Hypochondria

[khar]

Does anyone out there have hypochondria with their anxiety? I am a severe hypochondriac and whenever I think something is wrong with me, I start having an anxiety or panic attack. But my panic attacks make the situation worse. Whenever I panic or worry, my right shoulder starts burning and then stops when I calm down. But I always convince myself that I am having a heart attack. I have been reassured that it isn't a heart attack, but whenever I read the symptoms of something I "think" I have, I suddenly "have" the symptoms. I spend many a night not sleeping because I am so afraid. Does anyone else have this problem? Please tell me I'm not alone.

[tailspin]

Hi khar. Welcome to the site! You are definitely not alone. Hypochondria, or Health Anxiety, is a huge problem for many of us here, and it's a very common type of anxiety. So have a read through some of the posts and I hope it helps you to spend some time on this forum!

[Olive Yew]

I have health anxiety and i hate it with every fiber of my being. I'm having a terrible night tonight. I cant relax and convince myself that nothing's wrong. I'm just scared :( my parents are out of town (i'm 19) and they haven't been answering their phones which really sucks because I have like mild separation anxiety from my parents, mom in particular. So not only can I not talk to her when I need her, but I also dont know if they're okay or not. It's horrible.

[khar]

Thanks everyone. Another question- is it possible for anxiety to mimic other diseases? As soon as I read a symptom for something, I somehow get it. And is it normal to only get certain pains when I am panicked? I can go days without having any pain, but as soon as I worry or panic, it starts hurting, and then stops again when I relax.

[petrified]

Thanks everyone. Another question- is it possible for anxiety to mimic other diseases? As soon as I read a symptom for something, I somehow get it. And is it normal to only get certain pains when I am panicked? I can go days without having any pain, but as soon as I worry or panic, it starts hurting, and then stops again when I relax.

Hi khar, that's exactly how my health anxiety is. I've had many different illnesses according to my brain. For example a pain in my leg would manifest into a blood clot which then of course made the pain a million times worse. There's a great sticky on here about all the symptoms people have had because of anxiety and it's amazing to see just how many different and varied symptoms there is. Health anxiety is horrible I have spent many a night keeping myself awake so I didn't die in my sleep. What your experiencing sounds totally normal for health anxiety. I've stopped googling my symptoms now and if something is really bothering me I visit my gp. Good luck to you khar I hope things get easier for you :-)

[khar]

That's exactly what I will do. I have kept myself up for days worrying. I started a new job that involves lifting and I think I might have pulled a muscle, so I was having dull pain in my shoulder, then I heard that that is a symptom of lung cancer, so I started panicking and it made the pain 100x worse. And the girls I babysit have what I think to be colds (coughing, stuffy noses, fever, etc.) And yesterday I woke up with a cough and mucus in my throat. I thought for sure that I had lung cancer because of all these things, but I never took into account that I probably caught something from them. I told my mom about it and she says I'm psycho and paranoid, so when I tell her something, she says "it's probably the lung cancer kicking in, which sends me in a total panic causing me to have pains in my body. I tried not googling symptoms, but it is so hard for me and nobody seems to understand that. Everyone says that it is extremely rare for someone my age (21 non-smoker) to have lung cancer, but I still panic. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get yourself to stop googling symptoms?

[snicole]

Khar,

I think a lot of us can relate! I've found myself googling symptoms way to often and it honestly makes anxiety so much worse. Our minds are the craziest things and I think that constantly dwelling on what we read online only makes the anxious feeling escalate. Similar to you, I am extremely close with my parents. Anytime I am feeling anxious, I immediately feel better when I'm around my parents. I think a lot of it is a subconscious thing. My parents are going away on a week-long vacation next week and I also worry. My advice would be to keep busy and find something that's calming or relaxing for you. Sometimes I listen to music or write. Call up a friend to keep busy, or watch a favorite movie. Anxiety can manipulate you to make you feel out of control but if you can preoccupy yourself and get your mind off of it for a bit, you'll feel better!

[RunnerChick]

Hi Khar, I can relate 100% to your health anxiety. In college, I spent MONTHS (no exaggeration) awake at night sweating after a particularly wild party weekend when I made a couple of mistakes...long story short, for months and months I was sure I had HIV. I would cry and panic and play out these scenarios in my head of how I will die and how my family will disown me. I got tested and it came back negative and I was told that I was very low-risk because of my extensive precautions I take. Still, I wasn't convinced. I guess I got over that once I found something bigger to worry about. I've had the heart attack thing also. I went to my doctor and had an EKG and the whole nine yards done because I had a pain in my jaw, shoulders, and chest one time and I was short of breath. I think I had a panic attack but I don't know. I felt like the walls were closing in on me and a sense of impending doom. I felt better around my parents, also. Really, I feel better anytime I hang out with anyone and we talk about my problem or we talk about something else. It reassures me to hear another person give me their view on things and tell me it's ok. I would get together with friends or go do something that forces you to focus on that task solely. Like reading a book or running. Anything that doesn't allow your mind to wander and start those anxious thoughts creeping back in.

[petrified]

That's exactly what I will do. I have kept myself up for days worrying. I started a new job that involves lifting and I think I might have pulled a muscle, so I was having dull pain in my shoulder, then I heard that that is a symptom of lung cancer, so I started panicking and it made the pain 100x worse. And the girls I babysit have what I think to be colds (coughing, stuffy noses, fever, etc.) And yesterday I woke up with a cough and mucus in my throat. I thought for sure that I had lung cancer because of all these things, but I never took into account that I probably caught something from them. I told my mom about it and she says I'm psycho and paranoid, so when I tell her something, she says "it's probably the lung cancer kicking in, which sends me in a total panic causing me to have pains in my body. I tried not googling symptoms, but it is so hard for me and nobody seems to understand that. Everyone says that it is extremely rare for someone my age (21 non-smoker) to have lung cancer, but I still panic. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get yourself to stop googling symptoms?

Stopping googling symptoms was tough, but someone on here told me if I had to google my symptoms to put anxiety first. For example anxiety arm pain. It helped me to rationalise that I wasn't dying it was anxiety. Also my gp put me on beta blockers which lessen my symptoms. Also I had been dying for 5 weeks and nothing had happened to me.