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MEEEEEEE! My main anxiety issue is over health concerns and I’ve been pretty much a hypochondriac my entire life. This spiked to a bad level with our first son during the pregnancy and he was born premature. It got unmanageable when he was hospitalized with RSV and pneumonia when he was 2. It was like my worst fear actually happened and now all bets were off, that my anxiety about everything was now proven that the worst will happen. Every time he got sick, i was convinced he would die. I started seeing a therapist for CBT last year and as I got further away from that terrible incident, it started to subside and now, I find my anxiety is much improved. I also went off hormonal birth control and I think that has helped a lot too.

I’m glad you’re seeing your therapist but in the meantime, what helps me is to run through a script of questions:
-I feel this way because I’m scared I will die and this is very bad, but what would I rather be doing right now?
-can I control this problem?
-what would happen if this did have a terrible outcome?
-what can I do right now to help with this issue?

So for your issue: I would rather be spending time with my family enjoying the summer weather and being outside, I can’t control this, if it was cancer I will see a specialist and have chemo, etc and we will get through it, right now i need to trust my doctor and know that it is not cancer.

Admittedly, extremely hard to think of the ‘what if the worst happened’ but it takes some of the power away from those pervasive thoughts instead of looming over me. Owning the anxiety by acknowledging that is how my brain works is also helpful.

I know it’s so so difficult and I was in a bad place for quite a while. I feel for you so hard and send internet hugs to you! Even just knowing I had an appointment with my therapist was comforting to me so I hope you feel that way too. If nothing else helps, pick some binge tv and junk food and just distract to get through to tomorrow

I used to suffer from extreme health anxiety. I even attended a daily program at a psychiatric hospital for several months. My life was forever changed. Googling is perhaps the worst thing you can do for yourself. You are giving yourself either 1) a false sense of reassurance that will come back with a vengeance the next time you feel anxious or 2) you will “find” something wrong and ignite the anxiety. NOTHING good will come from Googling when you’re anxious. You’re only perpetuating the cycle. You have to sit with the anxiety and teach yourself that being anxious is OKAY. The only way to get there is to go through it (be anxious and not do your triggers - Googling/calling a nurse for every symptom, etc). It’s incredibly uncomfortable to sit with the anxiety when you feel like you can Google something to “solve” it. In reality you’re setting yourself up for the anxiety to keep coming back.

Ironically, about 2 years after my program (and with the disorder completely under control) I went throughout ACTUAL health concerns - seizures to be exact. The anxiety disorder was SO much worse than going through diagnosis and treatment to figure out what was wrong this time. You do what you have to do and life moves on! When you’re anxious, life doesn’t move on...IF something were to happen, you’d get appropriate help and life figured out. Anxiety is what’s ruining your quality of life.

@Chuckles: my therapist mentioned this too and it was a total Aha moment for me. And then we took it further: would obsessively thinking about this thing that hasn’t hasn’t happened make it easier on me if it actually did happen? Would it help me in any way? That reality resonated with me.

While I hate to hear of others suffering with this, it’s a little comforting to know its not just me. I’ve struggled with health related anxiety most of my life to a certain degree but it’s had a huge uptick since having my kids (who are now 4 and 2). I think part of it is that I have very little down time for “self care” and always feel like I’m running low on energy thanks to a high stress career and two small kids, and I’m sure that has had an impact on my over all health since I’m not eating as well or working out as much as I used to. The other part of it is the fear that I won’t be around for my children if something were to happen, and feeling like my vigilance will somehow help prevent that when in fact it’s probably keeping me from truly enjoying my quality time with my kids. This anxiety hit a peak when I had a postpartum hemorrhage and an emergency D&C a week after my second baby was born, and then I’ve had a streak of random health concerns in the last year - ovarian cysts I had to monitor, skin cyst that needed removal and biopsy, irregular periods that led to a second D&C thanks to scarring, weird aches and pains probably thanks to carrying babies and sitting at a desk. In a way it felt like my fears were being validated bc these weren’t imaginary symptoms and did need some treatments; however, I of course always imagined much worse diagnoses based on my “research,” and similar to you, I sought frequent reassurance that tests were truly coming back negative for these worse case scenarios.

