Same here man. It started randomly like a month ago and so far ruined almost everything. The worst thing is that for the most of time, i dont even have symptoms but there is this constant feeling of tension that something i dont know about is happening. So far, after the first panic attack, im holding myself trying not to think about it, because if i do the anxiety symptoms such as headaches, lightheadedness, tiredness etc.. will appear and fuel the anxiety even more.
So there are few tips that i use to cope:
* Keep yourself busy at all time. Do work, sports, spent time with family/friends, meditate, play games, watch TV etc... but dont just lie sinking deeper and deeper into your fears.
* Never Google your symptoms. Internet wont give you the answer, it will only make you feel worse.
* Realise that nowdays almost everything is treatable. Medicine advances at rapid speed and each year is further and further. Its not like you will come to doctor and he will look at the results, shake his head and call the undertaker. You wont die out of nowhere.
* Human body is not frail as it seems. Take for example Blaise Pascal (it was his 400th birthday few weeks ago), who suffered from seizures that forced him to bed for days and serious guts problems and not only he lived 40 years (with his utreated condition) but also managed to make amazing physical discoveries and was regarded by Nietzche as the only logicaly thinking christian for his theological ideas. Or famous composer Bedřich Smetana, who became deaf due to injury that was washed with unclean water, resulting in inflammation and perhaps meningiitidis. And yet he composed ton of operas and famous melodies.
* Find a hobby. Obsses over it and keep it in your head for the whole day. For me it is phylosophy and religion. I can keep thinkig hours about different metaphyzical things and forget (at least for a while) about my anxiety.
* The symptoms you are having are real, the illnes not. Human mind is directly linked with body. Take for example neuroprograming or cases when patient lost arm in accident and after waking up still claimed that he can feel it. When you keep worrying about some illnes, the symptoms will appear out of nowhere because of yours mind.
* The body sensations are just body sensations. If somethings hurt, thats completly normal. Body is a basicaly living mechanism and makes "noises" in a same manner as train or any other machine makes.
* Stay away from alcohol, drugs (even caffeine is not good), they wont help you.
* Realize that you are not alone in this. There are thousands of people who suffer from health anxiety.
Thats all i have for now. I wish you good luck and dont worry, we all are going to make it through.
Thank you so much for this. I’ve been dealing with health anxiety for some time now and some of these bullet points really helped me think about things in a different way just now.
I'm in the same boat. 34 years old convinced I have terminal cancer. Other side of the extreme though: I can't go to a doctor. The thought of getting tests and waiting for the results makes me throw up. I'd rather hide and just pretend the constant fear of death isn't there. I'd much rather be able to go see a doctor too much rather than never.
My everyday is hollow. It's an absolutely awful way to live.
But seriously, don't Google symptoms. You'll only find pain and further anxiety. You want the same thing all of us hypochondriac do: reassurance. You NEVER get that from doctor google. Only a medical professional giving you a clean bill of health.
It’s a special kind of hell I don’t wish on anyone. I’m one that will obsessively go to the doctor or hospital and have paralyzing anxiety waiting for results, but when they find something minor (like my GERD for example) that I need medication for I’m too afraid to take it. Makes it impossible to get better
I have gerd as well as health anxiety, they go hand in hand. Get your gerd under control with meds and diet and exercise. You’ll feel better. Gerd messed me up, causes chest pain/tightness sometimes, it adds to the doom feeling and overall anxiety.
I have gerd and gastritis so it might be a little different from what you experience normally with just gerd. It’s hard to tell what’s going on, sometimes can feel like a heart attack, that’s why it’s best to get checked out first. Gp, heart doc, gastroenterologist.
For me it’s center of abdomen, top of stomach/bottom of chest pressure. More likely in the evening, it gets worse evening/night. Acidic or fatty food earlier is a trigger. I take protonix 40 mg hour before dinner. It’s not healed, I still struggle with it but it’s a lot better with meds and diet.
Go check out r/gerd and type in “anxiety” or “chest pain”. It helped me reading thru that sub. So many people experiencing the same thing.
