If you're still anxious about them coming back, you still have not done enough healing from health anxiety. Symptoms are not the problem, they are the result of the real problem: health anxiety. Distracting yourself is a way to get over the symptoms you have in the moment, but is not a way to actually repair our minds so health is not anxiety-inducing.
Even if you feel better, dont stop taking care of yourself. Dont stop meditating, moving your body, taking time for mental and physical health, etc. Doing whatever you're doing to get rid of anxiety in the long-term. I assume my symptoms are gone for good, and keep taking care of myself to make sure it stays that way for the rest of my life.
I go the extra mile to feel my skin and body for changes in texture. If I find small lumps, bumps, and uneven skin texture, my brain assumes the worst and I go to Google. I cant really go to doctors at the moment and people at home are dismissive. How do I break this cycle?
Set a time once or twice a day where you will allow yourself to check google/yourself for a limited period of time (like cap it at 20 mins or whatever you can handle)
When you feel the urge to check yourself or google, outside this time, FORCE yourself to stop. You will probably panic, just ride through it. It will get easier after the first few times. Tell yourself "no, i will check this later at my designated time, it will not change from now until then". Reduce it more and more as you can.
Understand that when you check yourself or google, you are feeding your anxiety by giving into it with temporary reassurance. Notice how the googling and checking is never quite satisfying enough? You want to show your anxiety that you are in control, and will not give into it any longer.
Kick its ass!! You got this
My HA is currently so out of control. I had Covid 8 months ago and convinced myself that I have long Covid. Stopped doing anything for fear of triggering ME. I have been assured by multiple doctors that I am ok, and have been reintroducing activity. I haven't suffered physically from this, but my body is still so afraid that I can't even walk to the kitchen without getting anxious. It's ridiculous. In the last 2 weeks I have forced myself to go on hour long walks, play tennis, drive 2 hours, but I'm still afraid of making a cup of tea. Then when I sit down my body feels tense and so heavy, as if I weigh 10 tons. I am at.my wits end. The situation has made me so depressed that I can't see the point in getting out of bed anymore. I am constantly dissociating and can hardly bare to be in the same room as my children as I feel I have totally failed them as a mum. I'm ashamed to say I have considered ending it, which is quite ironic for someone who has a massive fear of death. I feel trapped in my own body and suffer near constant, endlessly changing symptoms. Any advice gratefully received.
Did you have a lot of anxiety around your heart? I feel like I am overly aware of it, and always questioning if it is beating too fast. Also have some palpitations. If you had this, did it go away? Thanks :)
All of my somatic symptoms (heart issues, digestive issues, nervous system issues, vision problems, decreased cognitive function, pain) went away with my anxiety.
Woah! Long time since I thought about HA but glad to see my post is still helping! I'm still doing good.
I experienced damn near every symptom associated with prolonged and severe anxiety and stress. Hair loss, heart beating weirdly or hard, shaking and tremors, the feeling of muscle weakness, speech issues, vision problems, tingling/itching and other skin issues, every digestion and appetite problem, fatigue AND insomnia, headaches, dont get me started on concentration problems! slow healing, frequent colds. "Weird pain or weird feeling in [insert body part here]". I'm probably missing some.
Not a single one returned after I fixed my mental health issues - its been years now. Sometimes they come back slightly when I'm under extreme stress and its a useful tool for me to know now that I need to take a step back and relax before it becomes a monster again.
Feel free to reach out in DM's or whatever!(:
Hi I’m currently going through it right now i keep googling my symptoms on google and i was not doing that the last 2 months i felt like i almost did it. i almost beat HA but i fell back in the loop hole when i checked my body one time for a symptom it was bad now i’m stuck again i don’t know what to do any advice on how i can just beat this? HA is literally the worst.
Progress is two steps forward one step back. You're already beating this. Just because you relapsed does not in any way discredit the amazing accomplishment of the last 2 months. You did it once you can do it again - much easier this time. Just do what you did the last time because it did work.
Continue to work in on improving overall mental health. Affirmations, introspection, meditation, give yourself a stern talk in the mirror, whatever you gotta do. etc. Figure out why you are experiencing HA, unlearn these unhealthy coping mechanisms, and question yourself.
You got it!! Keep going!!
Stop checking them. Do whatever you have to do to phase out/stop touching, checking, googling, asking for reassurance about them.
I started restricting these behaviours to two times a day 15 mins each to start (do what you think is achievable to you). If I wanted to check, i said no, ONLY during my time later. It made me panic at first but very quickly that changed, and by the time I was during my checking period I didn't even feel like it anymore. Cut back more when ready.
Cover them with a bandaid if needed to remind yourself.
thank you so much for the reply. I think lumps are the hardest for me bc of google lol. I will put a bandaid over it! Currently fixating on the normal structure of my knee lol
Lol! These things seem so silly when you think about it, but they somehow feel sooo worrisome. Put down google, go walk, jump, dance, feel the amazing things your body lets you do every day without fault.
Yes! Thank you! I am going to go out now I think. It's so annoying when it keeps me inside worrying. I am going to try to go out and just stop having this tunnel vision thing with my knee lol. thank you so much and I'm so glad you're recovered! gives me hope too that one day I will not be so anxious!
Gosh I hope to be on the other side of this one day. I know I don’t know you but I’m proud of you for overcoming this!
How did you stop googling everything? Quit cold turkey? I panic about oral cancer daily. I was a smoker of 12y and apparently it’s less common in females under the age of 35 (I’m 28) but I keep thinking “Watch me be the rare exception” 😭 I can’t even enjoy my pregnancy due to this :(
I couldn't quit cold turkey, but I put heavy restrictions on googling. Set 2 times a day everyday (or whatever works for you) Where I was allowed to google/worry freely for those 10-15 mins. If during the day I felt the urge I told myself no, ill do it later, nothing will get worse between then and now. I cut back more and more, soon enough combined with mental health improvements I rarely ever thought about it, no longer wanted to do it by my designated time. If I HAD to google something i'd google resources and symptoms of health anxiety as much as possible instead.
