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
Hey Carol, I’ve had health related OCD many times throughout my life, ever since I was a little kid. I’m almost 27 now, and have learned a lot about OCD in the past 6 months as I have sought am so sorry that you’re struggling right now, but I wanted to let you know that things do get better. If you haven’t already, please seek treatment with an OCD specialist who can properly help you navigate these thoughts. Some things that I’ve learned myself over time is that googling/reassurance can make me feel symptoms that I don’t have. What helped me stop obsessing is eliminating my compulsions which included researching what was wrong with, checking my body sensations and symptoms and see how I was feeling, and seeking reassurance from other people compulsively (doctors, family members, etc). This isn’t to say not to see a doctor for symptoms, but if they say everything is fine, then trust them. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask. You got this
i agree. anxiety can feel so scary. an encouragement for you- try to engage in your daily life whilst still having these thoughts🫶🏼 i’m also 17:)
I’m really sorry you’re feeling this way, but I want you to know that it’s okay to feel scared sometimes. Health worries can be overwhelming, but remember that a lot of what you’re feeling, like a cough or itchiness, can be caused by simple things like a cold. You’re so young, and it’s very unlikely to be anything serious. It might help to talk to a doctor who can reassure you. You’re not alone in this, and things will get better
Hello, I’m so sorry that you’re experiencing this I have severe health anxiety as well. It’s extremely difficult to deal with but I urge you not to google stuff it’ll make it way worse. I’ve had a bunch of health issues in the past including skin cancer, hyperthyroidism, and rhabdo. My best advice accept no matter how much research there is no certainly which is scary BUT it’s acceptance. Your mind also can play tricks on you I’ve felt like bugs are crawling on me at times because of stress. You’d think I’m nuts with all the weird feelings I’ve had. Again I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this, really try not to overthink it. If you’re worried you can always ask your doctor or urgent care mabye a CBC test for red blood cells. I hope you feel better.
@Anonymous In addition, when I focused on it the sensations would become wayyy worse. Your mind is extremely strong it can easily make you itchy, tingly, out of breath, or numbness! Stress can attribute a lot of physical symptoms
My mind keeps telling me “something is wrong with you. the weird feeling you are feeling or the weird tingling you are feeling or there is a weird mark on your body. Those are actually a severe symptom and by ignoring it you could die!” Or especially the constant, “go to the emergency room because this impending doom you are feeling, yeah that’s because your gonna die shortly” It doesn’t help whenever people say “well if something was wrong your body would tell you” because my mind keeps telling me that what I’m feeling is proof something is wrong and I need to get it checked out. That I actually am severely sick and that I need to get it checked out as soon as possible, that if I get one more test than I’ll be okay because it will prove nothing is wrong. How do I tell my mind that it’s just anxiety whenever my mind keeps telling me “well if you keep saying that you could be ignoring something more serious.” Or “the doctors are just brushing you off..something is wrong with you” It’s hard to live with my thoughts whenever they are constantly coming up with ways to challenge me and challenge logic. New reasons on why I need to get this checked out because “I’m just being ignored” or “no one is listening to me so I’ll just end up dying” My symptoms range from weak and shaking legs and body to dizzy and unbalanced and dissociated. Recently I’ve been getting this tingling feeling inside my head and on the back of my neck. And my temples have pressure on them. My body keeps coming up with new symptoms I need to worry about, whenever most of them are probably caused by severe and constant anxiety. So severe I can’t even leave the house because I constantly worry about whether this is severe and something will happen if I leave the house. I need immediate ways to start fixing this because it’s especially horrible whenever my period comes around and my anxiety/depression is already higher than usual. I’ve even started considering taking medication (Zoloft, 25mg) which is another trigger for me, I worry about the symptoms I might get from taking it. That’s how you know it’s gotten pretty bad whenever I’ve come to taking something that I’ve been actively avoiding. What are your thoughts? Do I take the medication? What are ways I can deal with my symptoms that seem so severe in the moment but pass by once I’m not anxious? What are ways my thoughts can ease and I stop taking every symptom as something serious, because at the end of the day my anxiety is most likely the reason I have these horrible symptoms. I’ve always been extremely healthy and everytime I go to the doctors they express how healthy I am with all the tests I’ve had.
I'm having awful stomach pain and nausea and it's really worrying me and scaring me
I'm currently living through a massive health scare with really scary symptoms. I am scared I might have an aneurysm due to my symptoms but despite that the doctor's don't think it's urgent. I have some test scheduled but I will have to wait weeks for some of them. I don't know how to get through this knowing I could die any moment. I live in constant terror ever since those symptoms started. I can't function. Can anyone here please help me with this??? I don't know what to do?
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