Can i have some advise?

[lilsaint]

Hello im a 16 male with anxiety

the last couple of years i have been having the worst anxiety of my life when my mum came really close to dying after here liver failed .i have been worrying about my health thinking i have cancer/tumor when i find a lump/bump on my body and it just getting worse to points were i cant sleep at all.its probably because i obsess over and over and over it again by looking on the internet, picking at it, and just thinking to my self "its bad no its nothing" so on and so on. I have had really bad panic attacks because of this as well were it fells like my heart hurts.i have been to my GP/doctor but all he really said "that its your mind playing tricks so just take a deep breath and relax",but that only helped me with my heart but that's it. im really lots at the moment.

I do drink coffee twice a day one in the morning and at lunch and i know that dose increase my anxiety but i am trying to stop.

anyways the reason why i posted this is because i would like to know if anyone has gone through this and knows what to do or if you are going through this and or would like to know how you are dealing with it?

[trinidiva]

Sorry you are dealing with this. Have you mentioned how you were feeling to your mom? Trying a type of therapy called CBT might help you. It basically gives you the tools so you can deal with the anxious feelings whenever they pop up.

Try to avoid looking up anything online regarding those health conditions that give you anxiety....and you might want to stay away from those medical shows on tv too. When you do start to get those feelings...force yourself to think about something else. It won't be easy to begin with, but it will become easier as time goes on.

[Kuma]

In a sense, your GP is right -- this is "your mind playing tricks on you."

Anxiety is "your mind playing tricks on you" in that people who have anxiety tend to over-estimate risk. For example, a person who is anxious about driving over a bridge may act like there's a 50% chance of the bridge falling into the water at any moment. (If that were the case, you would have a big fear about driving over it). But in reality, the odds of the bridge cratering are, say, one in a hundred million. And if your mind estimated that risk accurately, you would have no fear about driving over the bridge, because the risk is so remote. The same is true with your health concern -- your mind "tricks" you into thinking you have a substantial risk of a serious illness -- so you get anxious about it -- while in reality you presumably have no material risk -- as a healthy, young person who has recently visited a doctor and been given a clean bill of health.

Having this sort of health anxiety triggered by your mom's illness is very common. A parent's serious illness is a very traumatic event and it can easily trigger the sort of anxiety you are facing.

The prior poster suggested CBT. That is an excellent idea. CBT is very well suited to this sort of anxiety. It can "teach" you to resist the "tricks" that your mind is playing on you, and to estimate risk more accurately (and then to internalize that accurate risk assessment).