Anyone else have health anxiety? I have on and off for about 10 years now, and my mom's cancer diagnosis this month has sent it into overdrive. My period has been weird since I stopped breastfeeding DD. My doctor says nothing is wrong, but I'm panicked. I know it's the anxiety, but I can't stop worrying.
How do you control your anxiety? I'm already on Zoloft and started seeing a therapist. What else can I do?
nectarine / 2148 posts
I do not have personally health anxiety issues, but have a best friend who has similar issues and have a lot of family with mental health issues. I have a couple recommendations. First, Zoloft may not be the best medication. Often times it is trial and error with medication to find what is a good fit and helps you the best. My other thought is there are daily mental exercises to help manage the anxiety. Perhaps your therapist could help with those. One exercise my friend would do is if she was having a anxious time she would sit and think or write in a journal about all past situations that made her anxious and the outcome of those situations. The majority of situations end up fine even if it doesn't feel that way in the moment and reflecting on past experiences helped bring her some calm to her current situation.
Specifically regarding your period, it is normal to have an erratic period after stopping breastfeeding. Plus, it sounds like you are under a lot of stress which adds to it. It doesn't sounds abnormal to me.
persimmon / 1023 posts
I have more generalized anxiety but it got worse after my son spent time in hospital for pneumonia this past winter. I saw a therapist who got me into trying to focus on being in the moment and not jumping ahead to things that haven't happened yet. Focus on the process and not the outcome as it hasn't happened yet. I do this through journaling, meditation and just trying to be mindful and accepting I have no control. It's actually really difficult and I do have to practice regularly to be effective, but just knowing I have some control over my thought patterns leading to anxiety is very helpful.
apricot / 409 posts
@Dahlia: Hugs. Health anxiety is awful. I've dealt with it on and off over the years too and mine got waaay worse last year after my 2nd child was born with health complications. I'm not on medications but did start seeing a therapist. I've also been to multiple doctors over the past year because of all my random health issues. My therapist thought some of my anxiety might be displaced anxiety. Like I might be anxious about something else in my life that then manifests itself into health symptoms that I start focusing on. She also recommended I take moments to myself a couple times a day to relax. I also started diffusing essential oils sometimes to calm me down and i think its helped.
Did you stop breastfeeding recently? Hormones can take a while to regulate and especially if you're feeling stressed, cycles can be all over the place.
clementine / 935 posts
@Eko: Thanks. I definitely need to work on some mental strategies.
@muffinsmuffins: Yes, I know I need to do this - it's hard! I will talk to my therapist about some ideas, she specializes in mindfulness.
@tiramisu: Thanks. It's so awful! I'm not anxious about anything else, so it's kind of weird. I stopped breastfeeding 8 months ago, so I imagine that's not the issue anymore. My doctor is sure it's nothing, but I'm of course convinced that I have a terrible disease. Thank you for the support!
nectarine / 2806 posts
@Dahlia: wondering how you're doing now.. what has helped you, etc.? I am deep in health anxiety and panic and it's been VERY difficult for me and my entire family.
clementine / 935 posts
@CatchAFallingStar: Hi! I'm sorry you're having such a hard time. I am doing great compared to before! Upping my medication dose and therapy helped a lot. So did realizing that a lot of my anxiety was cyclical with PMS and the first days of my period. It was easier to reassure myself that it was anxiety and not a real issue when I knew which days it was likely to be worse. And honestly, so did having some bad health things happen to my extended family and friends. It's made me realize I can get through bad things and that the only thing to do is enjoy every single day.
I do still have more anxiety than the average person but I don't feel like it affects my daily life the way it used to and I feel like I have the strategies I need to get through it when it's bad. Let me know if I can do anything to help you! Hang in there.
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