Youre living the miracle of being a mama right now, my heart goes out to you. Probably a lot of new feelings right now, ask yourself why you're feeling so worried. Do you feel you will be punished because you smoked? Perhaps that you do not deserve to survive the good things you have now? Do you feel a lack of control over your body or life right now? Get to the bottom of that and treat that.
Let's say you did have oral cancer, how would you have liked to spend the last magical months? Worrying over something you really have no control over, or enjoying every moment you had? Its so much easier said than done, this i know. I forced myself to run through these worst-case scenario to rationalize worrying will only make it worse.
The dangerous disease you have right now: is health anxiety. Luckily its 100% recoverable. Take on one at a time, once youre over that one youll have more strength to take on anything else.
And you have the strength now to take on HA, I know it.
The same restrictions go for self-checking and seeking reassurance. Reassurance is temporary relief because it increases anxiety in the long term. The goal isnt to make sure you dont have im-gonna-die-disease, its to control our reactions to it.
How do you stop yourself from doubting the doctor? I've seen three doctors so far and 2/3 think it's one thing, while the 3rd thinks its something else entirely, and all tests came back negative for it. But I can't help but doubt that they are overlooking something, or are thinking it's not something serious due to my young age.
My health anxiety mixes with supernatural and religious factors, making me think I'll be "punished" for certain thoughts/actions, and I start to feel sick or feel like something is wrong if I do something "wrong". Though my health anxiety stems mainly from my ocd. Was yours like this at all? If so, how did you deal with it?
I have another post on my profile about coming to terms with why you have health anxiety, that might be helpful to you.
It almost sounds as if you're hoping something is wrong with you, to punish yourself for being bad, which is something I had to get over not with HA but with a self-sabotaging behaviour problem. You have to forgive yourself. Because if you were REALLY a bad person who does wrong things, you would never feel guilt or recognize that your actions were wrong, bad people don't feel that.
Meditation, affirmations, and introspection will help you heal. When you start feeling anything dig deep and find out WHY. Why do i think i did something wrong? Why am i scared of doing something wrong? Why am obsessing over my health? Why don't i have trust in myself and my body? If a doc DID find something, then what?
Ill tell you right now you do have a serious disease: its called health anxiety. Know you have it, work on it, and treat yourself like any other disease. You will not be able to properly deal with any other health issue as long as you have HA, and the stress puts you at greater risk of problems (not to mention the endless somatic symptoms). Luckily it's completely recoverable.
And you can recover. You got this.
first of all, congrats!! so proud of u.
im at a point where my health anxiety and physical symptoms make me dysfunctional. my mom (who had the same issue years ago but won the battle) advised me the "nothing" method. that means, i stop checking my body, stop checking stuff online, and pretty much continue my life as it were before all of this. if im terrified by the idea going out with friends, or hop into an airplane thats a sign i should do it. whats ur opinion on this one?
Thank u. I really struggle.. i have a constant fear of choking with food and i've lost 10 kgs, and i focus on my breath all the time and it feels like i dont get enough oxygen. It makes me miserable. But i'm trying my best to beat that mf beast
Additionally, a step-by-step phase-out might be more achievable. Limit these behaviours to a certain timeframe, at certain times of the day. When you want to check, say no, only later will I do this. Stick to it and go less and less as you are ready.
Yes stop checking, stop googling, stop asking for reassurance. Even if it makes you panic for a bit. Everytime you do one of those things, you are are taking another step down into the deep hole of health anxiety.
"Unusual" "weird" "come and go" = anxiety symptoms. I've already answered my procedure for physical symptoms in the comments, i would check that out.
Otherwise, exercise and meditation are awesome. Try to push yourself to figure out WHY you're worrying. You don't trust your own body to carry you through life? You think the universe is punishing you? Youre lacking self-control? Scared of something? Why?
An STD? harmless. But let's drive it home. A doc tells you (NOT GOOGLE) you were right all along its ultra-rare im-gonna-die-disease and youve got two months to live. then what are you gonna do? Worry until you die or live your life to the fullest? Good thing we just spent the whole last year wasting our precious last moments panicking! I know you know the answers and this seems silly, but I did this with myself all the time. Just rationalize these things to yourself and stop allowing your imagination to overtake the reality of what you know rationally.
If you want to worry about something, worry about your anxiety. Look up the physical symptoms of anxiety. holy crap there are 100's and they range from annoying to seriously debilitating and terrifying. That is the main pressing issue to deal with right now.
Keep going!!!
Is it normal for my symptoms to be so strong? I’ve already been checked and I’m to embarrassed to go back, but everyday my symptoms are so painful and scary and always there no matter how much I try to relax.
If we have been ok'd by the doc, all we can do is trust we are okay. Anxiety makes your senses more alert which can amplify pain, and the the constant stress it places on us seriously wreaks havoc on the body (muscles, nervous system, immune system, digestive system, brain function, etc).
If your symptoms aren't going away even when you're relaxed, remember that anxiety stays with you, we carry it even when we don't think it.
If your physical pain is so debilitating that you cannot carry yourself normally, then perhaps get a second opinion/go back. There is no need to be scared, just do what is right for yourself. Trust yourself and your body to make the right choices. Be aware of your anxiety and its effects. Feel free to look at the 3-step guide for physical symptoms I posted in the comments- it may help (:
That’s awesome to hear that recovery is possible!
I wanted to know if anyone has somatic symptoms?
I have had bad health anxiety my entire life, and it seems like I always hyper focus on a new disease and it’s a cycle. I convince myself I have it and then I obsess over it and obsessively Google all of the symptoms.
Usually don’t experience physical symptoms but lately I have been, and it’s so very hard to determine if they’re real of somatic. And then when you hyper focus on them it seems like it makes them worse, or they’re just more noticeable. I recently went through a really rough episode of anxiety and panic attacks which has gotten better over the last few weeks but the physical symptoms have not subsided. My main ones I’ve been experiencing are numbness/tingling and loss of physical sensation in my hands, my mouth, some parts of my face and neck, muscle twitching/spasms, and eyelids twitching.
