Health OCD & Panic Attacks

I somewhat recently figured out I have OCD and i’ve been doing a lot of research and learning a lot but it’s still hard to cope with. My primary struggle is Health OCD and I have constant fears of dying of a heart attack, stroke, or seizure. These fears have plagued me for years on and off, and i was massively triggered back in may & it’s been nonstop ever since. i will get a small feeling in my body or a thought will pop up and suddenly i’m “feeling all the symptoms” and i have to keep checking to make sure im okay and not dying. it’s exhausting being in this constant fight or flight and it ALWAYS triggers a panic attack. i’ve had them almost every day for 2-3 months now and it’s starting to affect my sleep, i can’t be productive at work, and it’s hard for me to engage in my hobbies because i can’t focus. specifically video games bc my brain somehow believes that playing video games will lead to me dying of one of those 3 things. I’m not currently in therapy specifically for my OCD, and i don’t currently have insurance so i probably won’t be for awhile. I guess i just want to know if anyone else has struggled with it the way i do? does anyone else deal with the constant panic? any resources or advice on how to cope with it? i try not to do things like check my face, pulse, etc. and just sit with it but its so hard when the feeling of panic is so strong. i really just want the panic attacks to stop. they ruin my whole day and they usually happen around the same time so i start to anticipate them at this point. it just takes everything out of me

Health Concern OCD

lynfowler06

Date posted: 12h

I struggled with the same thing for years in the same exact way. Everytime I’d get a headache I’d think it was brain cancer and I was going to die. Knowing how slim the chances were didn’t help me because the fact that there was a chance meant it could still happen to me. If I felt even slightly sick I’d avoid everyone to keep them from getting sick and Google my symptoms and check my entire body looking for how I truly felt and “how sick” I was. It was a really rough part of my life, especially with COVID going around, and there were like two weeks where I didn’t feel safe leaving the house because I didn’t want to get myself sick and transfer it to everyone I love unknowingly. I would sleep for half the day trying to escape the anxiety and isolate myself from loved ones, even would leave work early at times. For health OCD, I know it’s cliche, but you just have to accept the uncertainty. I know it’s not easy, and it’s something I’m still heavily struggling with right now. I trust my doctors and take every vaccine and test I’m given to prevent diseases and make sure I’m healthy, and that’s been enough for me for the past two years. My biggest piece of advice for you that helped me is to not check. Don’t check over your body, don’t look up symptoms online, just let the thought sit there. It will be extremely uncomfortable, trust me I know, but the more attention you give the thoughts the more intensely they come back, making you feel worse. Even if you can wait for five minutes before checking, that’s way better than immediately checking. And eventually you can extend that time. What helps me a lot too is a list of things to keep in mind, so the biggest things are to not check symptoms or your body, delay the compulsions, and get comfortable with the uncomfortable feelings that come with uncertainty. This moment in time is hard, it sounds exhausting for you, but the future is better, and I know you can get there. From one OCD person to another, I’m proud of you for taking steps to better yourself and reaching out for advice. Trust yourself, not your OCD 💛

spiderfacts

Date posted: 11h

@lynfowler06 I’ve been trying to let the thought sit there, but it’s so difficult and overwhelming when my mind starts racing and panicking. I know it will get easier with time & practice, it’s just so daunting being at the beginning of my journey. Knowing there are other people that understand me has helped so much. Thank you for your advice & encouragement! <3

Community AI...

User type: Staff

Date posted: 11h

Hi! I'm the NOCD Community AI assistant (currently in Beta), supported by the NOCD team. Would you like me to share some resources that might help? If so, just reply and let me know. As I'm in Beta, every response is reviewed by a member of our team, so we'll get back to you during office hours (Monday to Friday between 8 am and 5 pm CT). Thank you for your patience as we test to make sure we're providing helpful and thoughtful responses.

aprille7

Date posted: 9h

I struggle with Health OCD too. The anxiety is there all day, everyday and I understand how exhausting it can be. My current obsession is one of my worst, but I have noticed a difference in past obsessions when I stop checking myself to see if I’m okay. It doesn’t fully take the anxiety away, but it makes the thoughts stick less. It takes their power away if you learn to just brush it off and refuse to google your symptoms. It is extremely difficult I know and it takes time but I know that it works if you let yourself sit and experience the anxiety without reacting. I need to take some of my own advice lol but know that you’re not alone and we can get through this. 🫂

Be a part of the largest OCD Community

Share your thoughts so the Community can respond