Hypochondriasis, and something else?

[FunPie]

Hello guys.

I'm having trouble figuring out what I have. Age: 24

Symptoms:
I worry a lot about my health, almost obsessively. I used to go to the doctor a lot in order to get evaluated, but they find nothing. I realize now that I probably have nothing, but I still fear developing an illness.

There is something else. I know it sounds irrational, but I also fear going insane. It is strange, after some searching I found something called agateophobia. This goes on and off for about a week or two in a 3 month period. I'm in remission right now and I also realize that my fears are irrational, but when they pop up I can get extremely nervous. When this hits, it hits hard.

My mom has been diagnosed with OCD. She was a successful business owner, but lost it all in the stock market. I am a marketer for a mid-sized advertising firm, and I am afraid that I could one day follow in her footsteps. I am now taking care of her. She is perfectly find mentally (in terms of no psychosis) My job requires me to public speak to audiences and pitch to upper-level managers from time to time. As you can see any panic publicly can potentially cost me my job, and that scares me since there is such a negative stigma towards mental illness in the business world.

I sometimes get strange thoughts that pop in my head from time to time, ever since I was a child. This is reminiscent of OCD, but I am not aware of any rituals I perform. (unless searching the internet, socializing, and watching TV is one)

Thanks for the help guys.

[broadwaymaven]

A lot of your symptoms sound so much like the ones I have. They are all anxiety disorder for me. My fear of getting sick is definitely a result of a traumatic experience as a child. When I was 14 years old, my twin brother had a stroke and I was the one who found him and got my mom to take him to the hospital. When we got to the hospital later, they told me that I was lucky that I found him... that most people who have this have it in their sleep and never wake up. They also told me that since it was caused by a birth defect, I might also have the same defect (since we are twins). Needless to say I didn't sleep for months for fear of falling asleep and having a stroke. Then when he came home, we were careful to watch him for seizures. My brother would tease me by pretending to have them. Ever since, that is my biggest fear. Now when anyone around me gets sick, I become obsessed with every twinge and upset stomach,etc. The only inevitability in life is that some day we will die. Most people don't think about it all the time. But a lot of people with anxiety problems have a really fear of this.

I also had the same feeling about going insane. I got married in April. For about 8 months before the wedding, the stress kept building and building. I never was able to find a successful way to completely get rid of my anxiety. I made a lot of improvements but I had this fear that the stress was getting to be so strong that I would go crazy. Therapy helped me a lot as well as progressive muscle relaxation, managing my diet, doing yoga and talking and crying with my future husband.

For me, both of these fears are really a large part of me crying out for some care an attention. I have always been a loner who felt like I had to do EVERYTHING for myself... that it was a sign of weakness to tell other people I needed help. I also expected people to read my mind and give me what I needed without ever asking for it. After a while, I realized I HAD to be my own advocate and ask for the help that I needed when I needed it. This is something I will always have to work on. The biggest part is listening to myself to determine what help I really need and who can help me. Once I am able to do this, voicing my concerns often lowers my anxiety more than anything else.

I hope you consider talking to a health professional and if you can find one who specializes in anxiety disorders. It has helped me so much on and off through the years. Good luck and remember you are not alone.

[FunPie]

Thank you for those kind words and sharing your story. I'm glad that therapy is helping you. I might decide to seek a health professional, haven't quite made up my mind yet.

Thank you.

[Headcase]

Hi

I have the same health Anxiety issues as you. Its not very nice to live with, actually it really sucks. I sometimes even wake up with a panic attack about my health and the anxiety continues all day from there. My wife just tells me to stop being stupid, but I just cant seem to shake it.

Get some professional help mate, I have tried for years on my own and i just cant get over it. I did try counseling for a few weeks and looking back wished i had of had of continued it as I had some relief from the hypnotherapy the counselor did and just talking through my issues. sometimes when your talking through your fears you actually realise just how irrational you have been thinking.

Professional help doesnt allways mean taking prescription drugs as a lot of doctors hand them out like lollies, I hated taking them due to side effects and general dislike of taking medications so i stopped taking them,my anxiety is twice as bad now.

I also find excercising helps a great deal. I just joined a gym today and getting a few personal training sessions to get me started. My problem with this is my wife then tells me I am selfish and looking after myself and then depression sets in and couldnt be bothered excercising, a big merry go round really. This time I got my wife to join the gym to so we can both be selfish and look after ourselves together.

I cant wait to get rid of this anxiety and start living again.

[northstar]

your worries are very common with anxiety, it can be really difficult to get the irrational worrying under control by ourselves. have you ever considered going to therapy to help yourself out with this problem? it's worth looking into :) cognitive behaviour therapy is higly recommended for anxiety related problems like irrational thoughts and OCD.

[FunPie]

Thanks guys. I'm starting to think that the root of my problem is probably a "mild" form of OCD. (which can still be extremely inhibiting) Cognitive therapy seem to be the best bet at the moment, and I will probably schedule an appointment with a therapist this week. I still want to avoid medication.

[DiamondSea]

I, too, have an immense fear of psychosis. I have obsessive thoughts of people drugging or poisoning me and it causes me to not eat a lot and avoid certain situations. I start therapy soon, I have a feeling CBT will help me with this very much.