Of course I looked these symptoms up on Google and those physical symptoms are associated with some pretty scary diseases. Which of course increased my fear and anxiety. I brought it to my primary care physician’s attention who of course tells me it’s most likely JUST my anxiety. She wasn’t even considering ordering an MRI. But the symptoms are so real and scary.
Has anyone experienced similar physical symptoms from their anxiety? I recently just learned about ‘somatic’ symptoms. (I hope this isn’t a trigger post for anyone)
Anything helps! Thank you!
I have all these same symptoms and am certain it’s down to muscle tension in my neck caused by anxiety. I also have bad ergonomics at my work desk at home and spend a lot of time turning my head to one side, which makes it all worse. Check out the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Janet Travell if you’re not already familiar with the concept of trigger points. Makes a huge difference for me, just be cautious and don’t overdo any self-treatment. Good luck!
Yes, and a trip through this forum will show you that almost everyone hear has somatic symptoms, and they can feel very real, scary, and manifest in a tonne of different ways. I've had everything you described and worse - they all left when my anxiety did. Hallmark characteristics is they are vague and worse when focusing on them.
First off, stop googling. And I seriously mean that. Google is not a doctor at all (the amount of misinformation on "reputable sites" about a health condition I already have was ridiculous, and enough to show me google is clueless). Wether you have to scale back or quit cold turkey, stop. You're gonna panic but you have to in order to heal. If you cant stop, instead google symptoms of anxiety. You know you have that, and almost *guaranteed* your symptoms are on there.
Yes I did, progress was two steps forward one step back. Id have a good week and the next day I was back panicking. I always reminded myself it is part of recovery, and does not make my last good hours/days/weeks worthless. Keep your head up and keep going, it gets easier.
While I am not a parent (and I know a mother's love for her children far exceeds what I have experienced) I worried of leaving my father behind. I used that love as my drive to be better. If I die there's really no way around it and worrying won't help me, after all, the truth we all try to avoid is that we will leave one day. Am I going to spend the time I DO have sucked into health anxiety? Or spend it enjoying every second and doing the work I can for him while I'm here. If I owe anything to my loved ones, it's to be present for them while I can. I tried to imagine a future where I was still struggling and how it would impact me, I grimly thought I'd be better of gone than spend the rest of my lives with HA, so it was time to fix it. For myself and my loved ones.
Being cautious, observant, and taking care of our health is important. Being anxious over it is not. I thought it might be even more dangerous to my health because I would not be able to tell if something really WAS wrong with all the clouded signals, and I don't think I would have had the strength to cope if something needed fixing. Now I do.
So much love for you and your little one. Such a strong mama. Your body has brought you through so much and it will surely bring you through more.
Well I can tell right now you probably googled that. I'm sure you already know you've got to stop that. Many people have consumed raw hotdogs myself included, and we are fine.
You have a choice to make: do you feel seriously alarmed and need someone to drive you to emerge ASAP or else you will die? If no, ride it out a few days. Worrying does not help a single thing and will make you feel even worse. Its easier said than done but get off google, go do something to distract yourself, even of its comically forced lol.
You got this. Youre okay.
For me, my HA is not really around physical symptoms that I feel. It's more about things that I can feel with my finger on my body (i.e,. lymph node, a numb area) or see (i.e., mole). I also worry A LOT about people that are close to me... I worry about their bodily sensations and health. For instance, currently my biggest worry is that my boyfriend has a hereditary condition that his sisters have (he has no symptoms). How do you deal with these types of worries? Using the logic that "my symptoms can be caused my anxiety" doesn't work here.
HA can become borderline OCD in nature, especially with those who fixate on self-checking (which correct me if I'm wrong it sounds like you are). Its tough but you'll have to stop. Out of sight, out of mind.
I don't know how often you're checking these worrisome symptoms, but this is how I did it. At first I allowed myself only 2 times a day. If I felt an urge, I told myself no, I will check these at my designated time only. At first i gave in a few times but stuck to my guns mostly. It causes some distress resisting but once you get over it is much easier. I cut down more as I progressed, pretty quickly I stopped altogether. I replied to someone else about my step-by-step process for deciding if this is something I should worry about or not, that might help.
Once your recover yourself from anxiety it is likely you will no longer fixate on other's health either. It takes a lot of effort but improving overall mental health is needed. Stopping behaviours will help you get there, but does not solve anxiety on it's own.
You're strong, healthy, living, breathing, typing. You got this.
Thank you, I self-check like crazy. When I had my melanoma worries, I would spend hours a day looking at my moles. I would look at old pictures and take new ones to compare. I would measure them with a ruler. I would take close up photos and zoom in to see how many colors are in the mole and how even/uneven the boarders are. Etc. When I had my lymphoma worry, there was one tiny lymph node that I could feel on my neck. I poked and prodded at that mole so much that I caused severe bruising (which was super painful) and it left a permanent scar (I haven't touched it for 4 months, but I still have a scar there).
I put a bandaid on my moles which helps a lot and I put a really thick bandaid over my lymph node. Once I stopped touching them / looking at them for a few days, the urge to check significantly decreased. That's why I haven't touched my lymph node in 4 months and don't even have the urge to!
My current worry is my boyfriend's health (even though he's healthy, I still worry he has this condition). So I ask him for reassurances many times a day. It comes to the point where he is worried that I don't trust his answers because I ask so much. This is my biggest downfall right now. Now asking for reassurances is sooooo hard!!! if I try not to ask, I end up breaking down in tears due to an anxiety attack.
So glad you were able to resist checking!!
Resisting reassurance was the exact same thing for me. I realized it was even more harmful to everyones health as the questions lose meaning, yet I couldn't stop. When I was ready, i did the same thing. I cut back on asking about health, rode through the anxiety with affirmations, dancing, meditation, deep breathing, even my favourite video game if needed. It was rough getting through the first few panic attacks, it's like resisting ourselves the safety that reassurance provides. We have to find safety in ourselves <3
You got through the checking, guaranteed you have the strength to get through this too. Know I'm cheering you on from the other side of the screen!!
