Can having a fear of certain illnesses make you experience symptoms that aren't really there? I've been scared that I have breast cancer for the past two and a half years. A year after that all started I had a tingling feeling in my right lower lip. It would come and go, but not all the time. I would go a couple of days without having any tingling but then it would come back. I made the dumb mistake of googling and found something called numb chin syndrome. It's the most terrifying thing because it's often found in metastatic breast cancer that has spread to the mandible, and they only give you months to live. I have had three mammograms and two ultrasounds that came back normal, but certain breast cancers don't always show on imaging other than MRI. So obviously I spiraled out of control and convinced myself I have this. For the last year and a half I've struggled with my health anxiety worse than ever because of this. I'm afraid that they have somehow missed that I have breast cancer and that it has spread. I've had this feeling in my chin and lip that comes and goes, but the last week it's been happening more than it ever has. My question is, can I convince myself that I have this so much that I imagine the symptoms? Could the fact that I have thought this for so long make me feel the symptoms? Like I've seen women convince themselves that they're pregnant. Can people with health anxiety convince themselves they have a certain illness? So much that they truly feel these things?
absolutely Mandy! The brain is amazing and when you keep telling it something over and over there’s a good chance you will get symptoms even if everything is all right! You are convincing yourself that something is wrong when it really isn’t. The worst thing you can do is Google symptoms. It does not pertain to your individual situation.
you’ve been worrying about breast cancer for 2 1/2 years ? If you actually had it you would be getting way more symptoms and be very ill by now. you don’t have that. It’s extremely rare when a test does not pick up breast cancer. But like I said you would be very ill by now if that were true. Tingling on the lip is very common with anxiety. i’ve had that more times than I can count. Anxiety can cause tingling anywhere on the body. I’ve had it on my eyelid, lip, arms, legs, buttocks, scalp, fingers, just about everywhere! You are fine. Just work on reducing the anxiety. Try some mindfulness meditation on YouTube, for anxiety. Yoga is another great thing to reduce anxiety.
so again, yes, you can convince yourself that you have a certain condition to the point of feeling symptoms. This happens all the time with people who have anxiety and health anxiety!
Believe me, my anxiety started in my 20s and I’m now in my 50s and I’ve had every symptom you can think of because I always thought I had some scary condition. I’m actually perfectly healthy and I’m so happy that I stopped that type of fear because it wasted many years of my life.
Remember this… what ever you think about whether it’s positive or negative, it will EXPAND in your mind! and that’s how you get the symptoms.
Please don’t do this to yourself. Enjoy your life and just get your yearly physical at the doctors. Take care 
I’m going to say yes it can.. for the last 11 weeks I have suffered extreme health anxiety, been completely obsessed that something is going to happen to me and I’m going to just drop to the point I kept self diagnosing and googling (worst mistake) because then a few days later I’d start feeling the symptoms. Now I have the tightest chest ever and it wont go away because I’m assuming I’ve sat so tense and been so worried for almost 3 months I’ve tensed all my muscles etc.. plus all the other ‘symptoms’ on top.. and like you I could go a few days without them and then I think about it again and it comes back, and other times I can be sitting there and get a random pain or something.. doctor reminded me I’ve got to remember I’m going to get pains anyway when relaxing because things are going to be loosening up and muscles are contracting back but then it makes me panic theres something wrong still so I tense again. it’s a horrible circle and very scary but you’re not alone and I honestly think after 2 years you would know by now if you had cancer, I think your safe
Listen to Jan34534 please, she knows what she is talking about. Great advice.
yes it is absolutely possible,its call Somatic symptoms disorder, sometimes so called health anxiety,i know first hand its nit fun,it usually coexist with GENERALIZED ANXIETY ,first step will be of course rulled out real problem.I can’t tell you how many tests,and doctors ive seen in last 3 months,the answer was always the same.there is nothing wrong with you,finally i started on anty anxiety meds,im still having periods when i think the doctors must’ve miss something.
omg yea its so true.it happens to me a lot.im afraid of different types of cancers,any time i think about a type of cancer i see the symptoms of it in my body.i always think how much my mind can be strong like dis and effect me.but why i cant use my mind for convincing me that im healthy and nothing is wrong with my medical test results.