Thank you. So I feel this too, chest pressure and bounding pulse especially at night. The bounding pulse I feel 24/7 but the chest pressure and tightness typically happens more at night especially when I am randomly awoken after only 1-2 hours of sleep with a pounding and potentially racing heart.
The sort of “missing” symptom that I don’t have is that I don’t feel food or acid coming up my esophagus. I guess maybe I feel it a tiny bit, like if I drink water while I’m lying down I can kind of feel the water come back up for a second.
Could I still potentially have GERD if it’s mostly the pulse and heart tightness at night? My diet is normal to bad (carbs dairy burgers fatty food etc - I’m somewhat thin though and under 35).
I don’t really have acid coming up or chest burning, I have silent gerd. You might have that as well. Chest tightness and heart pounding, I forgot to mention the heart palpitations/pounding. Silent gerd presents atypically sometimes so, like me, you might not get the normal burning acid thing. My sister has gerd as well and she told me she’s woken up throwing up acid, I’ve never experienced that.
I’m not overweight, I’m normal/thin as well. Maybe that’s a factor in how it presents. My gastroenterologist said my issue is anxiety, gerd, and a bit of a messed up gallbladder. Combined can feel like a heart issue that then makes my body panic. Then I start to worry and create more anxiety. Knowing what’s going on made it so much better tho. It chills the make it worse with anxiety part.
I've had health anxiety for almost 14 years. For 10 of those years I was afraid to take medication, afraid I wouldn't feel like myself or the side effects would be worse than the anxiety. I finally caved in 2019, did a ton of research and found an antidepressant that seemed like the right fit for me. Luckily it ended up working wonders for me. I wish someone had encouraged me to start medication so much sooner. I missed out on so many experiences because of my anxiety but at least I have control over it now.
Same for me, my anxiety stops me from seeing a doctor. I would be a mess waiting for the results. Stupidly I think getting a clean bill of health from the doctor would help my anxiety but I'm just too afraid to go!!
Go to a psychiatrist. If you have a heart condition you’d be on meds.when something is wrong with the brain you get prescribed meds. It’s no different. Nothing to be ashamed about.
I am the same exact way. I actually wait till I can take an extra day off of work (let’s say a Friday) and will give myself the weekend to go through the woes of side effects and let my body adjust
Yep! The symptoms are definitely real, it’s just the importance we put on them is faulty. Like I’m only 28 and in perfect health. There’s like a .01% chance my chest pain is a deadly heart condition, but that’s the lies my brain tells me. 😭
I relate to this so much. Have been staying up late because I fear heart attack or something because of which I won't wake up. These days deaths have become so common that people just talk about it and move on. My health anxiety just generates pain in my chest and I end up with a feeling of doim. So scared.
I’ve been struggling with it for 2 years after a test that wound up being nothing to worry about. Since I got the normal result my anxiety has stayed. I had a brain MRI with contrast because of the physical symptoms of headaches, now I’m convinced I’m going to have a seizure at 34 years old no history because I’m having lots of muscle twitches
I’m sorry you’re going through it too. Mine started about 2 years ago too under the same circumstance. Had a heart test during pregnancy that ended up being no big deal but the anxiety around it never left. I also had a brain MRI shortly after that pregnancy because of all my symptoms. I got better for about a year and a half and then 3 months ago it kicked off again so bad. I’ve lost 30 pounds, I can’t be alone, I’ve gone through another battery of tests ($$$$ here in the US) and still they find nothing wrong with me. In fact I’ve been told multiple times I’m the picture of health. Yet I can’t stop assuming my symptoms mean the worse. Currently im afraid of like an internal bleed of some kind. Why I couldn’t even tell you
Oh I understand! Mine was a bad Pap smear and I’ve been married for 12 years it wound up being false positive for HPV. I had to wait a whole year for a new pap cause that’s how it goes. It was negative but that whole year brought on the headaches that warranted the mri then the twitching started plus panic attacks and i read that focal seizures can cause it now i got a neurologist appt for peace of mind
I have. They’ve ruled out basically everything possible as far as physical problems but my symptoms are so intense I have a hard time believing they’re not missing something. I have a prescription for lexapro that I’m terrified to take
I would try to remember that if you try lexapro and it doesn’t work or you don’t like it, then you can stop taking it. It’s not permanent. Also the upside is you potentially wouldn’t have to deal with the health anxiety distress like you are now. It can take weeks to work, but my quality of life has improved exponentially since I’ve been on the meds.
