Hypochondria; specifically about disorders of the brain

Hi.

So I am having quite a difficult time with my health anxiety at the moment. I am scared to death of developing a disorder of the brain, specifically dementia and CJD. I know dementia is extremely rare for someone my age and CJD is a very rare disorder altogether but I cannot shake my fears. I did make a thread explaining that my friend passed away which made my anxiety and OCD worse so I think my fears have stemmed from that event. However, I'm not as bothered about the impact these disorders would have on myself as they usually would but rather what the impact would be on my family, friends and my boyfriend. That horrifies me; the emotional torment of the people that love me. I've been put on 100mg of sertraline and it doesn't seem to help much. I keep making myself memorize recent events and names and I can remember them perfectly fine but I still dont get much reassurance. Does anyone have a similar experience?

Thanks, Sami.

Yes, I have similar fears, I think I totally understand. I believe one must find the underlying causes to beat those things, but I've only started to investigate mine.
I wish you courage.

Hey, I'm new here. My name is Juli. I have extreme hypochondria, specifically regarding my brain and I'm often terrified that I may develop a brain tumor, aneurysm, or another serious, life threatening condition. It's a terrifying and exhausting experience to go through this each and every day. Some days I'm fine, like when I'm at work or out with friends, it distracts me... however, whenever I am alone my mind goes absolute crazy and I start to think the worst possible things. I do see a therapist to discuss my everyday anxiety, but she doesn't really know just how bad it really is... I just want you to know that I know exactly how you feel. It's an exhausting and frustrating way to live life and not everyone understands. Hopefully we can be here to support each other.

Juli from San Francisco