Intrusive health thoughts

[lg123]

I suffered fairly bad anxiety in the past and have a tendency to let Intrusive thoughts take over. Everything was more or less fine with me until I went to the nurse to get my very waxy ears sorted out. She somehow managed to make it worse and I've been hard of hearing for a few days. Apparently I have an ear wax blockage in both ears and I have ear drops before a nurse friend of mine is going to hopefully remove the blockage tonight.

The big problem is that I'm in a very heightened state of anxiety about my hearing. I can watch the TV and films but when it comes to conversations I struggle, which has really upset and stressed me out, making me incredibly anxious. Currently I'm thinking that I might never regain my hearing and so I'll never be able to have a proper conversation again. Or that - given on had a bad experience with the previous procedure - that they could mess it up and leave me deaf. I love having chats and talking to people so much that I'm absolutely terrified of this. I know it hasn't happened yet and these are all "what if" thoughts but they feel so real and scary. I've done what I know you shouldn't do - I've cancelled social events so I don't have to have conversations and not be able to hear properly, which make me so stressed and anxious. I'm also worried that even when the blockage is removed and my hearing is in theory back to normal that I won't - for psychological reasons - be able to hear again. I've had Intrusive thoughts since I "recovered" from anxiety but none that have taken hold as strongly as these have. I thought I had a tool kit for dealing with Intrusive thoughts but these have hit me hard. Normally I'd talk to people about these thoughts but because conversations are so stressful I haven't done that much. I think this is only making it worse. This is so hard to bear.

[Nowuccas]

A previous post about health anxiety follows:

Ask yourself exactly what evidence there is to support the idea that you may have such a disease, or is it just a baseless fear? What if you did have it. How would you cope? What then? Work it all out on paper. It's important to regularly monitor, and deal with a negative internal monologue (self talk), or mental process, such as disturbing thoughts, images, impulses, or emotions, by the process of (a): recognising it, and (b): challenging it immediately. Technique For Re-Programming Negative Thoughts: When you notice something negative, such as: "I can't do this/ am never going to get over this!" or: "Why am I always so useless/such a loser?" or even an image, emotion, or a memory; recognise that it is being generated from the negative part of your mind. After identifying, and labelling it, visualise a large, red, flashing, "STOP!" sign, and/or possibly a stern faced person wagging an index finger at you in a negative manner, then say to yourself as forcefully as you can, even aloud in a big voice, if alone: "I know this tactic: GO AWAY FOR A WHILE !!!" You may want to use either: "ruse", "ploy", "game", or "trick". In the case of an image, visualise a large "STOP" sign, or your preferred version. Some people go so far as to keep a wide rubber band in their pocket, then put it around their wrist, when they catch themselves backsliding, stretch and release it, as a method of reprogramming their mind sooner, but I don't regard it as being strictly necessary. Remember to remove it, afterwards, if you use this method.

Try replacing a negative thought with a positive affirmation of your choice, such as repeating: "I'll be just fine". Realise that by the act of viewing material about various diseases, you are implanting a suggestion in your subconscious mind that you may have it, It recognises a potential threat, and initiates the (formerly, in times long past) appropriate response; a "fight, or flight" reaction. Stop viewing such material. Practice a relaxation method, daily, and when needed, such as http://www.drcoxconsulting.com/managing-stress.html or http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/mindbody/a/Meditation.htm
or www.wikihow.com/Meditate or Yoga Nidra, (no flexibility required) on page L at your-mental-health.weebly.com below, and see page Z for much more about hypochondria (panic attacks, and anxiety; see pages 1, h, & i). Qi Gong, Tai Chi, or regular yoga suits others better.

Give acupressure tapping / EFT a good tryout, to see if it helps you. It is free via the searchbar at http://www.mercola.com "EFT" & "EFT therapists", or www.tapping.com (13 free videos) or www.emofree.com or YouTube EFT. Professionally instructed is probably best. - There is a version for use in public places at http://eft.mercola.com (you could claim to have a headache, as you employ the acupressure massage/tapping your temples, but you would then be restricted to subvocalising: saying it to yourself in your mind: "Even though I have hypochondria, I deeply and completely accept myself."). These will enable you to emotionally centre yourself, when practiced regularly, and can also help you become a calmer, more self controlled person, who is less susceptible to such beliefs.