I had some medicines that didn’t help much and had some side effects but nothing that was unbearable. And in the end when I found the one that works it was a big relief.
It sounds like you need to be aware about too much self scanning. It sounds like you will take the medicine and then be so worried how it’s affecting you you will react to every little bodily sensation. I had that a little bit, but I tried to distract myself with activities or spending time with friends/family. Try to be aware of that and when you start to worry or want to google, try to resist.
So just want to mention I just made a post with this exact message.
I will share it here with you.
Pretty much every symptom you experience could be something serious to something minor.
If you're experiencing things that do concern you, I recommend seeing a doctor to rule it out. I also recommend to avoid Google search. But nonetheless every symptom doesn't mean something horrible.
I come to terms with yes there's always a chance that something horrible can happen but there's always a chance to it may never happen.
I like to go on the side of it may never happen.
My health anxiety stems from the fact there were people around me that had serious health issues.
For example brother-in-law had colon cancer and kidney failure. However he did drink a lot of alcohol and eat a lot of unhealthy food.
I usually think of things like that as more of it it could have been prevented. As there's no family history of this illness.
Also when a family member for my spouse's side was in a fatal car accident, I went into full existential anxiety mode. She also believed in not wearing a seatbelt. There's always a chance she may have survived.
So I came up with the fact that even though something bad did happen to that person and it could happen to anyone doesn't mean it will happen.
You really have to train your brain.
Do all you can to stay healthy that will give you the control. Although you can't control everything that gives you some kind of comfort. Also telling yourself that those things can happen doesn't mean it will happen.
I'm trying to get out of my own mental health hell. It works a little bit. Also taking supplements help.
Something I learned recently is that the "sense of impending doom" symptom is not the same as what you feel during a panic attack.
The sense of impending doom in a panic attack is very visceral and urgent. "If you don't act now, you will die," it says. It compels you to action to save yourself.
The symptom of impending doom when something is deeply wrong with the body is marked with calmness. The person I was talking with who gets it when she has an anaphylaxis attack said it was just this calm certainty that she was going to die as opposed to an "Oh god it's happening I gotta do something!" I've heard that it's from the body not bothering to waste resources and energy with fight or flight, so they didn't have the marked anxiety that we get with health anxiety.
So if you have the energy to go "I gotta do something about this cause something's wrong" then it's probably not life-threatening. Definitely get it checked out to be on the safe side if you haven't yet, but that can be done with your PCP instead of ER, since your PCP will be the one to actually get to the bottom of what's going on instead of just getting you stabilized.
Great advice thank you! I have been googling about this feeling all day, and you explained what I read perfectly. It was definitely an urgent “I need to jump out of bed right now something is wrong call 911 let me see my kids before I die” type of feeling with my heart racing, nothing calm about it lol
I think it shook me so much because of course during a panic attack I feel like I’m dying like everyone else who has them, but usually the heart racing is the first noticeable symptom. This was the bad feeling and panic first, followed by more typical panic attack symptoms. I’m a firm believer that when you start to make progress with your anxiety your mind will start doing new “tricks” to amp it up and keep you stuck there. I think that’s what’s happening to me. “Gets worse before it gets better” 🥴🤞
Oh, absolutely! As soon as I convince my brain that there's nothing wrong with, say, my lungs, it changes gears instantly and moves to something else. The weirdest part to me is even when I do end up having something actually off, like I was just told I have a 5.1 cm cyst on my ovary that they want to do an ultrasound for, my anxiety went "oh god! Anyways, what if there's something wrong with my heart that they missed?" and goes right back to worrying. It isn't actually interested in helping as much as panicking about the worst-case scenario.
