How can I cope with severe health anxiety linked to OCD?

Health anxiety

So I’ve been suffering with intense health anxiety for a few years now, and just recently I learned it may be caused by OCD. It’s to the point where every time I get a headache I start to freak out, scared that I could be having an aneurysm. I am far too worried about having a stroke or heart attack for being 21. I can’t even enjoy a casual, relaxing hot shower anymore. I have to slowly increase the temperature when getting in and slowly decrease the shower while getting out because I am afraid that any drastic temperature change can give me a heart attack. I know deep down that these fears are illogical, but no matter how often I get them they still feel just as real every time. I try to reason with myself, but every time I feel mild discomfort in my body I can’t help but freak out. I am so tired of checking my face in the mirror for symptoms of stroke every time I get a headache or feel a weird sensation in my body. Every other day of the week I force myself to stay awake for a certain period of time because I’m scared if I go to sleep I won’t wake up. I get hymnic jerks every single night (where you jolt awake when drifting to sleep) because my brain is so occupied with making sure I’m staying alive that it jolts me awake because my body is trying to sleep while my mind stays awake. It’s so difficult for me to pay attention during lectures because I get so caught up in my health anxiety that I’m focusing on grounding techniques in order to keep myself from hyperventilating. I spend more time making sure I can understand the words my professor is saying to make sure I’m not having a stroke than actually paying attention to the lectures. Another thing I struggle with is having to count my medication every time before I take it to make sure I didn’t accidentally take two or more doses, even if I KNOW I only took one. I have to count them anyways otherwise my mind will convince me I overdosed. It will not stop until I count my medication and make sure I didn’t overdose. It’s honestly so tiring, and the sad part is that my health anxiety has actually gotten better. It was even worse before now, and everything I’ve listed is stuff that I still do. Does anyone else have this struggle? Because it feels so isolating and makes me feel like I’m going crazy.

Username: steph0705steph0705

Date posted: 37w ago

Completely agree, health anxiety is a real thing, I struggle with it as well and the minute I feel like I’m off I immediately think something is wrong, sometimes something traumatic happens to us that triggers health anxiety and that’s exactly what happen to me I experienced a I want to say panic attack in my sleep woke up, my heart was racing, I’ve been to every doctor known to man, lab work like crazy for everything to be normal but still 3 months later I do not feel like myself and it’s a struggle everyday to just feel as normal as possible to push through the day without overthinking

Username: melodramaddiemelodramaddie

Date posted: 37w ago

@steph0705 Yeah I understand how difficult that is. When my health anxiety first started getting really bad I had a panic attack in my sleep. I thought I was having a stroke, because I had tunnel vision and dizziness. My mind and nervous system wouldn’t let me sleep for 2 days straight after that and I ended up being hospitalized for my anxiety. I’m sorry you’ve also gone through similar things, it really does suck.

Username: steph0705steph0705

Date posted: 37w ago

@melodramaddie Jeezzz I know the struggle I am sorry you are experiencing all this as well, hopefully we can all overcome it and get back to our normals lives. Health anxiety is such a hard thing to shake

Username: MryannnMryannn

Date posted: 37w ago

I have struggled with similar thoughts. You are not alone. I still struggle. What has helped me is getting a doctor that understands my worries and listens to me, putting positive and reassuring post it notes on my bathroom mirror, journaling about my fears, and finding a distraction. I like to play cozy games on my phone or switch to take my mind off of it. 🩷

Username: AnonymousAnonymous

Date posted: 37w ago

I am 100% in the same boat ! It’s so scary I’m sorry you are going through this too! It’s so hard to live a normal life when really inside your constantly worrying:( prayers sent your way !!!

Username: Graciegirl

Date posted: 1y ago

Health Anxiety/OCD

I’ve been struggling with OCD since middle school. Over the years I’ve had many different obsessions such as POCD, Harm OCD, and now Health Concern OCD. For the last 6 months my newest obsession has been thinking that I am having a heart attack. I constantly body check, google symptoms, ask others for reassurance. I live at my university which is a little bit far from home. This causes me to have to call my mom in the middle of the night every time I have a panic attack over this. My roommates a nursing major so she always offers to take my blood pressure which helps, but still I don’t enjoy living like this. I always feel bad bothering others, and constantly feel like a nuisance. If anyone else with these worries and obsessions can let me know new ways to cope with it that would be amazing:) I just started my switch from lexapro to prozac for my OCD and I’m hopefully starting ERP/CBT soon but any tips on how to help this would be amazing.

Health Concern OCD

Username: juliarenee11

Date posted: 1y ago

Severe health ocd

I’ve struggled with health anxiety for about 11 years, and it’s been horrible the last 3 years. Health related stuff wasn’t my first theme though. It started out with contamination OCD and magical thinking, and then I was diagnosed in 2015 after being hospitalized. Throughout the last 5 years or so, I’ve been hospitalized a few times for debilitating health anxiety OCD, been on countless meds and struggled to find an OCD specialist. I just want this nightmare to be over. I’ve been convinced of having breast cancer, lymphoma, bladder cancer, brain tumors, ovarian cancer, skin cancer, cervical cancer, and many other health issues. I’ve been to the doctors multiple times, I’ve demanded tests, I’ve compulsively gone to the ER and urgent care to “check” for reassurance, I’ve been convinced that doctors aren’t looking good enough or are lying to me. I do a lot of body scanning, and reading and rereading doctors note for reassurance. I also call the doctors office a lot. Again, I just need this to end but I don’t know what to do because I am so burned out.

Username: Anonymous

Date posted: 1y ago

Major health ocd

Man, this is killing me. I’ve had very form of ocd I think from POcD, false memory, socd, hocd, perfectionism, contamination, existential and the one that trips me up the most is health ocd. All the stress OCD gives me causes me to feel some pretty weird sensations in my head and lots of depersonalization. I constantly think I’m developing Alzheimer’s, brain cancer, or really just anything else. BUT these fears get a hold of me so well, I actually become forgetful, stutter, experience blurry vision, painful migraines……. And so I get symptoms of the diseases I fear. Any advice this is killing me?🥺

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How can I cope with severe health anxiety linked to OCD?

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