Health OCD and Cancer

I have severe health OCD and I was doing well for years and then my dog passed away and it sent me into a spiral of thinking that I was going to die. I immediately started feeling chest pain and went to the hospital twice. My chest x-ray was clean and I also had a CT but now I’m afraid since I had a CT and x-rays that I’ll have cancer in 10 years and now I cannot get it off of my mind. It’s the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last thing I think of before I go to bed. It’s a constant cycle of my mind, telling me you’re gonna get cancer, you’re gonna get cancer, you’re gonna die from cancer. Even though that I’m healthy because the scans are clean, I’m now terrified that I had multiple scans through the years because of my health OCD that I’m going to give myself cancer. I keep researching CT scans and cancer and I’m terrified that I’m going to get it now. I really just want a doctor to tell me that I’m not going to get cancer from the CT scans but I know they can’t tell me that. I’m not afraid of dying, but I’m petrified about what comes after. I can’t imagine a life without living. How can I calm myself down? Any tips? My anxiety has gotten a lot better the past few days but it’s still crossing my mind.

Anonymous

Date posted: 18h

I’m sorry your dealing with this friend. You have to sit with the anxiety and the fact that you can’t control all aspects of your health. Tell yourself “I can’t control or predict what happens with my health. Maybe I will get cancer, maybe not. I can’t know what happens after I die. There is nothing that needs to be solved, this feeling is uncomfortable but I can ride the wave without controlling it” read that out loud and then sit with that anxiety without trying to answer the intrusive thoughts. If you feel like you have to respond, keep responding with uncertainty and validate the emotions without diving deeper. Like “there’s no way to know for sure and that feels uncomfortable”

Anonymous

Date posted: 18h

@Anonymous Sit with it, feel where the discomfort is in your body, and focus on that until it passes. Try to respond that way to those thoughts as often as you can. Your brain will stop bringing it up much as you get used to discomfort of uncertainty around this topic

tbinwy

User type: OCD Conqueror

Date posted: 18h

i’m sorry to hear of your struggles I too have dealt with OCD related to my health in the past I would wake up in the morning and feel not quite right and immediately get on “Google” and start researching everything possible that could be wrong with me and in return I think it would just make things worse it was almost like a constant cycle what is this feeling and what could this be over and over self diagnosing to the point of almost having a panic attack! one of the things I learned and I try to remind myself every day is one thing my therapist taught me “STOP GOOGLING” people with OCD always have doomsday scenario always think the worst of the worst OCD demands 100% we always think things have to be 100% or there’s got to be something wrong nothing is ever 100% we all have anxiety and issues in our lives it’s learning to live with that anxiety and knowing that we’re gonna be OK overtime makes it easier. so i took Google off my phone so now I actually have to download the app if I get the urge to want to try to research something and that little bit of distraction actually has helped me divert to the point now i don’t even look things up I refuse to start the spiraling of trying to self diagnose and it has helped tremendously. Furthermore i’m not one to try to push my beliefs on anybody I feel everybody has their own right to what they want to believe in so take this however you choose, for myself i tried to wake up every morning with a sense of joy and gratitude in my heart to be thankful to be alive another day. I read a quote that really stuck with me and I try to use it as my mantra “if you focus is on the past it causes nothing but depression and if your constantly focusing on the future it only causes anxiety” if you think about it in reality we only have “today” we can’t change our past mistakes only learn from them and try to be better and there’s no guarantee of tomorrow so really we only have this one day guaranteed to make the best of our lives to choose to be happy and focus on something different other than our OCD to try to just live your best day today and when the day comes when I am no longer on this earth I feel comfort in knowing my soul will spend eternity with our creator. please don’t take any of this out of context just wanted to share some things to hopefully channel your focus away from the constant anxiety you’re currently dealing with. and I hope you have a great day!

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