Health Anxiety is so bad. Is this normal?

[Worry2much]

I worry too much about my health. I am a 34 yr old who has suffered with anxiety since I was a young girl. I was diagnosed with insulin resistance and fatty liver and enlarged spleen last year. Every since, I just feel like Im doomed. I am not sure how I manage everyday at work but amazingly I do. Its a struggle because my every thought is fear of ruptured spleen or non alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver or wait for it... heart attack! Am I normal in this worry? I see a therapist but because of my work hours, I am limited. The worst fear is pushing my amazing hubby away because its always something. I feel so alone and dont want to tell people because I worry too much?

[MechPebbles]

I totally relate to your experience. Last year I was diagnosed with very extensive ulcers and a suddenly elevated prostate tumor marker. Further tests showed that I had a 93% chance of having prostate cancer. Even though a biopsy showed no cancer cells, my urologist told me that biopsies do not give 100% certainty and the random biopsy samples he took could have missed the growth. So now I live my life constantly waiting for the next test, done every 6 months. I obsess about that one single number and my life revolves around it. It has robbed me of my happiness and I find no pleasure in life whatsoever.

Like you, I feel doomed. I see little purpose in doing things as I believe I'm going to die soon. Again, like you, I used to feel alone. But this is a standard reaction and almost everyone going through a crisis (whether real or imagined) goes through it.

For me, my wife gives me the best support of all, even better than my therapist did. I feel that in the last year, we have grown so much closer - though at what a cost to me! You need to loop your husband in and let him know what you're going through.

I really wish I knew someone like you in person. There are a lot of us around - we just don't know who they are. It would be so great to talk with others like us and perhaps even make light of our exaggerated fears.

I hope everything goes well with you. The fear and anxiety tend to reduce in intensity over time.

[Worry2much]

I totally relate to your experience. Last year I was diagnosed with very extensive ulcers and a suddenly elevated prostate tumor marker. Further tests showed that I had a 93% chance of having prostate cancer. Even though a biopsy showed no cancer cells, my urologist told me that biopsies do not give 100% certainty and the random biopsy samples he took could have missed the growth. So now I live my life constantly waiting for the next test, done every 6 months. I obsess about that one single number and my life revolves around it. It has robbed me of my happiness and I find no pleasure in life whatsoever.

Like you, I feel doomed. I see little purpose in doing things as I believe I'm going to die soon. Again, like you, I used to feel alone. But this is a standard reaction and almost everyone going through a crisis (whether real or imagined) goes through it.

For me, my wife gives me the best support of all, even better than my therapist did. I feel that in the last year, we have grown so much closer - though at what a cost to me! You need to loop your husband in and let him know what you're going through.

I really wish I knew someone like you in person. There are a lot of us around - we just don't know who they are. It would be so great to talk with others like us and perhaps even make light of our exaggerated fears.

I hope everything goes well with you. The fear and anxiety tend to reduce in intensity over time.

I completely understand. You feel like a ticking time bomb. Just waiting for bad news. It makes enjoying life hard. My husband tries to understand but I am a bit overwhelming since I worry about every pain I have. I called to make an appointment with my therapist. This is too much. I feel like I'm whining but you are right, it is nice to have someone to talk to. It would help to have that person near you to talk too. I'm sure there are tons of us out there but we put on our brave face and deal with the world everyday. I am afraid to go to my doctor appointment because I'm afraid of the ultrasound I have to have on my spleen and liver. I am a bigger girl that has ate unhealthy causing my liver to have some fat in it. We don't know why my spleen is enlarged. That's weird. I also have aching all over from my neck down to my feet. I am one of those girls that refuse to take medications for pain because I just lost my brother in October at 36 due to him abusing those drugs. I live my life in fear of dying ! What kind of life is that??

[fixmybrokenmind]

I can definitely relate to you, I had cancer when I was four years old and ever since then health anxiety was present daily in my life. I remember when I had chronic depression part of me just wanted to die but then my anxiety would cause me to be super worried about dying. That was a living nightmare.

[purplepaint]

I can totally relate to having health anxiety! I become so fixated on my health that I can obsess over what could possibly go wrong for hours upon hours. My intense anxiety keeps me from going to the doctor, so I can not even get peace of mind, or a confirmation of any illnesses. Ugh! I feel for all of you who posted here, it's hard. I wish I had an answer.

[Worry2much]

I can totally relate to having health anxiety! I become so fixated on my health that I can obsess over what could possibly go wrong for hours upon hours. My intense anxiety keeps me from going to the doctor, so I can not even get peace of mind, or a confirmation of any illnesses. Ugh! I feel for all of you who posted here, it's hard. I wish I had an answer.

I wish I didn't go to the doctor all the time. It's so expensive and scary. I pray everyday for peace from this anxiety.

[Worry2much]

I can definitely relate to you, I had cancer when I was four years old and ever since then health anxiety was present daily in my life. I remember when I had chronic depression part of me just wanted to die but then my anxiety would cause me to be super worried about dying. That was a living nightmare.

Totally with ya on that. Terrified of dying or being so sick that someone would have to take care of me. It's a daily fear. My therapist says we are all living to die and that I need to make the best of every living day. I'm trying but Mr. Anxiety creeps back in. Ugh over it!!

[willheal]

Health anxiety is my number 1 trigger for feeling like crap all day. We have these amazingly complex bodies that give us life and then once something goes wrong (or simply feels like it's going wrong) your thoughts dive into the nitty-gritty bits, and everything feels dark and lonely and hopeless.

I heard this metaphor before: If the president (of a country, company, anything...) couldn't stop worrying about all the people who worked for her, or she couldn't trust any of them to do their jobs, would she ever get any work done? How could she sleep? How could she make an impact on the company/country/world at large?

I've been thinking on this thought a lot. It helps break me away from my very damaged sense of risk assessment (everything could be wrong!!!) or the hyperfocus on details (x and y and z seem out of place, why why why) and focus more on living.

But the latter really isn't even a focus is it? Just like you can't "focus" on going to sleep?... Things just sorta blend together and it happens. Focusing on the little bitty details never really makes things move along the way you think it does.

Take care. Feel better

[PanicCured]

I worry too much about my health. I am a 34 yr old who has suffered with anxiety since I was a young girl. I was diagnosed with insulin resistance and fatty liver and enlarged spleen last year. Every since, I just feel like Im doomed. I am not sure how I manage everyday at work but amazingly I do. Its a struggle because my every thought is fear of ruptured spleen or non alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver or wait for it... heart attack! Am I normal in this worry? I see a therapist but because of my work hours, I am limited. The worst fear is pushing my amazing hubby away because its always something. I feel so alone and dont want to tell people because I worry too much?

I think it makes sense. You are an anxious person that actually has a diagnosed condition, so it makes sense that would double your anxiety. Yes it is normal.

But like this old T shirts of the 80s: "WHY BE NORMAL?"

I suggest finding a way to separate the "fake anxiety" from treating your actual diagnosed condition and getting that as better as you possibly can. So, imagine you were in perfect health but still had anxiety: that is the "fake anxiety". Of course you want to get that better but be able to separate that from your diagnosed conditions that need your attention to treat effectively to get better from that.

Good luck!

[hellofriend22]

Definitely get that. But I'm sure as we focus on a symptom or body part we can start feeling things that otherwise wouldn't be there. I although I know it like easier said than done find ways to distract yourself music tv reading you'll notice that your symptoms might not be present