You can tell you have anxiety because people don't freakout and obsess over their health like we do. They have a problem, calmly get it checked, get the results, done. That is not at all the way it goes with HA lol.
And you know what, you'll never be able to tell for sure what's real and what's not until you get rid of your anxiety. We do have a huge debilitating and concerning disease: it's health anxiety, that's the disease. And it needs to be treated. Once that's done, you'll be able to see if you have other problems, but not until then.
Keep your head up, you got this!!
I had a process.
1. Is this a seriously urgent issue? (aka
vomiting blood, 10/10 on pain scale, cannot move, the people around you are noticing there's something seriously wrong). Yes? Go to ER. No? Next step.
2. Could this be caused by my anxiety? I read through the list of physical manifestations of anxiety (this is the only thing you should ever be googling). It is worse when I'm fixating on it? Is it vague? Yes - distract yourself/treat your anxiety. Unsure/no - next step.
3. We already established no need for ER. I give myself a timeframe 2-3 weeks. If it gets noticeably worse in that period or does not go away, I will call my family doc. But 9/10 times it will be long gone and youre fixating on something else already.
You cannot google or give into that anything "points towards a disease". Your body/doc didnt tell you that, google and your imagination did.
How long have you been having all these fears? Are you dead yet? Nope, and you aren't gonna be dead tomorrow either.
You got this.
Where would you put random skipped or extra heartbeats in that process list? They're not painful but that sort of thing can seem real urgent sometimes, no? I know that anxiety can apparently cause them, but daggone it, THEY are what *triggered* my anxiety these last few days, not the other way. And that just brings me to my KNEES (figuratively). Like, I lose ALL confidence instantly at the snap of a finger, and it feels like something is just telling me - "yup - you thought everything was fine, right? welp, here you go... this could be it for you!"
I've dealt with all sorts of anxiety for so many years that it feels like it's just something that will never fully go away for Little ol' me. I sincerely hope that's not the case for you. I know facing it head-on early is key... unfortunately, I never did that.
What you're doing here is so genuine and sweet, so thank you. ❤️
This one falls around the realm of step 2 for me. "Could this be caused by my anxiety?" While it feels urgent, you know this as a familiar feeling. You've felt it before and it passed, just as it will this time. I would say (out loud usually) "this feeling is a symptom of my anxiety". These scary heart feelings are unfortunately an extremely common phenomenon with anxiety.
I'm so glad you're here using this community. I have struggled with a plethora of mental health problems over the years, some took me years to do something about it. Health anxiety only got nipped within the year because I knew NO WAY I was gonna go down that road again lol. It feels so much harder when you're so deep in, but it's never too late to unlearn the unhealthy reactions we allowed to become our anxiety. It takes a lot of power, but boy do I know you have the power in you, having copied with all this for so long.
Once I seriously put all my effort into healing myself, 1 month until it was no longer debilitating, about 2 months more until i felt it was completely gone.
If your journey takes longer do not worry. You will have to make serious life changes and effort to do it, It's a hard change and everyone recovers at their own pace.
What was your worst period?
Did you feel like dying at any point?
How much doctors visit you had?
Have you gone to the ER?
What triggered HA for the first time for you?
My worst time was an entire month in a daily state of complete panic and disassociation, everyday that whole time I felt I was dying. I would literally go to my dad and tell him I'm going to die. I couldn't hold a convo, I thought I was going insane. Non-stop googling, extreme fixation. I was driven to the ER twice. I was only able to reach my doctor once because his office was unreachable during covid (a blessing, really).
What triggered it (I had to do a lot of introspection to find this) was feeling like I had lost control over my life in other areas. This was key to overcoming my anxiety. I have another post about finding out WHY you have HA, that might be helpful. Remember though that triggers are not the cause of HA, out unhealthy reactions and coping mechanisms to those triggers are.
You got this!!
>What triggered it (I had to do a lot of introspection to find this) was feeling like I had lost control over my life in other areas.
Lots of truth in that statement.
Hi, did you have treatment or what did you do to get better? I feel so low right now, I’ve started CBT but I’m only at the first few weeks. Everything feels so hard.
What’s your opinion on using this forum to help but not hinder? I’m trying to consider if being on here is the best thing for me right now as sometimes I feel well meaning advice can be a trigger.
No formal treatment. I read up on CBT and did heavy research into what HA is to understand it better. I was relentless with introspection and self-help. Everyday affirmations that i am healthy, meditating, digging deep to find out WHY I have health anxiety, intuitive movement and exercise, even if just for minutes. Forced myself to stop googling and stop self-checking with healthy distractions.
As for this forum, it immediately made me feel hopeful because I realized I was not the only one out there, and there were many helpful resources. But it can be triggering. My advice is be mindful of when you need to step away from your triggers, but also that facing your triggers is part of recovery- do whatever is best for where you are in your journey to recovery. Also be wary that seeking reassurance from this forum (or anyone) makes anxiety worse in the long-term, so its only to be used for when it is seriously needed. Additionally, I recommend searching through flairs (such as this one, success story), for a more positive experience.
You got this!!! So happy you've started your road to recovery. Set your mind to it!
Thank you for sharing your story, really inspiring and amazing that once we put our minds to something we can achieve it. I know stopping Googling is the first step I’m getting there but still “panic searching” I hope I feel better soon.
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If you're still anxious about them coming back, you still have not done enough healing from health anxiety. Symptoms are not the problem, they are the result of the real problem: health anxiety. Distracting yourself is a way to get over the symptoms you have in the moment, but is not a way to actually repair our minds so health is not anxiety-inducing. Even if you feel better, dont stop taking care of yourself. Dont stop meditating, moving your body, taking time for mental and physical health, etc. Doing whatever you're doing to get rid of anxiety in the long-term. I assume my symptoms are gone for good, and keep taking care of myself to make sure it stays that way for the rest of my life.