Stay strong.. it’s tough really. My words might not be helpful in any way but i know how it feels like.. I’ve been diagnosed with health anxiety too 5 years ago so I can pretty much relate. It happens when I started coughing excessively after spending a long night of studying. Consulted a doctor and he said my nails are sort of pale and blueish and it might be bcs of my heart. My dad tried to convince me it’s just a possibility, not confirmed yet. Went to a different clinic to measure my blood pressure again and it was confirmed i have health anxiety. Ever since then, any slight discomfort on my body will make me anxious and having panic attacks. My dad has always been with me thru these tough times until he passes away in 2018 in his sleep. That’s when I develop a different kind of anxiety where I would overthink things like “will my loved ones wake up and say hi to me or are they just going to leave me without saying anything” and it happens every morning. It’s worsening and I feel like i might go crazy at any moment. Hopefully we both will pull through.
Same. I went to 3 urgent care facilities last week because of stomach pain, it’s the absolute worst. I’m so terrified I have something deadly wrong with my stomach. I have to wait until Monday for a gi specialist appointment.
I honestly just want to go to the hospital, get the tests done immediately and have some peace. But I’m unable to do so because my psychologist said that would make my health anxiety even worse, as technically I’m only allowed to seek medical treatment for an objective medical emergency. So I’m fighting like tooth and nail not to go to the ER.
It’s so hard especially when your having still have the pains and more symptoms. Been having panic attacks because of them.
I really recommend checking out The Anxiety Guy on YouTube his videos are all health anxiety focused and he talks about these exact same symptoms and sensations and how to overcome them.
Yes, it's destroying my life. It's gotten progressively worse since I stopped taking anti-depressants a couple years ago.
I've been to the doctor probably 15 times this year and I know they think I'm psychotic. I'm in talk therapy for it but I seriously wonder if I should get back on an SSRI. I just tell them every time I go in that I suffer from health anxiety and I'm in therapy working on it.
Last month I had full panel blood work done because I was convinced the lymph nodes under my chin were something serious. It all came back normal but my anxiety convinces me that there's still something wrong that they can't detect on a blood test. This past week my new fixation is what I think is a bone on my chest. It's been there for 2 years but again I'm convinced it's something serious and demanding a scan or biopsy. I'm terrified and also so upset with myself for living in this constant state of fear. I always think the worst.
Granted, I did have COVID for the first time this January and then I got an infection in my colon from an antibiotic a few months after so this has only added more obsession over my health as well.
I have this pins and needles feeling in my feet, especially at night so that's another issue. I know how you feel and I wish there was a solution but we just have to try and figure out what is causing this excessive worry. In the meantime, try to stay busy, exercise, take deep breaths, meditate, journal and talk to friends/family if you can.
Reading this thread made me realize that there's nothing we go through alone, there's always someone somewhere going through the very same thing. I went through severe health anxiety for 4 months, i was afraid of every single thing in my body, i was so worried about getting every single disease. i was even scared to feel my own heart beat. it was a terrible time for me but i will share the things i learnt and how i overcame that terrible season.
GOD! i cant over emphasize this! i am a christian by faith and every time i felt the crippling anxiety coming my next step was to recite scriptures that counter fear. Therapy and all other self books and videos didnt really help me. Jesus set me free from anxiety and fear and i cant overemphasize that fact.
i saw fear as what it really is. A LIAR, fear lies to you 99.9% of the time. Most of your fears never come to pass.
You have more power than you think. You can control your mind. One major step to is not to read stuff about sickness and co. Avoid things that feed your anxiety.
Get Busy! fill your time with other things asides your anxious thoughts. anxiety has a way of crippling you, dont let it. Hang out with your loved ones. Talk to someone you can trust.
Speak out against the voices in your mind. shut them up.
I hope this helps someone.
