I have been suffering from health anxiety for about a year now before I was a strong willed man, very ambitious, lots of friends and good social life. Granted i haven't lived the most healthy of lives but now don't smoke, take my vitimins, go the gym and try to eat healthy. I spent a lot of time googling things i feel. I have had HIV which I got tested for and was negative. I thought the doc had it wrong or was lying to me because she felt bad for me. I have had lymphoma, prostate cancer, pleurisy, cancer of all sorts. It takes over my life, every waking moment i think about my health and dying. It effects me at work and at home. I finally plucked up the courage to speak to my partner but she doesn't understand and says I am healthy and should be grateful i am alive and look healthy. If I hear anything on the radio of a film, programme that is health related i turn it off. I don't want to go to the doctors because I am so scared of possible results. This is ruining my life so much. It gets me down and I feel like a shell of a man i once was. Please help!!!!
I can totally relate. Except now I've been obsessing about mental health instead. I'm terrified every second of my life that I'm developing schizophrenia. It is literally destroying me
Hi jen
I often research things and it tells me I have all kinds. I often read about health anxiety but this strangly make me feel better about things. I must google things for in the region of 3 hours a day on and off.
I feel your pain, is there anything you do to help it?
I stay off the computer as much as possible!!!! (Except for this site, of course) tv show binge watching helps. And you just have to remind yourself that your greatest fear is rarely realized. If that weren't true, we both would've been dead a million times already. Are you on meds? They've helped me in the past, however lately my serotonin had been out of whack due to accutane. Why did I go on it in the first place?!! My skin was fine, just a little oily
Right now I am so convinced that my anxiety is really schizophrenia and you know ho wood we are at making our symptoms seem real 
I know I need to stop googling stuff. You're right you do convince yourself its real. I like that quote " greatest fear is rarely realised" I'm not on meds but considering CBT, I have taken a lot of recreational drugs over the years and this is creeping up to bight me in the ass. Fears of loss and "what if" why did I do that to my body haunt me but the upsetting thing is i feel alone, my partner things i am stupid and ungrateful and uninterested in life. I can see her point but I feel like I have nobody to talk to and this also makes me feel trapped. Hence I'm here. I am sure you are not schizophrenic and as you said its in our heads.
Other people just don't get it, do they? I'm scared to mention it to my boyfriend in fears that he would leave me. So I just hold it in and am right now pretending that I'm just a little stressed at work.
I did this for nearly six months as you can imagine she started to smell a rat she thought i didn't love her anymore and thought that I was with somebody else which I am not. I thought talking to her might help, it did at first but as you say they don't get it, its easy to just say "oh get over yourself" stop being negative, but if It was that easy then we wouldn't be suffering like we are. Maybe try and involve him, if he loves you then he will understand and try and help. If he leaves you you have to ask was he the person you wanted to be with anyway. In the meantime i am here to talk too. Are you uk. Or USA based
Thanks, Steven. I'll see how I cope for awhile and decide if I need to let him in on it. I'm in canada, actually. You?
I went to my psychologist the other day and she did say I have health OCD but it's fixed on my mental health cuz that to me is the ultimate loss of control. Have you seen anyone?
I live in the u.k, i read an interesting article that said schizophrenia is very common symptom with health anxiety and it develops from us thinking we have other issues and then we start to doubt ourselves and reality itself. So if nothing at all it is normal to think the way you are and is a common behavioral trait. I find going the gym lately has worked for me. Even having this chat has made me feel better thank you
The best thing for health anxiety is to speak to a phychotherapist about it. Meds can help with therapy, but im afraid it wont go on its own - the things you think might be wrong are incidental - its not those that need attention, but your constant thinking of them. Suffered a long time myself, and therapy really is the way to go
I haven't seen anyone as of yet.
im afraid that article is nonsense, things dont really work like that at all. health anxiety is part of general anxiety and/or OCD - its not indicative of anything worse. Stay away from google is the number 1 advice - it will only make things much much worse
Jmcg is very right. We have a completely flawed way of thinking that has evolved over years. We have to totally rewrite our internal dialogue, and that is quite a battle for one to do on their own.
I have tried everything and I am seriously considering therapy now as it torments me. I am looking for a good theripist to work with at present.
It's funny cuz I've read so many instances if people who have believed they have schizophrenia because of anxiety and OCD, but of course they don't. That helps me at first, but then I still tell myself, "well they didn't have it, but I'm one of de who do"
Jmcg, what were your worries?
Yes the gist was what you have said, what I mean was that schizophrenia is something people thing they have just like people with health anxiety think they have cancer or HIV. You're right though dr google make it so much worse
I know exactly how you feel and it's killing me too I'm always googling symptoms and worry myself sick bringing on panic attacks with all the horrible symptoms and make myself physically sick I can't leave the house as I also have social anxiety and agrophobia With GAD this illness is horrid I wouldn't wish it on anyone and I really feel for you but hopefully when my meds kick in it shold get better at the minute things can't get any worse all the best x