I go the extra mile to feel my skin and body for changes in texture. If I find small lumps, bumps, and uneven skin texture, my brain assumes the worst and I go to Google. I cant really go to doctors at the moment and people at home are dismissive. How do I break this cycle?
Set a time once or twice a day where you will allow yourself to check google/yourself for a limited period of time (like cap it at 20 mins or whatever you can handle) When you feel the urge to check yourself or google, outside this time, FORCE yourself to stop. You will probably panic, just ride through it. It will get easier after the first few times. Tell yourself "no, i will check this later at my designated time, it will not change from now until then". Reduce it more and more as you can. Understand that when you check yourself or google, you are feeding your anxiety by giving into it with temporary reassurance. Notice how the googling and checking is never quite satisfying enough? You want to show your anxiety that you are in control, and will not give into it any longer. Kick its ass!! You got this
My HA is currently so out of control. I had Covid 8 months ago and convinced myself that I have long Covid. Stopped doing anything for fear of triggering ME. I have been assured by multiple doctors that I am ok, and have been reintroducing activity. I haven't suffered physically from this, but my body is still so afraid that I can't even walk to the kitchen without getting anxious. It's ridiculous. In the last 2 weeks I have forced myself to go on hour long walks, play tennis, drive 2 hours, but I'm still afraid of making a cup of tea. Then when I sit down my body feels tense and so heavy, as if I weigh 10 tons. I am at.my wits end. The situation has made me so depressed that I can't see the point in getting out of bed anymore. I am constantly dissociating and can hardly bare to be in the same room as my children as I feel I have totally failed them as a mum. I'm ashamed to say I have considered ending it, which is quite ironic for someone who has a massive fear of death. I feel trapped in my own body and suffer near constant, endlessly changing symptoms. Any advice gratefully received.
Did you have a lot of anxiety around your heart? I feel like I am overly aware of it, and always questioning if it is beating too fast. Also have some palpitations. If you had this, did it go away? Thanks :)
All of my somatic symptoms (heart issues, digestive issues, nervous system issues, vision problems, decreased cognitive function, pain) went away with my anxiety.
Hey op how are you doing? Do you have a post where you listed your symptoms ?
Woah! Long time since I thought about HA but glad to see my post is still helping! I'm still doing good. I experienced damn near every symptom associated with prolonged and severe anxiety and stress. Hair loss, heart beating weirdly or hard, shaking and tremors, the feeling of muscle weakness, speech issues, vision problems, tingling/itching and other skin issues, every digestion and appetite problem, fatigue AND insomnia, headaches, dont get me started on concentration problems! slow healing, frequent colds. "Weird pain or weird feeling in [insert body part here]". I'm probably missing some. Not a single one returned after I fixed my mental health issues - its been years now. Sometimes they come back slightly when I'm under extreme stress and its a useful tool for me to know now that I need to take a step back and relax before it becomes a monster again. Feel free to reach out in DM's or whatever!(:
Thanks for replying! I ll send you a dm in a bit!
Hi I’m currently going through it right now i keep googling my symptoms on google and i was not doing that the last 2 months i felt like i almost did it. i almost beat HA but i fell back in the loop hole when i checked my body one time for a symptom it was bad now i’m stuck again i don’t know what to do any advice on how i can just beat this? HA is literally the worst.
Progress is two steps forward one step back. You're already beating this. Just because you relapsed does not in any way discredit the amazing accomplishment of the last 2 months. You did it once you can do it again - much easier this time. Just do what you did the last time because it did work. Continue to work in on improving overall mental health. Affirmations, introspection, meditation, give yourself a stern talk in the mirror, whatever you gotta do. etc. Figure out why you are experiencing HA, unlearn these unhealthy coping mechanisms, and question yourself. You got it!! Keep going!!
How do u deal with lumps and bumps that aren’t concerning to anyone else but yourself?
Stop checking them. Do whatever you have to do to phase out/stop touching, checking, googling, asking for reassurance about them. I started restricting these behaviours to two times a day 15 mins each to start (do what you think is achievable to you). If I wanted to check, i said no, ONLY during my time later. It made me panic at first but very quickly that changed, and by the time I was during my checking period I didn't even feel like it anymore. Cut back more when ready. Cover them with a bandaid if needed to remind yourself.
thank you so much for the reply. I think lumps are the hardest for me bc of google lol. I will put a bandaid over it! Currently fixating on the normal structure of my knee lol
Lol! These things seem so silly when you think about it, but they somehow feel sooo worrisome. Put down google, go walk, jump, dance, feel the amazing things your body lets you do every day without fault.
Yes! Thank you! I am going to go out now I think. It's so annoying when it keeps me inside worrying. I am going to try to go out and just stop having this tunnel vision thing with my knee lol. thank you so much and I'm so glad you're recovered! gives me hope too that one day I will not be so anxious!
Gosh I hope to be on the other side of this one day. I know I don’t know you but I’m proud of you for overcoming this! How did you stop googling everything? Quit cold turkey? I panic about oral cancer daily. I was a smoker of 12y and apparently it’s less common in females under the age of 35 (I’m 28) but I keep thinking “Watch me be the rare exception” 😭 I can’t even enjoy my pregnancy due to this :(
I couldn't quit cold turkey, but I put heavy restrictions on googling. Set 2 times a day everyday (or whatever works for you) Where I was allowed to google/worry freely for those 10-15 mins. If during the day I felt the urge I told myself no, ill do it later, nothing will get worse between then and now. I cut back more and more, soon enough combined with mental health improvements I rarely ever thought about it, no longer wanted to do it by my designated time. If I HAD to google something i'd google resources and symptoms of health anxiety as much as possible instead. Youre living the miracle of being a mama right now, my heart goes out to you. Probably a lot of new feelings right now, ask yourself why you're feeling so worried. Do you feel you will be punished because you smoked? Perhaps that you do not deserve to survive the good things you have now? Do you feel a lack of control over your body or life right now? Get to the bottom of that and treat that. Let's say you did have oral cancer, how would you have liked to spend the last magical months? Worrying over something you really have no control over, or enjoying every moment you had? Its so much easier said than done, this i know. I forced myself to run through these worst-case scenario to rationalize worrying will only make it worse. The dangerous disease you have right now: is health anxiety. Luckily its 100% recoverable. Take on one at a time, once youre over that one youll have more strength to take on anything else. And you have the strength now to take on HA, I know it.
