Hi so let me start off my saying I have health anxiety. I am 14 and this has taken over my life. It got triggered a couple of weeks ago when I noticed one eye was white and the other red in a photo. I instantly thought it was retinoblastoma. Long story short I thought I had eye cancer, went to the opticians and my eyes are fine. But now I cannot stop obsessing over my health. I have struggled with health anxiety since I was six when I choked and almost died. I developed a fear of dying and ever since I have been terrified if I found a new symptom. I go into phases and I’m obviously in pe now. But In these past couple of days I have been experiencing some crazy symptoms. My vision is weird and I’m seeing lights, static vision etc etc. I have got really bad upper back pain as well as neck, shoulder and collar bone pain. This is all on my left side. I have a swollen lymph node on my right side though and I generally feel unwell. I get the occasional left rib pain. I am absolutely going crazy with fear as I have convinced myself I have some sort of cancer in my back? I know I must sound absolutely crazy but I am absolutely petrified. My mum keeps telling me I’m fine but something does not feel right. Help! So sorry if this sounds erratic and all over the place but honestly my mind is so stressed I can’t even get my thoughts on paper properly. Thank you - Charlotte
Hi Charlotte! You absolutely do not sound crazy. I totally understand how you feel, I managed to convince myself that I was going to die from the flu because I had a little fever a few days ago. I would recommend going to see a therapist about what happened when you were little, since it might have caused your current health anxiety. If you can't see someone or don't feel comfortable, try writing down how you feel. I write down what I feel anxious about, why I feel that way, and how I can overcome it. It sometimes helps. If you feel a lot of pain with your health, going to see a doctor to make sure everything is ok is normal. But when it starts to take over your life, it gets very unhealthy. When you feel anxious about your health, maybe try some breathing or meditation techniques to calm down and writing down why you feel that way. I hope this helps! Feel better!!
Wow Annie thank you so so so so much for replying! You are truly amazing, that has calmed me down so much!!! Yes I will do that and fingers crossed they can help me! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!❤️❤️❤️
So happy I could help, sending good feelings your way.