Health Anxiety every day

[Aimee1]

Hey im a 17 year old and am currently suffering from health anxiety every day of my life. It started around six months ago, when i met my lovely boyfriend. I dont know if its connected but basically i now have a huge fear of having an illness. I google every little ache or pain every day and often self diagnose myself with illnesses. I often break down in tears because i have convinced myself i have cancer. I currently have a headache and have just finished googling all the signs of a brain tumour. in the past few months i have been to emergency hospital three times. Its starting to affect me spending time with my friends, and my intimate relationship with my boyfriends. Just the other day i had to stop me and him getting intimate cause he noticed bruises on my leg which i didnt know i had so i then broke down crying that i had leukaemia. To say its starting to affect my life is an understatement, sometimes i cant sleep or i get to anxious to eat. My doctor said he cant do anything and that just most people my age get it. Trouble is im not getting over it just getting worse. I suffered from panic attacks since i was twelve but the gradually got better and it had been years since i last had one because this type of anxiety came. If anyone can shed some light on this or have any tips i would be so grateful :)

[alexandras11]

Worst thing possible....STOP GOGGLING!!!

I'm on the same page as you I've always been healthy until I started having anxiety attacks that led to me having health anxiety now.
It's hard to control but you have to befor it really effects you .
I'm on the edge now to thinking I have cancer ...
Just relax and know that it's just anxiety it won't hurt you

[leetbulldog]

You are fine! I'm in the same boat as u.. but the one thing I really advise u to stop doing is dont go to Dr. Google!!!! it will only feed your anxiety..

[Aimee1]

im trying to stop googling i know its the WORST thing its just difficult being around the internet and its there, and then when something feels wrong with me and i am out and i cant diagnose myself i kind of blank out from what going on and i get heart palpatations. to be honest i think that my anxiety symptons feed into my health anxiety so when i get anxious and i get all these weird feeling i then google them and it just one big circle :/

[alexandras11]

Join anxiety forums like I did . Youll eventually visit the sites and leave the googling alone. Trust me you are not alone.. And yes it feeds your anxiety that's why it triggers the heart palps and all the other symptoms .

[Aimee1]

yeah i thought maybe talking about what actually wrong with me and also just trying to support other people when i go on the internet i might be less tempted to google things that im over thinking :)

[Rgib95]

Try to keep a journal. Write down everything. You need to identify your triggers. If you were able to get past the attacks for some time and then they came back suddenly, there must be a correlation somewhere. When you were younger, what was going on in your life (it's a rhetorical question so don't answer this unless you feel compelled to do so)? What changed in your life when the anxiety went away? Are any of those factors, directly or indirectly, in your life now? Maybe there are some similarities to your prior situation when you were younger. Maybe the guy you are with reminds you of someone or something from your past that you haven't just made the connections with.

Just some thoughts....

[JAug]

I would absolutely avoid Googling.

[Meggieliz]

Aimee, I am going through this right now too and have been for almost as long. My anxiety attacks seemed to come out of absolutely nowhere while I was having lunch one day and I felt as though my heart had stopped and I was passing out. Prior to the first attack that I had, I was getting really intense heart palpitations, migraines and dizziness. I went to Emergency twice in two weeks while these symptoms were coming on every day. So I guess I can say that my anxiety started with having health issues and since then have Googled every disorder and syndrome under the sun and have convinced myself that I was ill. I have had EKGs, an MRI and extensive bloodwork and I cannot wrap my head around the fact that I am physically well and cannot put my faith in any doctor, no matter what they tell me. Just stop doing research! WebMD does NOT help, believe me. It's just best to think positively and try to turn the scary thoughts back the other direction and begin to believe that you are healthy and vibrant.

[Aimee1]

yeah i dont believe what they tell me and i always think the absoloute worst. recently i had sore throat and earache and then just to push me over the edge i have a small lump right at the back of my throat so immediatly i thought cancer, and even though my doctor looked in my mouth and said yeah thats from the infection i dont believe him. i now have indegestion and a feeling that my throats full and i have a hair at the back of my throat and even though i tried to stop myself i googled and people with mouth cancer have it. im trying to believe my doctor but i just cant!