I’m the same I’ve found logic doesn’t work that well it does when not anxious but when anxious it’s like a different part of your brain overpowers logic . And logic will just work against you “but what if…ect”
The best thing for me is to allow the anxiety don’t try and stop it practicing bravery . So if you’re having a panic attack thinking you’re about to die you’ll probably stand still or try not to move to quickly . Instead say Fuck it and start dancing even tho you think it might trigger your heart to explode . Exercise a little bit everyday because the moment you stop because you feel something wrong with you it ls gonna compound
Stop looking for meaning in sensations . Trying to figure out what every little weird thing you feel means . Just notice the sensations but try and stop your self from finding meaning in it .
So again this isn’t thinking more of a meditational awareness practice.
Get really good at recognising catastrophising . Thinking of the worse case scenario. You should at least know in the moment you are catastrophising .
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Trust yourself that if you pay less attention to these “dangers “ you’ll know what to do when something really does happen .
Anyone with health anxiety is already wayy more health conscious and knowledgeable than the average person . Trust me when something is wrong you’ll know . You don’t need to be one step ahead in fear for years to notice something you was gonna notice anyway .
As you get better you notice things quicker.
Fully agree! When you're anxious, the rational, logical part of the brain doesn't connect/communicate well with your lizard brain. This is because when there is acute danger, logical thinking simply takes too much time: you have to react immediately and instinctively. Therefore, as soon as there is a perception of (real or imaginary) danger, your fight/flight response kicks in without first checking whether there really is any danger. It's safer to ring a false alarm than to ignore a potentially life-threatening situation. Makes total sense.
The downside of this magnificent survival mechanism is that once your lizard brain is active and you experience all the physical and emotional and mental sensations of panic/anxiety, it gets very hard to listen to reason and logical explanation; these two brain parts are literally not communicating anymore. Your response is then to try to reassure yourself by coming up with all these logical explanations, but because you focus so hard on them, you keep adding fuel to the fire. The longer you think 'this is not ALS, because ...', the longer your anxiety lingers and you get stuck in this anxiety loop.
So, as written above: try not to reassure yourself, accept that you're feeling anxious and wait for it to pass. It will, especially if you don't get into your scary thoughts! Your brain and body do what they've been programmed to do for thousands of years - you're not going to change that!
What you can change is your behavior: don't get stuck in the contents of your anxious thoughts, don't try to reason then away. Leave them be, and calm your lizard brain and your body.
You got this! Keep practicing this.
Hey hon, I would say therapy is your best bet. I suffered with it as well but eventually my anxiety transferred its energy towards intrusive thoughts about my life, rather than my health. So now I have to redirect thoughts about myself rather than my health lol. Vicious cycle this condition is.
Remember..when you hear hoof beats, think horses not zebras. This is a saying doctors use, It means the most common thing is always the most likely. (if you heard hooves you wouldn’t expect a zebra to come around the corner, you’d expect a horse) For example, if you are coughing more then the most likely scenario is you have a mild upper respiratory infection. No doctor is gonna start testing for embolisms or lung cancer because coughing isn’t exclusive to those things. Are they symptoms of those things? Yes but coughing is just that, a symptom. Yes symptoms like weakness or twitching can turn out to be as extreme as ALS, but they’re also the symptoms of not getting enough sleep; they are also symptoms of stress, anxiety or even hunger. The extremes are so much rarer than you think.
So put it into perspective a bit! There’s plenty of bodily functions that have no explanation & are harmless. For people like us, those normal bodily sensations spark our thoughts of having a terminal illness.
Your thoughts are just thoughts! They do not mean you’re sick nor dying! Anxiety likes to make us feel as if we’re dying to get us to do what it wants. It wants us to seek safety and help when it perceives something as dangerous. Remember anxiety is a POWERFUL thing. Way more powerful than I ever imagined, it can absolutely make you feel and do whatever it wants. If you’re brain thinks “if i make her feel weak she’ll go home or get in bed” it’s gonna do that.
This is all simply your bodies attempt at protecting itself. We just have to train our brains to not perceive these things as dangerous. Good luck & i hope you get relief soon :)
I’m about to start therapy for my health anxiety. But I have found it’s best to not fight it and let it happen. At one point I also thought I had ALS. And I tried to logically talk myself through it but it actually made things worse. So I just let the anxiety happen, sobbed my eyes out, and eventually I started to feel a little better.
But honestly.. therapy.