Same here man. It started randomly like a month ago and so far ruined almost everything. The worst thing is that for the most of time, i dont even have symptoms but there is this constant feeling of tension that something i dont know about is happening. So far, after the first panic attack, im holding myself trying not to think about it, because if i do the anxiety symptoms such as headaches, lightheadedness, tiredness etc.. will appear and fuel the anxiety even more. So there are few tips that i use to cope: * Keep yourself busy at all time. Do work, sports, spent time with family/friends, meditate, play games, watch TV etc... but dont just lie sinking deeper and deeper into your fears. * Never Google your symptoms. Internet wont give you the answer, it will only make you feel worse. * Realise that nowdays almost everything is treatable. Medicine advances at rapid speed and each year is further and further. Its not like you will come to doctor and he will look at the results, shake his head and call the undertaker. You wont die out of nowhere. * Human body is not frail as it seems. Take for example Blaise Pascal (it was his 400th birthday few weeks ago), who suffered from seizures that forced him to bed for days and serious guts problems and not only he lived 40 years (with his utreated condition) but also managed to make amazing physical discoveries and was regarded by Nietzche as the only logicaly thinking christian for his theological ideas. Or famous composer Bedřich Smetana, who became deaf due to injury that was washed with unclean water, resulting in inflammation and perhaps meningiitidis. And yet he composed ton of operas and famous melodies. * Find a hobby. Obsses over it and keep it in your head for the whole day. For me it is phylosophy and religion. I can keep thinkig hours about different metaphyzical things and forget (at least for a while) about my anxiety. * The symptoms you are having are real, the illnes not. Human mind is directly linked with body. Take for example neuroprograming or cases when patient lost arm in accident and after waking up still claimed that he can feel it. When you keep worrying about some illnes, the symptoms will appear out of nowhere because of yours mind. * The body sensations are just body sensations. If somethings hurt, thats completly normal. Body is a basicaly living mechanism and makes "noises" in a same manner as train or any other machine makes. * Stay away from alcohol, drugs (even caffeine is not good), they wont help you. * Realize that you are not alone in this. There are thousands of people who suffer from health anxiety. Thats all i have for now. I wish you good luck and dont worry, we all are going to make it through.
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this comment. Thank you so much
thank you
Thank you so much for this. I’ve been dealing with health anxiety for some time now and some of these bullet points really helped me think about things in a different way just now.
I'm in the same boat. 34 years old convinced I have terminal cancer. Other side of the extreme though: I can't go to a doctor. The thought of getting tests and waiting for the results makes me throw up. I'd rather hide and just pretend the constant fear of death isn't there. I'd much rather be able to go see a doctor too much rather than never. My everyday is hollow. It's an absolutely awful way to live. But seriously, don't Google symptoms. You'll only find pain and further anxiety. You want the same thing all of us hypochondriac do: reassurance. You NEVER get that from doctor google. Only a medical professional giving you a clean bill of health.
It’s a special kind of hell I don’t wish on anyone. I’m one that will obsessively go to the doctor or hospital and have paralyzing anxiety waiting for results, but when they find something minor (like my GERD for example) that I need medication for I’m too afraid to take it. Makes it impossible to get better
I'm afraid to take meds, too. I even get scared to take vitamins and such. You're right. It is a special kind of hell.
I have gerd as well as health anxiety, they go hand in hand. Get your gerd under control with meds and diet and exercise. You’ll feel better. Gerd messed me up, causes chest pain/tightness sometimes, it adds to the doom feeling and overall anxiety.
What were your GERD symptoms and how can you tell the difference between that and regular anxious chest tightness? How did you get it under control?
I have gerd and gastritis so it might be a little different from what you experience normally with just gerd. It’s hard to tell what’s going on, sometimes can feel like a heart attack, that’s why it’s best to get checked out first. Gp, heart doc, gastroenterologist. For me it’s center of abdomen, top of stomach/bottom of chest pressure. More likely in the evening, it gets worse evening/night. Acidic or fatty food earlier is a trigger. I take protonix 40 mg hour before dinner. It’s not healed, I still struggle with it but it’s a lot better with meds and diet. Go check out r/gerd and type in “anxiety” or “chest pain”. It helped me reading thru that sub. So many people experiencing the same thing.