In general, distraction works best for me, so I’ve been trying to read more (keeps my mind from wandering or doing google research!) and want to find time to start working out more consistently since that’s helped me manage stress in the past.

I hope you were able to connect with your therapist. Glad to have found this thread as this has been on my mind quite a bit lately!

I am going to join in, not that I have panic attacks and it's not debilitating but I def do worry more than I think the average person does. I know mine comes from losing my father at a young age. He passed away at 44.. I'm 42 so it's like a feeling of waiting for the shoe to drop out and i'll be diagnosed with something terminal and given 2 yrs to live, like he was. Plus I didn't have kids until later in life so they are YOUNG. I was 19 when my dad past but my kids are only 2 and 5. It frightens me so much that I might not be there for them! I work and commute and I don't eat right and I don't exercise. Plus my aunt just had her second heart attack last week. Anyway, I feel like it's just in my face everywhere I look and I can't help but to think/worry a little. Plus the work I do also adds to the different "scenarios" I can come up with regarding what could happen to my kids in parking lots or in cars.

I'm glad I am not alone and I am glad it hasn't debilitated me yet... but I'll be honest in that I think i'll always be a little on the high strung end regarding this

@CatchAFallingStar: I have in the past been very anxious. I have in the past had the same type of bump too and I don't even know if it was biopsied. Mine hurt though. anyway I just have started to realize that most people go through health problems or have someone they love go through them. I just try to totally not think about it. There's only so much we can do anyway. And the people I admire the most are the people who have gone through it and still managed to live. I want to be those people. I don't know why but realizing that has helped a lot. I can't prepare for cancer, or single parenting, or Alzheimer's, or a catastrophic accident. Maybe financially but that's it.

@CatchAFallingStar: I’m sorry you’re feeling this way. Does your husband know how you’re feeling? Do you have help nearby?

@CatchAFallingStar: what is holding you back from regular, daily medication and consistent therapy appointments?

Your anxiety has been debilitating for at least a year now and it's NOT a good way to live. I know you know you need to make changes. What is holding you back?

I lived with daily overwhelming anxiety and some panic attacks April 2015 through most of 2016 and I look back and I am so, so sad that I was not brave enough to call my OB and tell him I needed help, stat. I kept thinking it would get better on its own and it did not. It hurt my marriage and my friendships, and I lost out on so much joy during the first year. of my son's life.

@CatchAFallingStar: , it is time to get consistent therapy and though I'm not a doctor, I think you're going to need meds at least temporarily while you learn coping strategies and try out cognitive-behavioral practices.

@CatchAFallingStar: I'm sorry you're struggling so badly. I've been there and it is awful. For me, medication was what helped the most. Therapy as well, but the therapy couldn't do much until the medication could take the edge off enough that I could focus. There are medications you can take while pregnant.

Call your OB today and get help. You're not alone and it will get better. If you are feeling suicidal, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-8255.

Just wanted to say I’ve been there. My health-related anxiety has gotten so bad that I will literally have physical symptoms of whatever it is I am worrying about, which makes it so much harder to convince myself it’s just anxiety. Like I won’t just have palpitations, my heart will literally hurt and miss beats and then I’ll think something is terribly wrong. Or have horrible stomach pains and convince myself im dying of something else and then it’ll hurt even more. Or my hands will go numb if I am worrying about MS or something. Etc etc. It is f-ing horrible and I so feel for you. Mine seemed to be mostly hormonal off and on, now that I’m done nursing I feel much more stable and less anxious. But I also had to go to a lot of specialist appointments to convince myself I wasn’t dying too. I’m so sorry. You can get through this. But get help!

@CatchAFallingStar: how are you? Check in, we are worried

@CatchAFallingStar: I’m so sorry- I’m praying you find the help you need. You can and will get through this

@CatchAFallingStar: Hi, I haven’t posted much lately but I still read the boards fairly frequently. Just thinking of you and hoping you’re doing ok.