hypocondriacs....READ THIS!

mbs140 · Post by **mbs140** » Mon Sep 29, 2003 2:53 pm

Ok, if you worry about your health (or should I say obsess about it) please tell the forum what you worry about most (symtoms, etc) what your fears are and if you have overcome this or if you have any good coping skills what they are!
Sincerely,
MBS140
*I'm a severe hypocondriac and I need all the support I can get. Thanks

Bakedpears · Post by **Bakedpears** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 8:35 am

I struggled with hypochondriasis for a lonnnnnng time! No fun. But now I have found better ways to think. I don't have to be afraid of every little ache and pain. I can reassure myself that I am healthy in body and mind. I always have been. If there is ever a time to really be concerned about my health, I know I can get medical attention. My fearful attitude kept me thinking in circles about my health. Break the cycle. Introduce some healthy activities, risks, and thoughts into your life.

Tammy

niecy · Post by **niecy** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 9:29 am

im afraid to go to the doctors because of my anxiety,not worried about what they will find but just dont like the waiting ect. I do do it though because it gives me piece of mind everytime i leave there. i make sure to check my own temperature and blood pressure once in a while and i know im ok which leads to less symptoms when i have my panic attacks ,i know im breathing ,i know im not having a heart attack,i know im not dying from this.Its uncompfortable but not lethal. hope this helps

Karson · Post by **Karson** » Wed Oct 01, 2003 10:45 am

Hello...I'm always worried about my health and my symptoms of anxiety. Every anxiety symptom I get I used to think I was dying or the doctors MUST be missing something. I had severe dizziness to the point to where I would feel like I was going to pass out alot with my anxiety. This caused me to be scared all the time and it was a terrible cycle for me. I constantly thought I was dying because I was dizzy all the time and felt so faint all the time. I didn't believe anxiety could cause me to feel this way so often. I worried about my health non stop. I have a fear that one day antibiotics wont help me because Ive taken them alot for several different things. Medical stuff is alot of my anxiety. Hospitals, sickness, dying it all makes me uncomfortable

. I try to talk to myself as positively as I can to help get through this when I get worried about myself. Just like Niecy, I take my temp alot too because when I get real anxious I feel real hot and think I have a temp. Anxiety alone is enough to make you feel sick or think you are sick. This is why positive self talk is so important. We have to practice and learn how to get ourself through our fears. Why should we spend a lifetime worrying about something we can not change. We can't change the fact we are sick and so on. What we can change is our outlook on it and how we learn to cope with it. Instead we should take all this negative (worrying) energy and place in into something more positive, like practicing new skills and trying to put our real fears in perspective. I know its much easier said then done, because I am also still working on this. I do have my share of fall backs, but day by day we get through and with more practice and more time, it will get easier and easier. Until then we just have to keep practicing

lala22 · Post by **lala22** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:24 pm

I dont so much think that Im sick when Im not, but I have a real fear of going to the doctor, or to the hospital. Even if I'm just visiting someone, I get very anxious, and some times to the point where I feel like Im going to pass out. No other situation makes me feel like Im going to pass out though. Never. I never get dizzy or anything like that! Only when I am in a hospital. And it happens every time. I cant seem to remember anything traumatic when I was a kid that could cause such fear or anxiousness. I get really hot, then kinda dizzy and light-headed and if I dont sit down right away, Im sure I would pass out. Once Im outside Im perfectly fine, and I dont feel that way again until I go back. Sometimes I'll even be in a good mood and think Im feeling okay, but with in 15 minutes of being in a hospital I have to leave! When I go to the doctor, I get very nervous (no matter what the reason Im there for). Ive never felt like I was going to pass out at a doctors office, but sweaty, shakey, upset stomach, a bit panicky. And then once I talk to the doctor, and Im out of there, Im perfectly fine. I dont get it, and I dont know why Im like this. And I absolutely hate it. There are only a couple other things that I feel this panicky about. One is elevators. I have panic attacks in them (unless they have windows and I can see out of them), and natural disasters. Being in one, hearing about one on the news anything like that, I just get panicky. Death and illnesses can make me feel that way too, but I generally dont think about those things, so it doesnt really affect me too much.

Tired 75 · Post by **Tired 75** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:51 pm

I am mindful of symptoms and feelings all of the time. I hate to be like this, it is frustrating because I feel like every pain, itch, or anyting else may be realted to some disease or illness. I have never really been able to gain control of this.

WhenwillIlearn · Post by **WhenwillIlearn** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 1:04 pm

tired 75

ME TOO!
I hope to gain more control over this problem, and have made some strides in that direction.
I don't think I will ever be "normal", but I would settle for no panic when I feel things or go to a dr.
I always am panicky......

Bek

NinjaFrodo · Post by **NinjaFrodo** » Thu Jan 04, 2007 4:39 pm

what helps for me is Deepak Chopra's ideas of how our thoughts can be the diffrence between good health and bad health.

That and well alot of things are influenced by stress via the HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenals) which if you want more information you can ask me or look into Hans Selye. Basically as long as you are putting effort into dealing with anxiety and depression you are lessening the chance of getting any illness. So for me every step i take makes me that less likely to get an illness that and i've told myself over the years that i'm never going to have a disease.

Also "What the Bleep Do We Know" (good movie) helps as well.

I find having pathology (study of diseases) class helps me out alot too.

Mike

NinjaFrodo · Post by **NinjaFrodo** » Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:54 am

haha chocolate melanoma thats funny. Heres something that helps...Even if you have a disease thats really horrible you can actually think yourself better. People that have even had terminal illness have done that simply with the power of thought...This is something i let people know of if they are convinced that they have something deadly...Believe it or not but our body is constantly fighting cancer and cancer cells have a real difficult time surviving in any environment because the immune system is constantly destroying them and also its hard for them to get the nourishment from the body so they easily die...It is really hard to get cancer...really hard.

Mike

Rene98 · Post by **Rene98** » Sun Jan 07, 2007 12:25 pm

I am mindful of symptoms and feelings all of the time. I hate to be like this, it is frustrating because I feel like every pain, itch, or anyting else may be realted to some disease or illness. I have never really been able to gain control of this.

Ditto, especially when it comes to my heart or having a stroke.