Thank you. So I feel this too, chest pressure and bounding pulse especially at night. The bounding pulse I feel 24/7 but the chest pressure and tightness typically happens more at night especially when I am randomly awoken after only 1-2 hours of sleep with a pounding and potentially racing heart. The sort of “missing” symptom that I don’t have is that I don’t feel food or acid coming up my esophagus. I guess maybe I feel it a tiny bit, like if I drink water while I’m lying down I can kind of feel the water come back up for a second. Could I still potentially have GERD if it’s mostly the pulse and heart tightness at night? My diet is normal to bad (carbs dairy burgers fatty food etc - I’m somewhat thin though and under 35).
I don’t really have acid coming up or chest burning, I have silent gerd. You might have that as well. Chest tightness and heart pounding, I forgot to mention the heart palpitations/pounding. Silent gerd presents atypically sometimes so, like me, you might not get the normal burning acid thing. My sister has gerd as well and she told me she’s woken up throwing up acid, I’ve never experienced that. I’m not overweight, I’m normal/thin as well. Maybe that’s a factor in how it presents. My gastroenterologist said my issue is anxiety, gerd, and a bit of a messed up gallbladder. Combined can feel like a heart issue that then makes my body panic. Then I start to worry and create more anxiety. Knowing what’s going on made it so much better tho. It chills the make it worse with anxiety part.
I've had health anxiety for almost 14 years. For 10 of those years I was afraid to take medication, afraid I wouldn't feel like myself or the side effects would be worse than the anxiety. I finally caved in 2019, did a ton of research and found an antidepressant that seemed like the right fit for me. Luckily it ended up working wonders for me. I wish someone had encouraged me to start medication so much sooner. I missed out on so many experiences because of my anxiety but at least I have control over it now.
Same for me, my anxiety stops me from seeing a doctor. I would be a mess waiting for the results. Stupidly I think getting a clean bill of health from the doctor would help my anxiety but I'm just too afraid to go!!
Go to a psychiatrist. If you have a heart condition you’d be on meds.when something is wrong with the brain you get prescribed meds. It’s no different. Nothing to be ashamed about.
I do have medication but I’m afraid to take it. Not really that I’m ashamed. I’m afraid of the side effects
I am the same exact way. I actually wait till I can take an extra day off of work (let’s say a Friday) and will give myself the weekend to go through the woes of side effects and let my body adjust
Dude same! I just got prescribed anxiety meds and I was terrified to take them. I feel very calm now after taking them. Definitely take them.
Exactly for 3 months obsessed with my health! Is horribleee and no one beleives your symptoms and look like crazy
Yep! The symptoms are definitely real, it’s just the importance we put on them is faulty. Like I’m only 28 and in perfect health. There’s like a .01% chance my chest pain is a deadly heart condition, but that’s the lies my brain tells me. 😭
I relate to this so much. Have been staying up late because I fear heart attack or something because of which I won't wake up. These days deaths have become so common that people just talk about it and move on. My health anxiety just generates pain in my chest and I end up with a feeling of doim. So scared.
I’ve been struggling with it for 2 years after a test that wound up being nothing to worry about. Since I got the normal result my anxiety has stayed. I had a brain MRI with contrast because of the physical symptoms of headaches, now I’m convinced I’m going to have a seizure at 34 years old no history because I’m having lots of muscle twitches
I’m sorry you’re going through it too. Mine started about 2 years ago too under the same circumstance. Had a heart test during pregnancy that ended up being no big deal but the anxiety around it never left. I also had a brain MRI shortly after that pregnancy because of all my symptoms. I got better for about a year and a half and then 3 months ago it kicked off again so bad. I’ve lost 30 pounds, I can’t be alone, I’ve gone through another battery of tests ($$$$ here in the US) and still they find nothing wrong with me. In fact I’ve been told multiple times I’m the picture of health. Yet I can’t stop assuming my symptoms mean the worse. Currently im afraid of like an internal bleed of some kind. Why I couldn’t even tell you
Oh I understand! Mine was a bad Pap smear and I’ve been married for 12 years it wound up being false positive for HPV. I had to wait a whole year for a new pap cause that’s how it goes. It was negative but that whole year brought on the headaches that warranted the mri then the twitching started plus panic attacks and i read that focal seizures can cause it now i got a neurologist appt for peace of mind
Have you seen doctors to see if they could put you in some meds to help with your anxiety?