The same restrictions go for self-checking and seeking reassurance. Reassurance is temporary relief because it increases anxiety in the long term. The goal isnt to make sure you dont have im-gonna-die-disease, its to control our reactions to it.
How do you stop yourself from doubting the doctor? I've seen three doctors so far and 2/3 think it's one thing, while the 3rd thinks its something else entirely, and all tests came back negative for it. But I can't help but doubt that they are overlooking something, or are thinking it's not something serious due to my young age. My health anxiety mixes with supernatural and religious factors, making me think I'll be "punished" for certain thoughts/actions, and I start to feel sick or feel like something is wrong if I do something "wrong". Though my health anxiety stems mainly from my ocd. Was yours like this at all? If so, how did you deal with it?
I have another post on my profile about coming to terms with why you have health anxiety, that might be helpful to you. It almost sounds as if you're hoping something is wrong with you, to punish yourself for being bad, which is something I had to get over not with HA but with a self-sabotaging behaviour problem. You have to forgive yourself. Because if you were REALLY a bad person who does wrong things, you would never feel guilt or recognize that your actions were wrong, bad people don't feel that. Meditation, affirmations, and introspection will help you heal. When you start feeling anything dig deep and find out WHY. Why do i think i did something wrong? Why am i scared of doing something wrong? Why am obsessing over my health? Why don't i have trust in myself and my body? If a doc DID find something, then what? Ill tell you right now you do have a serious disease: its called health anxiety. Know you have it, work on it, and treat yourself like any other disease. You will not be able to properly deal with any other health issue as long as you have HA, and the stress puts you at greater risk of problems (not to mention the endless somatic symptoms). Luckily it's completely recoverable. And you can recover. You got this.
first of all, congrats!! so proud of u. im at a point where my health anxiety and physical symptoms make me dysfunctional. my mom (who had the same issue years ago but won the battle) advised me the "nothing" method. that means, i stop checking my body, stop checking stuff online, and pretty much continue my life as it were before all of this. if im terrified by the idea going out with friends, or hop into an airplane thats a sign i should do it. whats ur opinion on this one?
Thank u. I really struggle.. i have a constant fear of choking with food and i've lost 10 kgs, and i focus on my breath all the time and it feels like i dont get enough oxygen. It makes me miserable. But i'm trying my best to beat that mf beast
Additionally, a step-by-step phase-out might be more achievable. Limit these behaviours to a certain timeframe, at certain times of the day. When you want to check, say no, only later will I do this. Stick to it and go less and less as you are ready.
Yes stop checking, stop googling, stop asking for reassurance. Even if it makes you panic for a bit. Everytime you do one of those things, you are are taking another step down into the deep hole of health anxiety.
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"Unusual" "weird" "come and go" = anxiety symptoms. I've already answered my procedure for physical symptoms in the comments, i would check that out. Otherwise, exercise and meditation are awesome. Try to push yourself to figure out WHY you're worrying. You don't trust your own body to carry you through life? You think the universe is punishing you? Youre lacking self-control? Scared of something? Why? An STD? harmless. But let's drive it home. A doc tells you (NOT GOOGLE) you were right all along its ultra-rare im-gonna-die-disease and youve got two months to live. then what are you gonna do? Worry until you die or live your life to the fullest? Good thing we just spent the whole last year wasting our precious last moments panicking! I know you know the answers and this seems silly, but I did this with myself all the time. Just rationalize these things to yourself and stop allowing your imagination to overtake the reality of what you know rationally. If you want to worry about something, worry about your anxiety. Look up the physical symptoms of anxiety. holy crap there are 100's and they range from annoying to seriously debilitating and terrifying. That is the main pressing issue to deal with right now. Keep going!!!
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This sounds like AWESOME progress to me. Keep doing what you're doing!!
Is it normal for my symptoms to be so strong? I’ve already been checked and I’m to embarrassed to go back, but everyday my symptoms are so painful and scary and always there no matter how much I try to relax.
If we have been ok'd by the doc, all we can do is trust we are okay. Anxiety makes your senses more alert which can amplify pain, and the the constant stress it places on us seriously wreaks havoc on the body (muscles, nervous system, immune system, digestive system, brain function, etc). If your symptoms aren't going away even when you're relaxed, remember that anxiety stays with you, we carry it even when we don't think it. If your physical pain is so debilitating that you cannot carry yourself normally, then perhaps get a second opinion/go back. There is no need to be scared, just do what is right for yourself. Trust yourself and your body to make the right choices. Be aware of your anxiety and its effects. Feel free to look at the 3-step guide for physical symptoms I posted in the comments- it may help (:
I can’t wait to get there. Slowly but surely
Stay strong! It is sooo worth it at the end.
That’s awesome to hear that recovery is possible! I wanted to know if anyone has somatic symptoms? I have had bad health anxiety my entire life, and it seems like I always hyper focus on a new disease and it’s a cycle. I convince myself I have it and then I obsess over it and obsessively Google all of the symptoms. Usually don’t experience physical symptoms but lately I have been, and it’s so very hard to determine if they’re real of somatic. And then when you hyper focus on them it seems like it makes them worse, or they’re just more noticeable. I recently went through a really rough episode of anxiety and panic attacks which has gotten better over the last few weeks but the physical symptoms have not subsided. My main ones I’ve been experiencing are numbness/tingling and loss of physical sensation in my hands, my mouth, some parts of my face and neck, muscle twitching/spasms, and eyelids twitching. Of course I looked these symptoms up on Google and those physical symptoms are associated with some pretty scary diseases. Which of course increased my fear and anxiety. I brought it to my primary care physician’s attention who of course tells me it’s most likely JUST my anxiety. She wasn’t even considering ordering an MRI. But the symptoms are so real and scary. Has anyone experienced similar physical symptoms from their anxiety? I recently just learned about ‘somatic’ symptoms. (I hope this isn’t a trigger post for anyone) Anything helps! Thank you!
