The "Source"

[cj29]

I often get a lot of PMs and read many posts regarding health anxiety.  Having this as my main source of anxiety I can often relate to many of the various situations out in this community. There is often a common thread in these messages relating to a source of one's nervousness...the internet.

Remember, the internet is a great resource to reference information, but be VERY careful and consider the source.  Many of us 'cyberchondriacs' spend hours searching the internet to link a symptom to its cause and quite often we tend to link it to the worst case scenario, when in the vast majority of cases it is not.  To add more fuel to the fire, we are often on various sites that may not be the best place to get information.

The vast majority of us have gotten a clean bill of health from our doctors, which is the correct thing to do, but putting your trust in the medical community can be hard sometimes.  If I searched long and hard enough on my computer I could link the cause of some chest pain to an unborn alien in my ribcage that is about to burst through it...I've seen the movie...it could happen!  The point is, just be careful what you filter out and in when reading about health.  We often tend to filter information that supports our justifications on how we feel and often can come up with some creative 'situations.'  

Just remember to consider the source and how a particular situation pertains to you.  Use other sources, like this forum, your doctors, therapists, etc.  It will help you along the path to dealing with it!  Keep on plugging along and keep the questions coming.  

[cj29]

I whole heartedly agree.  It is much easier said than done though as we all know too well.  I would like to point out the use of this forum as a great way to divert oneself from spending hours and hours looking up your symptoms.  In my experience, we tend to seek temporary relief, which is great for short term sanity but can actually compound the problem in the long term.  

[scaredjo]

great post, i am so guilty of this and even though its been hard i have stopped googlin my symptoms, us health anxiety sufferers need to sort our brains out cause thats the problem instead of accepting aches and pains we interpret it into something life threatening. i truly believe if you believe there is something wrong with a part of the body we can make all sorts of symptoms happen!! along with therapy, belief in the tests and doctors and this forum we can beat health anxiety or at the very least start to feel better.

[tinkerbelle713]

I agree. I believe that most people need to be heard and understood. Often times Docs do not take enough time for their patients. At home people who get worried about their health often times get dismissed or get tuned out. ( It can be repetative ) With the internet at hand, symptoms get blown out of porportions and because we are so over worried, of course the mind goes into a spin.
It is almost like having a conversation with ones self and that is never good.

These forums here are very helpful to ease some of the worries and to be able to release some concerns and to give and receive support.
Thank you for your views,  :)

[Nasal_Problems]

This was kinda my point with that hypochondriac thread. My message was not to belittle anyone. It was simply to point out the obvious, we tend to think we have problems.... and honestly, if you look hard enough, you can probably find one.

It's annoying. But, look if we are stubborn enough to not listen to our docs when they say there's nothing wrong with us, we should be able to flip. Meaning, we should be able to say there's nothing wrong with us to our minds. That alone, should help. Hopefully, it will.

[slim76]

Thanks for the advice about the internet. I am so guilty of the searching for my next disease. I have recieved multiple clean bill of healths and still have a hard time believing that I'm really okay. Health anxiety is such a serious condition. We all need to pull together.