hello my name is Sy im a 50 year old nervous wreck ive always suffered from health anxiety and it is so hard for my family to understand. my wife made a list of 20 serious conditions i thought i had in 4 months! As soon as i have one checked i move onto another one but now i am struggling with itching all over my body its been about 2 weeks unfortunatley my lovely mum died of pancreatic cancer as i looked after her i know the first symptom she has is guess what! having used the very useful docor google i am really struggling with my health anxiety and am convinced i am going to die can anyone help
first of all Sy, take a deep breath and slowly let it go. It’s important to try and calm down so you can think with a clear head.
itching skin is extremely common especially in the cold dry winter months. I get it all the time.
I’m very sorry for your loss. I know what it’s like to have health anxiety. I’ve had it for a long time and it really plays with your mind!
please don’t go on Google because it just scares people to death and they always give worst case scenario on there when there could be hundreds of other reasons for symptoms. you could take just about any symptom and it will go along with so many non-serious conditions as well as serious conditions. So don’t go by that . you read on Google will not pertain to your individual situation.
And always remember that people who have health anxiety have so many negative and fearful thoughts. We are not our thoughts. they are not a real part of us. Our thoughts are just fleeting and they come and go but they’re not based on fact or reality. they are only based on fear. we also tend to overthink things. Keep in mind that 99% of the time the things we worry about never happen. When we overthink, then we could get caught in a vicious cycle of anxiety, fear, over thinking, fearing the worst, and sometimes even panic.
you can always ease your mind by speaking with your doctor and having tests, however you don’t wanna get caught in the never ending cycle of doctor visits every time you get a symptom. It’s exhausting and makes you feel miserable. you can always go for your yearly physical and get checked out at that time.
i Felt a lot better when I got some counseling for my anxiety. It really helps to talk to somebody else who can help you manage this. They see patients with health anxiety every day and know how to help.
Also, you can find some great talks and meditations for anxiety and overthinking on YouTube. They calm me down when I lie down to sleep. this is long I know, but I just wanted to reach out to you and let you know we are here for you. I know how Health anxiety feels but it’s truly not based on fact. just try to avoid going over and over and over things in your head because it’s really not going to do you any good. It’s like being in a rocking chair. It keeps you busy but it gets you nowhere. You’ll be OK. do things that relax your mind. Take care! 