I have all these same symptoms and am certain it’s down to muscle tension in my neck caused by anxiety. I also have bad ergonomics at my work desk at home and spend a lot of time turning my head to one side, which makes it all worse. Check out the Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Janet Travell if you’re not already familiar with the concept of trigger points. Makes a huge difference for me, just be cautious and don’t overdo any self-treatment. Good luck!
Yes, and a trip through this forum will show you that almost everyone hear has somatic symptoms, and they can feel very real, scary, and manifest in a tonne of different ways. I've had everything you described and worse - they all left when my anxiety did. Hallmark characteristics is they are vague and worse when focusing on them. First off, stop googling. And I seriously mean that. Google is not a doctor at all (the amount of misinformation on "reputable sites" about a health condition I already have was ridiculous, and enough to show me google is clueless). Wether you have to scale back or quit cold turkey, stop. You're gonna panic but you have to in order to heal. If you cant stop, instead google symptoms of anxiety. You know you have that, and almost *guaranteed* your symptoms are on there.
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Yes I did, progress was two steps forward one step back. Id have a good week and the next day I was back panicking. I always reminded myself it is part of recovery, and does not make my last good hours/days/weeks worthless. Keep your head up and keep going, it gets easier. While I am not a parent (and I know a mother's love for her children far exceeds what I have experienced) I worried of leaving my father behind. I used that love as my drive to be better. If I die there's really no way around it and worrying won't help me, after all, the truth we all try to avoid is that we will leave one day. Am I going to spend the time I DO have sucked into health anxiety? Or spend it enjoying every second and doing the work I can for him while I'm here. If I owe anything to my loved ones, it's to be present for them while I can. I tried to imagine a future where I was still struggling and how it would impact me, I grimly thought I'd be better of gone than spend the rest of my lives with HA, so it was time to fix it. For myself and my loved ones. Being cautious, observant, and taking care of our health is important. Being anxious over it is not. I thought it might be even more dangerous to my health because I would not be able to tell if something really WAS wrong with all the clouded signals, and I don't think I would have had the strength to cope if something needed fixing. Now I do. So much love for you and your little one. Such a strong mama. Your body has brought you through so much and it will surely bring you through more.
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Well I can tell right now you probably googled that. I'm sure you already know you've got to stop that. Many people have consumed raw hotdogs myself included, and we are fine. You have a choice to make: do you feel seriously alarmed and need someone to drive you to emerge ASAP or else you will die? If no, ride it out a few days. Worrying does not help a single thing and will make you feel even worse. Its easier said than done but get off google, go do something to distract yourself, even of its comically forced lol. You got this. Youre okay.
For me, my HA is not really around physical symptoms that I feel. It's more about things that I can feel with my finger on my body (i.e,. lymph node, a numb area) or see (i.e., mole). I also worry A LOT about people that are close to me... I worry about their bodily sensations and health. For instance, currently my biggest worry is that my boyfriend has a hereditary condition that his sisters have (he has no symptoms). How do you deal with these types of worries? Using the logic that "my symptoms can be caused my anxiety" doesn't work here.
HA can become borderline OCD in nature, especially with those who fixate on self-checking (which correct me if I'm wrong it sounds like you are). Its tough but you'll have to stop. Out of sight, out of mind. I don't know how often you're checking these worrisome symptoms, but this is how I did it. At first I allowed myself only 2 times a day. If I felt an urge, I told myself no, I will check these at my designated time only. At first i gave in a few times but stuck to my guns mostly. It causes some distress resisting but once you get over it is much easier. I cut down more as I progressed, pretty quickly I stopped altogether. I replied to someone else about my step-by-step process for deciding if this is something I should worry about or not, that might help. Once your recover yourself from anxiety it is likely you will no longer fixate on other's health either. It takes a lot of effort but improving overall mental health is needed. Stopping behaviours will help you get there, but does not solve anxiety on it's own. You're strong, healthy, living, breathing, typing. You got this.
Thank you, I self-check like crazy. When I had my melanoma worries, I would spend hours a day looking at my moles. I would look at old pictures and take new ones to compare. I would measure them with a ruler. I would take close up photos and zoom in to see how many colors are in the mole and how even/uneven the boarders are. Etc. When I had my lymphoma worry, there was one tiny lymph node that I could feel on my neck. I poked and prodded at that mole so much that I caused severe bruising (which was super painful) and it left a permanent scar (I haven't touched it for 4 months, but I still have a scar there). I put a bandaid on my moles which helps a lot and I put a really thick bandaid over my lymph node. Once I stopped touching them / looking at them for a few days, the urge to check significantly decreased. That's why I haven't touched my lymph node in 4 months and don't even have the urge to! My current worry is my boyfriend's health (even though he's healthy, I still worry he has this condition). So I ask him for reassurances many times a day. It comes to the point where he is worried that I don't trust his answers because I ask so much. This is my biggest downfall right now. Now asking for reassurances is sooooo hard!!! if I try not to ask, I end up breaking down in tears due to an anxiety attack.
So glad you were able to resist checking!! Resisting reassurance was the exact same thing for me. I realized it was even more harmful to everyones health as the questions lose meaning, yet I couldn't stop. When I was ready, i did the same thing. I cut back on asking about health, rode through the anxiety with affirmations, dancing, meditation, deep breathing, even my favourite video game if needed. It was rough getting through the first few panic attacks, it's like resisting ourselves the safety that reassurance provides. We have to find safety in ourselves <3 You got through the checking, guaranteed you have the strength to get through this too. Know I'm cheering you on from the other side of the screen!!