Read: Treating Health Anxiety: A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach by Steven Taylor Phd and Gordon J. G. Asmundson PhD, & The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. And Death. by Gene Weingarten, & It's Not All in Your Head: How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do about It by Gordon J. G. Asmundson Ph.D and Steven Taylor Ph.d, from your bookstore, or Amazon.com and there are other media, such as CD's & Kindle material, via their searchbar: "hypochondria".

Hypnosis is merely a heightened state of suggestibility, in which you are better able to communicate with your subconscious mind; view http://myfavoriteinterests.com/hypnosis/ about what it is, and isn't. 85% of people are suggestible to some degree; 15% - 20% highly so, and 15% - 20% aren't much at all, so you could either preferably seek professional hypnotherapy, or, if not an option, hypnosisdownloads.com has: Overcome Hypochondria.

More about hypochondriasis may be found at http://your-mental-health.weebly.com/z.html where the above came from.

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The following came from Yahoo!:

One: Take a sheet of paper and divide it into four columns. In the first column, write down all the negative, distressing or anxiety-provoking thoughts that are going through your head.
If you just know you feel bad and are not sure what you’re thinking, these questions may help:
What was going through my mind just before I started to feel this way?
What does this say about me? What does it say I can/can’t do?
What does this mean about me? My life? My future?
What am I afraid might happen? What is the worst thing that could happen if this is true?
What does this mean about what other people might think/feel about me?
What does this mean I should/shouldn’t do?
What images or memories do I have in this situation?

Read through your list of thoughts and circle the one you find most distressing. This is the thought you’re going to challenge. (You can always repeat the exercise for other thoughts later if you like.)

Two: In the second column, write down all the factual evidence that suggests your circled thought is true. Be as specific as possible, and only include facts, not opinions. For example, if your friend Sally said a particular dress made you look a little fat, don’t write, “I look fat” (this is just Sally’s opinion). Don’t write, “Sally says I look fat” (this is overgeneralising). Write something like, “Sally said I looked a little fat in the green dress.”

Three: In the third column, write down any factual evidence that suggests your circled thought is not 100% true. To do this, you can ask yourself the following questions:
Have I had any experiences that show that this thought is not completely true all the time?
If my best friend or someone I loved had this thought, what would I tell them?
If my best friend or someone who loves me knew I was thinking this thought, what would they say to me? What evidence would they point out to me that would suggest that my thoughts were not 100% true?
When I am not feeling this way, do I think about this type of situation any differently? How?
When I have felt this way in the past, what did I think about that helped me feel better?
Have I been in this type of situation before? What happened? Is there anything different between this situation and previous ones? What have I learned from prior experiences that could help me now?
Are there any small things that contradict my thoughts that I might be discounting as not important?
Five years from now, if I look back at this situation, will I look at it any differently? Will I focus on any different part of my experience?
Are there any strengths or positives in me or the situation that I am ignoring?
Am I jumping to any conclusions that are not completely justified by the evidence?
Am I blaming myself for something over which I do not have complete control?

Four: In the final column, try to come up with some “alternative” or “balanced” thoughts that are more factually accurate than those in the first column. These should take into account all the evidence you’ve just gathered. You can ask yourself the following questions:
Based on the evidence I have listed, is there an alternative way of thinking about or understanding the situation?
Write one sentence that summarizes all the evidence that supports my thought and all the evidence that does not support my thought.
Does combining the two summary statements with the word “and” create a balanced thought that takes into account all the information I have gathered?
If someone I cared about was in this situation, had these thoughts, and had this information available, what would be my advice to them? How would I suggest that they understand the situation?
If my thought is true, what is the worst outcome? If my thought is true, what is the best outcome? If my thought is true, what is the most realistic outcome?

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