- Date posted
- 2y
People with health anxiety, tell your story.
I’ve been struggling with health/allergy OCD lately. I’d love to hear some stories from everyone to help me cope and move through this.
I’ve been struggling with health/allergy OCD lately. I’d love to hear some stories from everyone to help me cope and move through this.
When I was in high school and college, I kept reading about deadly diseases and then imagining that I had those diseases. I would compulsively check for symptoms and read everything I could about the illnesses, thinking that I needed to prepare myself and be vigilant. I annoyed several doctors by repeatedly seeking treatment/diagnosis for illnesses that I did not have. (But I don't feel too bad about that since they got paid, after all.) The list of diseases I thought I had includes smallpox, meningitis, various heart ailments, skin cancer, penile cancer, and vCJD (the human form of "mad cow disease"). That last one was the worst one, the one that finally caused such a crisis that I dropped out of college. I never really had OCD-specific therapy, but my therapists were well-informed about OCD and told me the right things — that trying to argue against the thoughts would make them stronger, that the key was to accept uncertainty, etc. Medication helped a lot. And eventually, my continued failure to die from any of these diseases made me start to really accept that I had been wrong about all of them. My brain just kind of let that theme go ... and moved on to others -_- Interestingly, because I monitored my heart rate so compulsively for several years, I developed the ability to feel my pulse moving through my whole body just by sitting very still. It's kind of a neat trick.
@Dorbzeldge This is my ocd I am struggling with. How do you stop feeling the pulse when siting still?
@Anonymous I never did stop feeling it. I still notice it, but I just accept the feeling because I am not worrying about my pulse anymore. It feels normal now. I am typing this on my phone and I can feel the pulse in my fingers.
@Dorbzeldge Yeah makes sense! Thankyou for responding!
@Dorbzeldge I noticed that meditation helps after the fact. But it depends on the day.
I am struggling with it too, not so much eating but i constantly think that I have a blood clot or am having a stroke. I assess any odd feelings I have in my body and convince myself that I am dying a lot. Lately Ive been trying to meditate (there are really good videos on YouTube) and also listening to solfeggios frequencies has been helping me.
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@ocd.is.a.bitch111 I cried as I read this because I’ve never seen something so close to what I feel. Everyday I struggle to eat things. Even if I’ve ate them before. I’ve lost 15 pounds within the past 3 weeks. And I’ve avoided medication for so long. If I get a headache, I deal with it. Any pain I just push through because I’m so scared. I’ve been pushing myself a little at a time. Today I pushed myself to eat a sandwich and even put cheese on it. I usually try to make myself do things without thinking about it. I had some chips that I’d try to eat every night. And every time I’d eat one, I’d panic. My mind would race with things every time like “what if the sodium kills me” “what if I have a reaction” just ridiculous stuff. It makes me sick to my stomach and I just feel as if it’s dominating my life. I want to gain control back and not feel fear 24/7. But every time it’s always people telling me to go on meds. But it scares me. I’ve also been scared of brushing my teeth which is not good. I plan to tackle that fear tomorrow.
@ocd.is.a.bitch111 I always check ingredients too. Even today when I did I just told myself “I’m eating this regardless”. I basically forced myself too. But it felt great after the anxiety went down.
You will be ok!! I have health anxiety too ❤️❤️❤️ and because of my OCD I obsess all the time. I’ve gotten a lot better and so will you.
@estelle chiodo I’m glad to hear you’re better. I’m going to keep pushing. <3
I used to struggle with this badly it’s still a thought now , but now I just eat and I’ll have the thought then it’ll go away and I won’t even think twice about it after. but just know that if you’ve been to doctor appts or have had blood drawn they’d notify you of allergies!
Mine started in 2019 after I found a lump. I was googling and fell into a depression despite the lump being benign. The lump is still there but I do start to get anxiety over it from time to time. Any sort of odd sensation in my body, I start to worry it’s cancer - bowel, cervical, stomach, ovarian, lung, throat, skin. You name it. The anxiety shifted towards my baby son and got worse. I worry about his health constantly and randomly feel sad as if there is something wrong with him, and get triggered by, fixate and compulsively examine his skin and any and all marks I see on it.
@divyD I had no idea I was dealing with health anxiety and ocd. So all my behaviours strengthened my fears. I’ve done cbt and emdr. I’m waiting to get into a low cost group ocd program. I don’t have the energy or strength to work as hard as I did with cbt and erp. When I did, I felt tonnes better. I’ve been told to go on meds but I am scared to do so. It’s a journey but we will get there. Somehow.
I am really suffering with health anxiety at the minute I am absolutely PETRIFIED of cancer and Im only 17 its draining the life out of me Ive had a cough / cold for two weeks now and ive felt itchy - Has anyone else ever just felt really itchy Im terrified in case I have cancer Im really really petrified I get so scared of death im really frightened SO frightened Im so so scared of the C. Uts scary
Hi! I’m new to the NOCD community, but I’ve been dealing with OCD since I was 12. I’m almost 29 now, and my biggest issue is health anxiety. It’s gotten to the point where getting work done is nearly impossible because i can’t stop spiraling. I’m lucky that i work remotely, but also makes it easier to be in my own head… Asking for advice - how do you all deal with the intense anxiety and are able to make it through a 9-5 work day? Any suggestions on how I can actually be productive? Thank you!
I am trying to see if there are others like me. For the past 12 years, I’ve had crippling Anxiety that leads to intense panic attacks. I’ve been in and out of Ambulances and ER rooms and have called 911 several times. The panic is that intense. I can be just driving down the road and out of no where, BOOM! Hit by the anxiety bus. Most of the time it leads to me panicking, thinking I’m going to die or something is fatally wrong with me. The fear is so intense that I can only find a fraction of calmness by consistently checking my blood pressure, putting on a pulsometer and even checking my blood sugar until it passes. I’m not even a diabetic. I’m always having intrusive thoughts that doctors can’t even fix me. I’ve never met anyone else like me. I feel so scared sometimes that I’m going to loose my mind and that I’m going crazy and will end up in a straight jacket. Then I get another attack just thinking about that as well. Starting new medications freak me out too. If I experience ANY minor side effect, I immediately panic and freak out. I’m being so held back by this . This is a constant obsession that I can’t shake. It’s like I walk hand in hand with Anxiety and panic. Anyone else ever had these issues?
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