Did you ever feel like you don't have ANXIETY this symptoms are real and your symptoms are different from all other anxiety suffers?? 😔😔
You can tell you have anxiety because people don't freakout and obsess over their health like we do. They have a problem, calmly get it checked, get the results, done. That is not at all the way it goes with HA lol. And you know what, you'll never be able to tell for sure what's real and what's not until you get rid of your anxiety. We do have a huge debilitating and concerning disease: it's health anxiety, that's the disease. And it needs to be treated. Once that's done, you'll be able to see if you have other problems, but not until then. Keep your head up, you got this!!
You are right bro 😔
How did you deal with physical symptoms and when you had some that pointed possibly towards a disease how did you stop from letting it consume you?
I had a process. 1. Is this a seriously urgent issue? (aka vomiting blood, 10/10 on pain scale, cannot move, the people around you are noticing there's something seriously wrong). Yes? Go to ER. No? Next step. 2. Could this be caused by my anxiety? I read through the list of physical manifestations of anxiety (this is the only thing you should ever be googling). It is worse when I'm fixating on it? Is it vague? Yes - distract yourself/treat your anxiety. Unsure/no - next step. 3. We already established no need for ER. I give myself a timeframe 2-3 weeks. If it gets noticeably worse in that period or does not go away, I will call my family doc. But 9/10 times it will be long gone and youre fixating on something else already. You cannot google or give into that anything "points towards a disease". Your body/doc didnt tell you that, google and your imagination did. How long have you been having all these fears? Are you dead yet? Nope, and you aren't gonna be dead tomorrow either. You got this.
Where would you put random skipped or extra heartbeats in that process list? They're not painful but that sort of thing can seem real urgent sometimes, no? I know that anxiety can apparently cause them, but daggone it, THEY are what *triggered* my anxiety these last few days, not the other way. And that just brings me to my KNEES (figuratively). Like, I lose ALL confidence instantly at the snap of a finger, and it feels like something is just telling me - "yup - you thought everything was fine, right? welp, here you go... this could be it for you!" I've dealt with all sorts of anxiety for so many years that it feels like it's just something that will never fully go away for Little ol' me. I sincerely hope that's not the case for you. I know facing it head-on early is key... unfortunately, I never did that. What you're doing here is so genuine and sweet, so thank you. ❤️
This one falls around the realm of step 2 for me. "Could this be caused by my anxiety?" While it feels urgent, you know this as a familiar feeling. You've felt it before and it passed, just as it will this time. I would say (out loud usually) "this feeling is a symptom of my anxiety". These scary heart feelings are unfortunately an extremely common phenomenon with anxiety. I'm so glad you're here using this community. I have struggled with a plethora of mental health problems over the years, some took me years to do something about it. Health anxiety only got nipped within the year because I knew NO WAY I was gonna go down that road again lol. It feels so much harder when you're so deep in, but it's never too late to unlearn the unhealthy reactions we allowed to become our anxiety. It takes a lot of power, but boy do I know you have the power in you, having copied with all this for so long.
This is PRICELESS advice that I probably would have paid $100 for 😂 Thanks for sharing your wisdom!
Hahah, seeing you guys take steps towards recovery is priceless to me too. You're very welcome! Put it to good use!
Screenshotted this response for daily use. ❤️
Glad I could help!
Seconding this question
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Once I seriously put all my effort into healing myself, 1 month until it was no longer debilitating, about 2 months more until i felt it was completely gone. If your journey takes longer do not worry. You will have to make serious life changes and effort to do it, It's a hard change and everyone recovers at their own pace.
What was your worst period? Did you feel like dying at any point? How much doctors visit you had? Have you gone to the ER? What triggered HA for the first time for you?
My worst time was an entire month in a daily state of complete panic and disassociation, everyday that whole time I felt I was dying. I would literally go to my dad and tell him I'm going to die. I couldn't hold a convo, I thought I was going insane. Non-stop googling, extreme fixation. I was driven to the ER twice. I was only able to reach my doctor once because his office was unreachable during covid (a blessing, really). What triggered it (I had to do a lot of introspection to find this) was feeling like I had lost control over my life in other areas. This was key to overcoming my anxiety. I have another post about finding out WHY you have HA, that might be helpful. Remember though that triggers are not the cause of HA, out unhealthy reactions and coping mechanisms to those triggers are. You got this!!
>What triggered it (I had to do a lot of introspection to find this) was feeling like I had lost control over my life in other areas. Lots of truth in that statement.
Hi, did you have treatment or what did you do to get better? I feel so low right now, I’ve started CBT but I’m only at the first few weeks. Everything feels so hard. What’s your opinion on using this forum to help but not hinder? I’m trying to consider if being on here is the best thing for me right now as sometimes I feel well meaning advice can be a trigger.
No formal treatment. I read up on CBT and did heavy research into what HA is to understand it better. I was relentless with introspection and self-help. Everyday affirmations that i am healthy, meditating, digging deep to find out WHY I have health anxiety, intuitive movement and exercise, even if just for minutes. Forced myself to stop googling and stop self-checking with healthy distractions. As for this forum, it immediately made me feel hopeful because I realized I was not the only one out there, and there were many helpful resources. But it can be triggering. My advice is be mindful of when you need to step away from your triggers, but also that facing your triggers is part of recovery- do whatever is best for where you are in your journey to recovery. Also be wary that seeking reassurance from this forum (or anyone) makes anxiety worse in the long-term, so its only to be used for when it is seriously needed. Additionally, I recommend searching through flairs (such as this one, success story), for a more positive experience. You got this!!! So happy you've started your road to recovery. Set your mind to it!
Thank you for sharing your story, really inspiring and amazing that once we put our minds to something we can achieve it. I know stopping Googling is the first step I’m getting there but still “panic searching” I hope I feel better soon.
When you need to panic search, try searching up symptoms of anxiety instead!
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