New to this site

[kctreacy]

Hi...my name is Karen and I am new to this site. I have suffered with anxiety, panic and health OCD for years, however I have been able to keep it under control until now. I was diagnosed with a chronic illness many years ago and recently started getting some new pain. My anxiety and OCD has kicked into full force with me obsessing about it and thinking things are only going to get worse. It has become debilitating. I am smart enough to realize that my anxiety only makes things worse and it becomes a vicious cycle...BUT...I can't stop it. I search the internet to read about people suffering from horrible symptoms and that only makes me worse. Every time I get a new pain I am on the internet looking it up and then my anxiety spikes again. I know this is terrible behavior but I'm told its part of my OCD. Can anyone else relate to this? I feel like I am alone in my suffering. I have been trying to find a support group here in NJ but haven't had any luck. Plus...my anxiety is always SO much worse in the morning. I feel so exhausted by it. I would love to find someone to talk to who can relate! Thanks for listening.

[em1]

Hello there Karen I have panic attacks and I only the last few months intrusive thoughts that I'm
Going to harm my children and go to prison,which is crazy as I adore them so I know what your going through

[Kalita]

Hi Karen. Welcome. You're not alone. What you just described in your post summed me up exactly!! Googling my symptoms was what set off my very first panic attack in 2004. Ever since then I've suffered on and off from panic attacks. And like you, when I have a symptom I HAVE to google it because it's like I MUST know what it is or how I got it. But of course, that just sends me into a full blown panic attack again! Endless cycle.

[FK123]

Hi Karen!
I just joined this site too for the same reasons. I spend hours googling every symptom I notice, work myself up into a panic and in the end physically feel much worse than when I began. It's exhausting and vey frustrating as like you said, you know the anxiety can play such a big part in your well-being. You are definitely not alone :)
Have you tried seeking any help for your anxiety? I'm just at the beginning of this after exhausting all the measures I could take myself (yoga, healthy diet, exercise etc). Good luck

[em1]

Hello and welcome to the page ladys :) I'm
Emma

[gemma1788]

Welcome! I think you will find a lot of people are exactly the same with Dr Google (evil). Have a search through this forum and you will find many people are going through similar things to you. I used to google, now I just search through this site for my symptoms because you can guarantee anxiety is the culprit for most of your ailments. It definitely helps calm me a great deal. You're in good company here!