Those of you with health anxiety...

[Heartonsleeve89]

Have you found yourself less anxious about Covid than other people who don’t seemingly suffer with anxieties around their health normally?

I’ve been a long time sufferer of health anxiety and it’s pretty much ruined my life at times. I’ve thought (convinced) I’ve had MND, various cancers, HIV, heart failure...and many more.
I was very concerned when this all started to blow up in China in January, I was obsessively researching it back then. But I’ve since calmed down a lot and I’m more worried about the economic fall out etc.

People who openly mocked me because of my health worries are now the ones in terror themselves.

No. I want to stay at home and not mix with anyone. I don't want to go back to work, the thought of being in a shop 8 hours kills me.
I can't read the facts and be rational. I just want to keep away from everyone.

I have health anxiety and general anxiety. I'm finding being able to work from home Im leas anxious than I would be normally but dreading going back to work and kids back to school. I'm dreading going back to normal. Before lockdown I was super anxious going to work/going out etc.

Same as the previous reply. Not looking forward to the anxiety I’ll feel after I go back to work soon and when the school reopens

Nope, I was at first because lockdown made me feel safe. No real infection risk and I've made us all wear masks from the start (I know they mostly protect others but they lessen the risk for the wearer too) now we're heading out of lockdown the anxiety is starting up again to be honest and I'm dreading September despite the fact that I know my 7 year old is desperate to be in school and should be in school for his own mental health I'm terrified of it.
My Nan caught it and despite being 83 and in poor health is now recovered but my in laws are both in poor health (FIL had to have a stent when he technically died due to Wolf parkinsons white syndrome and MIL is in liver failure).
I woke up one night with a tickle in my throat and was convinced I'd caught it.

See I thought I’d be how you’re all describing, but I’m the opposite.
I’ve read the statistics and done much research and that has helped.
I’m on a Facebook group with fellow health anxiety sufferers, and there was a poll about this and many said they feel the same as me, which surprised them.

I think I peaked at around 8 weeks. I'm all panicked out. I did get some antidepressants from the GP around 6 weeks ago and immediately I felt better after taking the first one. I know they don't work that quickly but the fact that I could offload my worries to my GP made a huge difference.

I have anxiety and I feel the same as you OP. It isn't bothering me too much, but still happily obsessing over other health issues!

Iv had health anxiety for years but for some reason this isn't affecting me at all. My anxiety is focussed around symptoms of conditions which I have and turn into something like MS, cancer, MND etc. This just doesn't worry me as much. I guess because the chances are that I'd survive it?

I have health anxiety too. At the beginning it manifested itself in worrying about not being able to get diagnosed with whatever illness I may get, due to lack of GP and hospital appointments.

Now I’m fairly relaxed about that, but am getting anxious about re-entering a full life. I think I’ll be ok though, just trying to break it all down into manageable chunks.

Ive got propranolol fr going back to work. A few weeks ago I got sertraline on prescription but I didn't start them. I'm scared to start them.

onemore I’m the same, I like to focus my worries on the incurable stuff.

At the beginning, I was having panic attacks regularly. I’m disabled and care for my dad, who’s in his 70’s and has severe COPD, so I was terrified of bringing anything to him. I’m more chilled out now, and we’re in a nice routine of schoolwork (ds is 14), dog walks, click and collect shopping and looking after my dad. However, I’ve not set foot in a shop of any kind since March, and the thought of doing so makes me very anxious as I feel safe in our little bubble.

I’ve seen 2 friends - one for socially distanced dog walks occasionally, and one, who lives alone and hasn’t been in contact with anyone, once a week for a bbq since it’s been allowed. Ds has no interest at all in meeting with any friends and is not a sociable creature at all, so has really quite enjoyed being at home.

I’m very, very anxious about the thought of him going back to school in September, ad I’ll still be caring for my very vulnerable father, but won’t have anywhere near as much control about what I bring into his house. We are contemplating deregistering and homeschooling permanently, not just because of Covid (we’ve had ongoing issues with school), but I’m leaving this decision up to ds as I don’t feel it’s fair to force it in him.

