeling like crap.
As far as your partner not being as supportive as you would like, in my opinion, that is normal at first as well. It initially scared my wife and she was exetremely frustrated that she couldn't help. She ended up going to counseling to understand what I was going through which helped tremendously in working through it together.
For me, I chose to go on an SSRI and seek counseling which I believe was the best avenue for me to take. The good thing is, you are going to get through it. It does take some time and work, but you are going to learn a lot about yourself and become a better person for it in my opinion. This whole experience has made me a better husband, father and friend. Please keep us posted and ask as many questions as you like!
My first experience with anxiety came from concerns about my health. That 'what if?' thinking and catastrophicsizing anything and everything no matter how minute the symptom took a toll on me. You are going to feel run down with this and in my experience can be part of the reason why it is hard to get out of. You are constantly worried, so naturally you are not going to feel well and that goes against what the doctors tell you....for me I had a hard time accepting that I was ok when I was constantly feeling like crap.
As far as your partner not being as supportive as you would like, in my opinion, that is normal at first as well. It initially scared my wife and she was exetremely frustrated that she couldn't help. She ended up going to counseling to understand what I was going through which helped tremendously in working through it together.
For me, I chose to go on an SSRI and seek counseling which I believe was the best avenue for me to take. The good thing is, you are going to get through it. It does take some time and work, but you are going to learn a lot about yourself and become a better person for it in my opinion. This whole experience has made me a better husband, father and friend. Please keep us posted and ask as many questions as you like!
Hi Sarah....I think that you are doing the right thing in exploring all of the avenues as far as testing goes. This will make sure that there isn't something medically underlying some of your symptoms and also reassure you, hopefully, when the tests come back good.
It is hard not to have anxiety when you are not feeling well. We all worry about our health to some degree but at this point, it seems like your natural worry has spun out of control and into anxiety and panic.
As far as your "un-supportive" partner goes, well, it is really hard for people that do not have anxiety to understand it. They just don't understand why we cannot stop ourselves from thinking these irrational thoughts. My husband used to yell "just stop thinking about it." I mean really, if we could just stop, don't they think we would! But you know, it is not their fault they don't understand it. Just tell him it is the way you are and sometimes you may need him to just hold your hand even if he doesn't understand it. My husband has learned this!
Now on to the "what to do" with this. Well once the tests have all come back negative, the next step is to go and see a therapist. You could see a Psychologist who can teach you coping strategies to try to break the cycle of panic and/or you could see a Psychiatrist who can prescribe medication should you choose this route. The medications are quite effective with anxiety/panic. There are many of them out there that have helped a lot of us on this forum. Also, some people do really well with the coping strategies and medication. Everybody's preference is different.
Once you start down this path, you will be on the road to recovery. After a while there won't be any more "out of control" moments. Those thoughts that pop into your head will become just that, thoughts, that have no control over you.
My best.
It is hard not to have anxiety when you are not feeling well. We all worry about our health to some degree but at this point, it seems like your natural worry has spun out of control and into anxiety and panic.
As far as your "un-supportive" partner goes, well, it is really hard for people that do not have anxiety to understand it. They just don't understand why we cannot stop ourselves from thinking these irrational thoughts. My husband used to yell "just stop thinking about it." I mean really, if we could just stop, don't they think we would! But you know, it is not their fault they don't understand it. Just tell him it is the way you are and sometimes you may need him to just hold your hand even if he doesn't understand it. My husband has learned this!
Now on to the "what to do" with this. Well once the tests have all come back negative, the next step is to go and see a therapist. You could see a Psychologist who can teach you coping strategies to try to break the cycle of panic and/or you could see a Psychiatrist who can prescribe medication should you choose this route. The medications are quite effective with anxiety/panic. There are many of them out there that have helped a lot of us on this forum. Also, some people do really well with the coping strategies and medication. Everybody's preference is different.
Once you start down this path, you will be on the road to recovery. After a while there won't be any more "out of control" moments. Those thoughts that pop into your head will become just that, thoughts, that have no control over you.
My best.
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