Physical symptoms-How to deal with them?
For the past ten years I have been constantly obsessed with my health. I am 31 and have been to more specialists than most 70 year olds. I seem to go from body system to body system. I think I have had every major illness known to man. I now realize that most of these symptoms are actually anxiety. I just can’t shake these symptoms and it is driving me crazy and I totally obsess over them. Now I am shaky and having muscle twitches and I am tired of going from doctor to doctor. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to get these constant health obsessions out of my head? Has anyone gone through this? My family is fed up because that is all I talk about and has dominated almost everything I do in my life.
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Guest
:pHI, I have the same issues as you do in terms of monitoring my body symptoms all the time. Through this program and supplemental counseling and reading I am finally deciding I have to change. First, some people have more body symptoms than others. I am also a cancer survivor. We need to STOP awfulizing every little symptom. We need to say," Hey,I fell that but I will not let that stop my plans today." We have to move past the symptoms. Is this easy. NO! I constantly have to reprogram my thoughts. But I am doing better! Hang in there and keep trying! Stop obsessing about dying and start living. We have to say, okay if I die, I die, but today I will live!
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Guest
I feel for you soooo much. I am a healthcare practitioner and hypochondriac. I am always at the doctor and worry that something is wrong with me. It is hard for me to do anything without worrying that I am going to be sick. The doctors never seem to find anything serious. This problem is also taking over my life. I wish I could zap my brain out of this obsessiveness. I wish I could give you some tips! Please let me know how things go. Hang in there! We will get through this 
Special K, DIAA
I really appreciate the feedback (lord knows I need all the support I can get right now). I too am a health care practitioner (RN) and a hypochondriac. I can’t stop thinking about these symptoms and it has completely taken over my life. My mind races from heart disease to ALS to cancer to kidney disease and so on and so on. I feel like I am going crazy and just want to break this cycle. I really hope this program helps. Please let me know if you have any additional suggestions
Thanks
I really appreciate the feedback (lord knows I need all the support I can get right now). I too am a health care practitioner (RN) and a hypochondriac. I can’t stop thinking about these symptoms and it has completely taken over my life. My mind races from heart disease to ALS to cancer to kidney disease and so on and so on. I feel like I am going crazy and just want to break this cycle. I really hope this program helps. Please let me know if you have any additional suggestions
Thanks
ANGELS CAN FLY BECAUSE THEY TAKE THEMSELVES LIGHTLY
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Guest
Maybe we should just look for a new career lol, j/k. Being around sick people is really hard to stomach when you have this disorder! I worked in a hospital for a year! I really love helping people and am trying to get more into an outpatient setting.symptoms and it has completely taken over my life. My mind races from heart disease to ALS to cancer to kidney disease and so on and so on. I feel like I am going crazy and just want to break this cycle. I really hope this program helps. Please let me know if you have any additional suggestions
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Guest
yes I have had the same thing happen to me.
I spent 3 dys in the hospital, because I thought the dr missed something. blood, xrays,
mri, cat scan, liver & kidney etc. 100 % neg on every thing. Hard to believe it was all anxiety related. Now when I have a physical symptom, I just say my own special mantra that I wrote to help pertain to my particular situation. I had
nausea, chest hives, heart palp, chest pain, shortness of breath, tingly legs and hands. numbess, hot flashes, chills, headaches, upset stomach, dirreahea, poor concentration, problems sleeping, racing thoughts, pale in color, and extreme fatigue, even had my feet turn a bluish color, pain in the abdomen.
Now I just use the 6 steps. I tell myself to accept how I feel, and it is ok. breath for 1 min
then I tell myself the physical symptons of anxiety ( without ? the cause of the symptons)
will not hurt me and there is no danger, there is no emergency, just float with it and it will pass, the physical symptoms will pass in 30 min and I will be ok. It always passes. I distract and totally think of something else. This has take practice, but I calm down and so do the physical symptoms. Sometimes I feel like I took a tranquilizer to feel so much better. Now I understand better the role anx and its symptoms have on me. I thought I was gonna die, and wanted to. Now I know it is this disorder, and it can be overcome. good luck!!!
I spent 3 dys in the hospital, because I thought the dr missed something. blood, xrays,
mri, cat scan, liver & kidney etc. 100 % neg on every thing. Hard to believe it was all anxiety related. Now when I have a physical symptom, I just say my own special mantra that I wrote to help pertain to my particular situation. I had
nausea, chest hives, heart palp, chest pain, shortness of breath, tingly legs and hands. numbess, hot flashes, chills, headaches, upset stomach, dirreahea, poor concentration, problems sleeping, racing thoughts, pale in color, and extreme fatigue, even had my feet turn a bluish color, pain in the abdomen.