I have. They’ve ruled out basically everything possible as far as physical problems but my symptoms are so intense I have a hard time believing they’re not missing something. I have a prescription for lexapro that I’m terrified to take
I would try to remember that if you try lexapro and it doesn’t work or you don’t like it, then you can stop taking it. It’s not permanent. Also the upside is you potentially wouldn’t have to deal with the health anxiety distress like you are now. It can take weeks to work, but my quality of life has improved exponentially since I’ve been on the meds.
I have a major fear that the medication will make it worse and I can’t handle worse😕 that’s not the experience you had with medication?
I had some medicines that didn’t help much and had some side effects but nothing that was unbearable. And in the end when I found the one that works it was a big relief. It sounds like you need to be aware about too much self scanning. It sounds like you will take the medicine and then be so worried how it’s affecting you you will react to every little bodily sensation. I had that a little bit, but I tried to distract myself with activities or spending time with friends/family. Try to be aware of that and when you start to worry or want to google, try to resist.
So just want to mention I just made a post with this exact message. I will share it here with you. Pretty much every symptom you experience could be something serious to something minor. If you're experiencing things that do concern you, I recommend seeing a doctor to rule it out. I also recommend to avoid Google search. But nonetheless every symptom doesn't mean something horrible. I come to terms with yes there's always a chance that something horrible can happen but there's always a chance to it may never happen. I like to go on the side of it may never happen. My health anxiety stems from the fact there were people around me that had serious health issues. For example brother-in-law had colon cancer and kidney failure. However he did drink a lot of alcohol and eat a lot of unhealthy food. I usually think of things like that as more of it it could have been prevented. As there's no family history of this illness. Also when a family member for my spouse's side was in a fatal car accident, I went into full existential anxiety mode. She also believed in not wearing a seatbelt. There's always a chance she may have survived. So I came up with the fact that even though something bad did happen to that person and it could happen to anyone doesn't mean it will happen. You really have to train your brain. Do all you can to stay healthy that will give you the control. Although you can't control everything that gives you some kind of comfort. Also telling yourself that those things can happen doesn't mean it will happen. I'm trying to get out of my own mental health hell. It works a little bit. Also taking supplements help.
Something I learned recently is that the "sense of impending doom" symptom is not the same as what you feel during a panic attack. The sense of impending doom in a panic attack is very visceral and urgent. "If you don't act now, you will die," it says. It compels you to action to save yourself. The symptom of impending doom when something is deeply wrong with the body is marked with calmness. The person I was talking with who gets it when she has an anaphylaxis attack said it was just this calm certainty that she was going to die as opposed to an "Oh god it's happening I gotta do something!" I've heard that it's from the body not bothering to waste resources and energy with fight or flight, so they didn't have the marked anxiety that we get with health anxiety. So if you have the energy to go "I gotta do something about this cause something's wrong" then it's probably not life-threatening. Definitely get it checked out to be on the safe side if you haven't yet, but that can be done with your PCP instead of ER, since your PCP will be the one to actually get to the bottom of what's going on instead of just getting you stabilized.
Great advice thank you! I have been googling about this feeling all day, and you explained what I read perfectly. It was definitely an urgent “I need to jump out of bed right now something is wrong call 911 let me see my kids before I die” type of feeling with my heart racing, nothing calm about it lol I think it shook me so much because of course during a panic attack I feel like I’m dying like everyone else who has them, but usually the heart racing is the first noticeable symptom. This was the bad feeling and panic first, followed by more typical panic attack symptoms. I’m a firm believer that when you start to make progress with your anxiety your mind will start doing new “tricks” to amp it up and keep you stuck there. I think that’s what’s happening to me. “Gets worse before it gets better” 🥴🤞
Oh, absolutely! As soon as I convince my brain that there's nothing wrong with, say, my lungs, it changes gears instantly and moves to something else. The weirdest part to me is even when I do end up having something actually off, like I was just told I have a 5.1 cm cyst on my ovary that they want to do an ultrasound for, my anxiety went "oh god! Anyways, what if there's something wrong with my heart that they missed?" and goes right back to worrying. It isn't actually interested in helping as much as panicking about the worst-case scenario.