@ssd

Ive got propranolol fr going back to work. A few weeks ago I got sertraline on prescription but I didn't start them. I'm scared to start them.

Same here I have been prescribed Propranalol and Sertraline, and also a couple of courses of Valium. Valium you can of course only have a limited supply of, as it's potentially addictive, so I have used it sparingly. I have been taking the Propranolol fairly regularly, but I'm not sure how much it helps. I think it lessens the physical symptoms of anxiety slightly but has no effect on thought processes.

Like you I was scared to take the Sertraline so it sat there for about two months. I was then persuaded to take it during a very anxious call to the GP. After a few hours I felt worse than ever and have not taken it since, even though the GP has advised me to carry on. I know it's supposed to get worse before it gets better and can take up to 6 weeks to kick in. I can't risk 6 weeks of feeling even more terrible on the off-chance it might work to be frank. But this doesn't mean everyone would have the same experience, I know some people say it has helped them, and I don't know how much of what I experienced was psychosomatic since I had read about the possibility of feeling worse before better.

I feel I don't really need the sertraline, but I feel better knowing its there. The propranolol stops my heart thudding, it calms me down and makes me feel a bit reassured. I don't take it regularly, but I'm going back to work soon and I'll need it then.

Oh I am absolutely the same - I’ve never really worried about covid in all honesty. If anything, my general health anxiety has gotten much worse as I fear i’ll get something wrong with me that the Doctors won’t be able to pick up over the screen (thanks to covid shutting down face to face appointments) or i’ll desperately need a filling and the Dentists can’t won’t be able to drill it. I’m obsessing over every little mouth niggle at the moment ...

Comes and goes in waves for me.
Constant low- level anxiety.
My other health worries did take a back seat for a while and I feel on a more level playing field with Covid as everyone was/is worried- which is strangely comforting.

See I feel the opposite, I feel like I need to hide my anxiety as most others aren't as paranoid as me. It's like I'm trying to float through it all, while stockpiling hand gel/masks etc and reading everything about it.... Which doesn't actually help me...

Yes! I could have wrote that myself I was having cbt for health anxiety before this... It was triggered through having children, my baby being so ill with rsv and horrible sickness bugs etc. I was so worried about covid at the start but now much calmer and feel like I am the one trying ro reassure others. There is so much data on covid and I find it largely reassuring so think that is why I am so much calmer. I am more worried about the barrage of other illnesses that will hit us when my kids go back to school after 6 months away

TOTALLY! I am just like we have to get on with. Sometime. We can’t hide away forever. We need to get the economy going get people’s jobs and livelihoods back. Get the kids back to school. Wash your hands cover your face use your sanitiser and keep your house clean. I mean I’m not panicking at all. Which is a bit weird cos I do tend to worrry about EVERYTHING. it’s weird really isn’t it?🤔

I'm not particularly anxious about getting it. If I had it though my health anxiety would be going crazy about dying in my sleep or getting lethal blood clots. And yes, non-health anxiety people, I obviously know that's unlikely!

Another very anxious person . I can’t get worried about COVID-19 at all - I’m more convinced I have an underlying heart issue that’s going undetected . Have had the same horrendous worry for years and had every test under the sun (mainly because a relative does have a genetic condition that in theory could be passed on) .

The ‘stay at home’ stuff has played right into my anxiety though . That’s proving very difficult indeed .

@changenamejuly29

Another very anxious person . I can’t get worried about COVID-19 at all - I’m more convinced I have an underlying heart issue that’s going undetected . Have had the same horrendous worry for years and had every test under the sun (mainly because a relative does have a genetic condition that in theory could be passed on) .

The ‘stay at home’ stuff has played right into my anxiety though . That’s proving very difficult indeed .

I have this exact same anxiety. I was already having it and getting chest pains and palpitations sometimes that were just related to anxiety and had been checked out but my anxieties about it just kept getting worse to the point I had a massive panic attack at work, ambulance was called, people running for defibrillator it was terrifying and I ended up off work for 5 months after. Absolutely nothing wrong with my heart but I'm still terrified that there might be. I've been bought a portable ecg to reassure myself when I feel weird.

I feel a bit better knowing I'm not the only one with this fear.