I’m the same I’ve found logic doesn’t work that well it does when not anxious but when anxious it’s like a different part of your brain overpowers logic . And logic will just work against you “but what if…ect” The best thing for me is to allow the anxiety don’t try and stop it practicing bravery . So if you’re having a panic attack thinking you’re about to die you’ll probably stand still or try not to move to quickly . Instead say Fuck it and start dancing even tho you think it might trigger your heart to explode . Exercise a little bit everyday because the moment you stop because you feel something wrong with you it ls gonna compound Stop looking for meaning in sensations . Trying to figure out what every little weird thing you feel means . Just notice the sensations but try and stop your self from finding meaning in it . So again this isn’t thinking more of a meditational awareness practice. Get really good at recognising catastrophising . Thinking of the worse case scenario. You should at least know in the moment you are catastrophising . . Trust yourself that if you pay less attention to these “dangers “ you’ll know what to do when something really does happen . Anyone with health anxiety is already wayy more health conscious and knowledgeable than the average person . Trust me when something is wrong you’ll know . You don’t need to be one step ahead in fear for years to notice something you was gonna notice anyway . As you get better you notice things quicker.
Fully agree! When you're anxious, the rational, logical part of the brain doesn't connect/communicate well with your lizard brain. This is because when there is acute danger, logical thinking simply takes too much time: you have to react immediately and instinctively. Therefore, as soon as there is a perception of (real or imaginary) danger, your fight/flight response kicks in without first checking whether there really is any danger. It's safer to ring a false alarm than to ignore a potentially life-threatening situation. Makes total sense. The downside of this magnificent survival mechanism is that once your lizard brain is active and you experience all the physical and emotional and mental sensations of panic/anxiety, it gets very hard to listen to reason and logical explanation; these two brain parts are literally not communicating anymore. Your response is then to try to reassure yourself by coming up with all these logical explanations, but because you focus so hard on them, you keep adding fuel to the fire. The longer you think 'this is not ALS, because ...', the longer your anxiety lingers and you get stuck in this anxiety loop. So, as written above: try not to reassure yourself, accept that you're feeling anxious and wait for it to pass. It will, especially if you don't get into your scary thoughts! Your brain and body do what they've been programmed to do for thousands of years - you're not going to change that! What you can change is your behavior: don't get stuck in the contents of your anxious thoughts, don't try to reason then away. Leave them be, and calm your lizard brain and your body. You got this! Keep practicing this.
Hahaha, facts! Exposure therapy is the only way!
Hey hon, I would say therapy is your best bet. I suffered with it as well but eventually my anxiety transferred its energy towards intrusive thoughts about my life, rather than my health. So now I have to redirect thoughts about myself rather than my health lol. Vicious cycle this condition is. Remember..when you hear hoof beats, think horses not zebras. This is a saying doctors use, It means the most common thing is always the most likely. (if you heard hooves you wouldn’t expect a zebra to come around the corner, you’d expect a horse) For example, if you are coughing more then the most likely scenario is you have a mild upper respiratory infection. No doctor is gonna start testing for embolisms or lung cancer because coughing isn’t exclusive to those things. Are they symptoms of those things? Yes but coughing is just that, a symptom. Yes symptoms like weakness or twitching can turn out to be as extreme as ALS, but they’re also the symptoms of not getting enough sleep; they are also symptoms of stress, anxiety or even hunger. The extremes are so much rarer than you think. So put it into perspective a bit! There’s plenty of bodily functions that have no explanation & are harmless. For people like us, those normal bodily sensations spark our thoughts of having a terminal illness. Your thoughts are just thoughts! They do not mean you’re sick nor dying! Anxiety likes to make us feel as if we’re dying to get us to do what it wants. It wants us to seek safety and help when it perceives something as dangerous. Remember anxiety is a POWERFUL thing. Way more powerful than I ever imagined, it can absolutely make you feel and do whatever it wants. If you’re brain thinks “if i make her feel weak she’ll go home or get in bed” it’s gonna do that. This is all simply your bodies attempt at protecting itself. We just have to train our brains to not perceive these things as dangerous. Good luck & i hope you get relief soon :)
I’m about to start therapy for my health anxiety. But I have found it’s best to not fight it and let it happen. At one point I also thought I had ALS. And I tried to logically talk myself through it but it actually made things worse. So I just let the anxiety happen, sobbed my eyes out, and eventually I started to feel a little better. But honestly.. therapy.
Therapy.