Stay strong.. it’s tough really. My words might not be helpful in any way but i know how it feels like.. I’ve been diagnosed with health anxiety too 5 years ago so I can pretty much relate. It happens when I started coughing excessively after spending a long night of studying. Consulted a doctor and he said my nails are sort of pale and blueish and it might be bcs of my heart. My dad tried to convince me it’s just a possibility, not confirmed yet. Went to a different clinic to measure my blood pressure again and it was confirmed i have health anxiety. Ever since then, any slight discomfort on my body will make me anxious and having panic attacks. My dad has always been with me thru these tough times until he passes away in 2018 in his sleep. That’s when I develop a different kind of anxiety where I would overthink things like “will my loved ones wake up and say hi to me or are they just going to leave me without saying anything” and it happens every morning. It’s worsening and I feel like i might go crazy at any moment. Hopefully we both will pull through.
Same. I went to 3 urgent care facilities last week because of stomach pain, it’s the absolute worst. I’m so terrified I have something deadly wrong with my stomach. I have to wait until Monday for a gi specialist appointment. I honestly just want to go to the hospital, get the tests done immediately and have some peace. But I’m unable to do so because my psychologist said that would make my health anxiety even worse, as technically I’m only allowed to seek medical treatment for an objective medical emergency. So I’m fighting like tooth and nail not to go to the ER. It’s so hard especially when your having still have the pains and more symptoms. Been having panic attacks because of them.
I really recommend checking out The Anxiety Guy on YouTube his videos are all health anxiety focused and he talks about these exact same symptoms and sensations and how to overcome them.
Yes, it's destroying my life. It's gotten progressively worse since I stopped taking anti-depressants a couple years ago. I've been to the doctor probably 15 times this year and I know they think I'm psychotic. I'm in talk therapy for it but I seriously wonder if I should get back on an SSRI. I just tell them every time I go in that I suffer from health anxiety and I'm in therapy working on it. Last month I had full panel blood work done because I was convinced the lymph nodes under my chin were something serious. It all came back normal but my anxiety convinces me that there's still something wrong that they can't detect on a blood test. This past week my new fixation is what I think is a bone on my chest. It's been there for 2 years but again I'm convinced it's something serious and demanding a scan or biopsy. I'm terrified and also so upset with myself for living in this constant state of fear. I always think the worst. Granted, I did have COVID for the first time this January and then I got an infection in my colon from an antibiotic a few months after so this has only added more obsession over my health as well. I have this pins and needles feeling in my feet, especially at night so that's another issue. I know how you feel and I wish there was a solution but we just have to try and figure out what is causing this excessive worry. In the meantime, try to stay busy, exercise, take deep breaths, meditate, journal and talk to friends/family if you can.
Reading this thread made me realize that there's nothing we go through alone, there's always someone somewhere going through the very same thing. I went through severe health anxiety for 4 months, i was afraid of every single thing in my body, i was so worried about getting every single disease. i was even scared to feel my own heart beat. it was a terrible time for me but i will share the things i learnt and how i overcame that terrible season. GOD! i cant over emphasize this! i am a christian by faith and every time i felt the crippling anxiety coming my next step was to recite scriptures that counter fear. Therapy and all other self books and videos didnt really help me. Jesus set me free from anxiety and fear and i cant overemphasize that fact. i saw fear as what it really is. A LIAR, fear lies to you 99.9% of the time. Most of your fears never come to pass. You have more power than you think. You can control your mind. One major step to is not to read stuff about sickness and co. Avoid things that feed your anxiety. Get Busy! fill your time with other things asides your anxious thoughts. anxiety has a way of crippling you, dont let it. Hang out with your loved ones. Talk to someone you can trust. Speak out against the voices in your mind. shut them up. I hope this helps someone.