Health Anxiety, need support

I have health anxiety too, I’m so sorry to hear about your dad ☹️ my husbands aunt is only 40 and got diagnosed with cancer, and it really sent me into a paranoia about heart attacks and strokes (for whatever reason). My therapist told me to think of the facts; so when you go to your appointment and tell them your concerns, and when it gets checked out and nothing is wrong, you can then refer back to facts first as a reminder. Also, resist resist resist checking, even if it’s just minutes of resistance at a time. I use to google symptoms, I’ve pressed my fingers to my neck to check my pulse, but it only fuels the beast. The more you check, the more your brain signals there’s something wrong to be checking. Let the doctors check for you and try to trust what they say even if it’s hard. I’ve also been trying to remind myself that my body will tell me when/if I’m having a true emergency. you have to try to come to terms with the core fear (dying, loss of control) or at least process that feeling, which can be really upsetting. I hope you’re able to get back into therapy soon!

Hi ocdiva5576! I’m so sorry that your family is dealing with the stress and fear and uncertainty of cancer diagnosis right now. I am sending you all wishes for health, courage, and recovery <3 It makes total sense that OCD would go into overdrive. I’m sorry that you are having to ride that roller coaster right now, along with everything else. I’ve had similar responses when things like this happen — you are not alone. In terms of tackling OCD flare-ups, I like to use scripts (writing out worse case scenarios) and loop tapes (the NOCD app is great for this). I specifically schedule time on my calendar to do exposures (because otherwise I won’t lol). And, when my OCD wants me to do a compulsion out into the real world, I lean into NERs rather than doing the compulsion. Ex: “Yep, OCD, ______ scary thing might happen. It’s possible.” And then sitting with the fear as it rises and falls. If that feels like too much, I try to mess with the compulsion: ex: delaying the compulsion (set a timer) or limiting how much time I do the compulsion (again, a timer is useful) or do the compulsion imperfectly. Basically, anything to push back against what my OCD wants me to do. And remember, you do not have to push back on everything all at once — you can do it one step at a time. Even the teeny tiniest step still helps. <3 Lastly, I have found it really helpful to lean into self-compassion. Be kind and gentle to yourself. Treat yourself like you would a sick animal or kid. It’s also been really helpful for me to do something (anything!) each day that fills my cup — it doesn’t have to be big — it could be drinking a favorite tea, stretching, looking out the window at the sky, listening to the birds chirrup away, eating a favorite fruit — really anything! The goal of all this is not to make myself feel better or to get rid of the fears or feelings — but to support myself as I ride the waves. Also, here are some resources that I have found incredibly helpful as a supplement to my therapy — sharing in case you find them useful too: — Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast by Kimberley Quinlan (several episodes deal with health anxiety) — she also has courses online at CBTSchool.com — “The Self Compassion Workbook for OCD” by Kimberly Quinlan — “The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD” by Jon Hershfield & Tom Corboy — The Wednesday Q&A with Dr McGrath on the NOCD YouTube channel Hope something in there is helpful! I’m rooting for you, my friend! :) <3