Thinking I am sick

[polychromous]

Recently, for no reason at all, I have been believing I have a punctured lung. Today, I looked up symptoms of a punctured lung (because I like doing stupid things to torture myself apparently), agreed that I had most of the "symptoms" and started shaking and hyperventilating. Has anybody else felt this way? Like they think they have an illness or something that may end their life and they get so scared that they might die? This has been the source or my anxiety for months now.
EDIT: Also, any tips to help deal with these panic attacks? They used to primarily happen at night, when nobody was around so I didn't know what to do with myself. I still don't know what to do with myself when these happen when I can't talk to people.

[gypsylee]

Hey there,

Yes, you do like doing stupid things to torture yourself ;) Dr Google is notorious for causing anxiety attacks. I don't think I have health anxiety any more than the average person (mine is more social anxiety) and I always end up convinced I have a brain tumour or something. I never google health problems anymore.. I'm going for a pelvic scan this week because I've been having issues including pain and nausea, and I KNOW if I googled it I'd freak out and be sure I have ovarian cancer. The reason this happens is that anxious types are experts at catastrophic thinking and the internet can tell you pretty much anything you "want" to hear.

Deep (diaphragmatic) breathing can be very helpful during panic attacks. There are lots of free apps you can download which can help.

Cheers,
Gypsy x

[metal4life]

Mr.poly.

You got the same problem as me, its called hypocondria which is basicaly a fear of
getting an illness/dying, which makes you more aware of things which maybe
were there since ever, but you discover them now. It can cause real pain when
you focus on thinking you have something but in reality u have nothing.
I take Valerian pills when i get a panick attack, and also dont try to focus on it
just say whatever and ignore it, or say its nothing it will pass. They usually happen when you have a syptom
or a night when you go to bed and you begin to think. 1 hour before i go to bed i take Valerian pills
which helps. You can get it without receip bc its natural and can
be sold to anyone.

I hope this helps :D

Marc

[gcltr777]

I always do this to myself, especially with a 'new' pain. I'm getting older and those are getting more frequent.

I would say that a true punctured lung would be EXTREMELY painful and very difficult to breathe. You would know that you had to go to the ER.

But, like my mom (a career nurse) would say, if it makes you feel better, get it checked. Then the next time you have the problem (which could be dozens of different things) you will know you're okay.

I used to do fight training for years and I had a kick cause a 'dislodged' rib... That didn't even puncture my lung, but just 'pushed' on a part of it. Oh man... my whole abdominal set and back muscles would spasm, I could hardly breathe every few seconds or so. I had to lay on ice (because the hospital can't do anything for that) until the spasms stopped. I was still REALLY sore for a good couple weeks.

We have ALL sorts of muscles, tendons, cartilage, etc... to get inflamed, strained, bruised... and worry makes any pain 10x worse by nature.

If you keep worrying about it and it really hurts that bad, get checked out. I really think your symptoms would be much worse if it were perforated, but I'm not a Dr.

[polychromous]

Thank you all for the replies, it means so much to me. Turns out I don't have a punctured lung (you guys probably aren't even surprised), but if it's lung "issues" one week, its heart "problems" another. Its such a vicious cycle and I don't know what to do but try and convince myself it isn't true. I should really stop googling my symptoms, but I hate not knowing (then again... if I hate not knowing... I should see an actual professional). Anyway, thank you guys so much. I'll be visiting this thread when I have another health related panic attack.

[Synner]

Here is a tip I picked up not long ago. When you do a google on whatever symptoms you're feeling, preface the search term with "anxiety" or "panic disorder". That's actually how I found this forum, and it helps when the first thing you see is "yep...I have that all the time as well" instead of WebMD- "you should just write out your will right now".

[aml0017]

Synner, that is a great idea! I don't suffer from health anxiety per se, but I have had some health/anxiety scares in my time. The best policy is just to stay off Google completely, but if you just can't help yourself then yes, search your symptoms as anxiety related. Truthfully, I have found when I have really had a health issue that was real, there really wasn't any anxiety or indecision. It was just , oh I have to get this checked out right away, I just knew it was a real thing. I don't know if you have a primary care physician locally that you can talk to. I have an email portal set up with my PCP, I can email her about any symptoms I am experiencing without making an appt. She is aware of my history with anxiety, she'll let me know if she thinks I need to set up an appointment or not. Usually to hear her say that the symptoms aren't that concerning for her is enough to calm my mind.

The real key is to learn to accept the anxiety for what it is. Easier said than done, but instead of fighting it just acknowledge it is happening and let it happen and move on with your life. It gets easier with practice. This way, anxiety just becomes another ailment that you just deal with until it passes, like a cold. It sucks at times, but it really won't kill you. Hope you get some relief soon.