Now I just use the 6 steps. I tell myself to accept how I feel, and it is ok. breath for 1 min
then I tell myself the physical symptons of anxiety ( without ? the cause of the symptons)
will not hurt me and there is no danger, there is no emergency, just float with it and it will pass, the physical symptoms will pass in 30 min and I will be ok. It always passes. I distract and totally think of something else. This has take practice, but I calm down and so do the physical symptoms. Sometimes I feel like I took a tranquilizer to feel so much better. Now I understand better the role anx and its symptoms have on me. I thought I was gonna die, and wanted to. Now I know it is this disorder, and it can be overcome. good luck!!!
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Guest
I also have seen more doctors than the elderly. Actually I went to one today. It's funny but I feel good after I see the doctor and as soon as I feel a symptom there I go second guessing him.I recently had a surgery and there I go asking the doctor to make sure all is working fine. So I put myself through more testing. But I have felt chills in the day and hotflashes at night. I think it all comes down to asking God for strength so we can overcome these negative thoughts. He wants us to live happy and fullfilled, not worried and defeated. We are Healthy!!!!!
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Guest
The below list was posted earlier in November from someone else. It is very appropriate to this situation and offers excellent ideas to deal with it...Read on....
1) I realized that I was mostly afraid of dying, and that I would die of something I could have prevented if I had gotten care earlier. I realized I was afraid of the guilt of dying (and the hardship it would be for my family, etc.) So one of the most important things for me -- and I know it sounds bizarre - was to give myself permission to die of something I didn't catch. I decided I wouldn't blame the people I care about if something like that happened, so I forgave myself preventatively. The other oddly helpful thought was "It's not the end of the world if I die." It might be the end of my world, but other people would get through it.
2) Learn to laugh at yourself. I often think of "my brain" as something separate from me, so when my fingers tingle and I think I'm having a stroke, I immediately make fun of my brain for overreacting. Sometimes I congratulate it for being so clever - it can really come up with some interesting stuff.
3) Don't run to the doctor every time something doesn't seem right. They are trained more to deal with physical than psychological stuff, so they'll take you at your word and then they're legitimizing your fears. Of course you should go to a doctor if you're really sick, but either ask someone else's advice (and take it!) or try the next step.
4) Set a time limit. Tell yourself you're not in the right frame of mind to make health judgments now, and you'll write it down and think about it more in an hour (or a week, depending on the type of thing you think is wrong with you). By that time you'll probably be calmer and it will probably be gone.
5) DO NOT watch Grey's Anatomy, House, E.R., or any other medical show. They find the most dramatic diseases they can. Real doctors spend almost all of their time on a very short list of very common ailments, not solving medical mysteries (like why you have an eye twitch and stomach pains). Likewise, don't read those "Is it a headache or imminent death?" articles in magazines. Women, Redbook is a particularly bad one for us.
6) Realize that sometimes you're using magical thinking. If it seems very dramatic or mysterious or rare, it's probably not true -- it's just a good plot for a TV show. Real life is not fair and it's often very boring.
7) If your doctor says you're ok, take your chances and trust them. (Of course there are times when you should get a second opinion, but if you know you're a hypochondriac you also need to realize that if you can convince yourself the first doctor was missing something, you can convince yourself of the same thing about the second, third, fourth.)
8)If it's something you've had before and you were fine then, you're almost certainly fine now.
9)Stress and anxiety can cause almost any physical symptom, including visible ones (like hives). Assume that it's stress and see if you can make it go away over time by calming down (don't monitor it constantly, though).
10)Learn to trust your body (hard to do; I don't have this one down yet). If you're REALLY, REALLY sick, you'll know it. Let yourself off the hook on the early detection stuff.
The hardest thing about it is the "what if" factor -- what if you're wrong and it really is Disease X? That's when you just have to try to accept that there is uncertainty in life. Think of something you honestly don't worry about, like being attacked by an escaped zoo animal. You can get on with your life taking the chance that a stray lion could eat you, so you can accept that there is an incredibly small chance that you really do have Disease X.
1) I realized that I was mostly afraid of dying, and that I would die of something I could have prevented if I had gotten care earlier. I realized I was afraid of the guilt of dying (and the hardship it would be for my family, etc.) So one of the most important things for me -- and I know it sounds bizarre - was to give myself permission to die of something I didn't catch. I decided I wouldn't blame the people I care about if something like that happened, so I forgave myself preventatively. The other oddly helpful thought was "It's not the end of the world if I die." It might be the end of my world, but other people would get through it.
2) Learn to laugh at yourself. I often think of "my brain" as something separate from me, so when my fingers tingle and I think I'm having a stroke, I immediately make fun of my brain for overreacting. Sometimes I congratulate it for being so clever - it can really come up with some interesting stuff.
3) Don't run to the doctor every time something doesn't seem right. They are trained more to deal with physical than psychological stuff, so they'll take you at your word and then they're legitimizing your fears. Of course you should go to a doctor if you're really sick, but either ask someone else's advice (and take it!) or try the next step.
4) Set a time limit. Tell yourself you're not in the right frame of mind to make health judgments now, and you'll write it down and think about it more in an hour (or a week, depending on the type of thing you think is wrong with you). By that time you'll probably be calmer and it will probably be gone.
5) DO NOT watch Grey's Anatomy, House, E.R., or any other medical show. They find the most dramatic diseases they can. Real doctors spend almost all of their time on a very short list of very common ailments, not solving medical mysteries (like why you have an eye twitch and stomach pains). Likewise, don't read those "Is it a headache or imminent death?" articles in magazines. Women, Redbook is a particularly bad one for us.
6) Realize that sometimes you're using magical thinking. If it seems very dramatic or mysterious or rare, it's probably not true -- it's just a good plot for a TV show. Real life is not fair and it's often very boring.
7) If your doctor says you're ok, take your chances and trust them. (Of course there are times when you should get a second opinion, but if you know you're a hypochondriac you also need to realize that if you can convince yourself the first doctor was missing something, you can convince yourself of the same thing about the second, third, fourth.)
8)If it's something you've had before and you were fine then, you're almost certainly fine now.
9)Stress and anxiety can cause almost any physical symptom, including visible ones (like hives). Assume that it's stress and see if you can make it go away over time by calming down (don't monitor it constantly, though).
10)Learn to trust your body (hard to do; I don't have this one down yet). If you're REALLY, REALLY sick, you'll know it. Let yourself off the hook on the early detection stuff.
The hardest thing about it is the "what if" factor -- what if you're wrong and it really is Disease X? That's when you just have to try to accept that there is uncertainty in life. Think of something you honestly don't worry about, like being attacked by an escaped zoo animal. You can get on with your life taking the chance that a stray lion could eat you, so you can accept that there is an incredibly small chance that you really do have Disease X.
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Guest
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Guest
Thank you for reposting this, it really helps. For the past week I've been, once again, dealing with these exact problems. Last night I was up all night because I just knew the pain in my leg was a blood clot and it was going to travel to my chest or heart and kill me in my sleep. But here I am today at work.Originally posted by Cherl:
The below list was posted earlier in November from someone else. It is very appropriate to this situation and offers excellent ideas to deal with it...Read on....
1) I realized that I was mostly afraid of dying, and that I would die of something I could have prevented if I had gotten care earlier. I realized I was afraid of the guilt of dying (and the hardship it would be for my family, etc.) So one of the most important things for me -- and I know it sounds bizarre - was to give myself permission to die of something I didn't catch. I decided I wouldn't blame the people I care about if something like that happened, so I forgave myself preventatively. The other oddly helpful thought was "It's not the end of the world if I die." It might be the end of my world, but other people would get through it.
2) Learn to laugh at yourself. I often think of "my brain" as something separate from me, so when my fingers tingle and I think I'm having a stroke, I immediately make fun of my brain for overreacting. Sometimes I congratulate it for being so clever - it can really come up with some interesting stuff.
3) Don't run to the doctor every time something doesn't seem right. They are trained more to deal with physical than psychological stuff, so they'll take you at your word and then they're legitimizing your fears. Of course you should go to a doctor if you're really sick, but either ask someone else's advice (and take it!) or try the next step.
4) Set a time limit. Tell yourself you're not in the right frame of mind to make health judgments now, and you'll write it down and think about it more in an hour (or a week, depending on the type of thing you think is wrong with you). By that time you'll probably be calmer and it will probably be gone.
5) DO NOT watch Grey's Anatomy, House, E.R., or any other medical show. They find the most dramatic diseases they can. Real doctors spend almost all of their time on a very short list of very common ailments, not solving medical mysteries (like why you have an eye twitch and stomach pains). Likewise, don't read those "Is it a headache or imminent death?" articles in magazines. Women, Redbook is a particularly bad one for us.
6) Realize that sometimes you're using magical thinking. If it seems very dramatic or mysterious or rare, it's probably not true -- it's just a good plot for a TV show. Real life is not fair and it's often very boring.
7) If your doctor says you're ok, take your chances and trust them. (Of course there are times when you should get a second opinion, but if you know you're a hypochondriac you also need to realize that if you can convince yourself the first doctor was missing something, you can convince yourself of the same thing about the second, third, fourth.)
8)If it's something you've had before and you were fine then, you're almost certainly fine now.
9)Stress and anxiety can cause almost any physical symptom, including visible ones (like hives). Assume that it's stress and see if you can make it go away over time by calming down (don't monitor it constantly, though).
10)Learn to trust your body (hard to do; I don't have this one down yet). If you're REALLY, REALLY sick, you'll know it. Let yourself off the hook on the early detection stuff.
The hardest thing about it is the "what if" factor -- what if you're wrong and it really is Disease X? That's when you just have to try to accept that there is uncertainty in life. Think of something you honestly don't worry about, like being attacked by an escaped zoo animal. You can get on with your life taking the chance that a stray lion could eat you, so you can accept that there is an incredibly small chance that you really do have Disease X.
To the OP, I wish you the best of luck. I know what you are going through and I know how hard it is to break this habit.