Health Anxiety

[Panpig]

I'm massively struggling with a flare up of health anxiety at the moment. I've had it on and off for a few years but I think Covid has set it off big time. Is anyone else struggling with this? I try so hard to rationalise anxiety symptoms, but it's just spiralled out of all control

Mine too. It's the constant focus on health and mortality everywhere, plus more time on our hands.

Anxiety in general has gone through the roof in 5he population. You are very much not alone. I don't think there is any one thing that will help but try not to watch the news. That's definitely a bad idea.

I've been a bit breathless, exhausted, achy, and had sore ribs and chest, and scratchy throat for about 3 weeks. No regular cough or temperature though. Occasional coughing a couple of times maybe.
Did a covid test which was negative. Then I saw my GP who ran loads of blood tests and sent me for a chest Xray. That was all fine, but the hospital did a CT chest to rule out blood clots. So in the last 2 weeks my paranoia has gone from one catastrophic illness to another, all which have breathlessness as a symptom .
I'm still not convinced it wasnt covid, but kind of wish I'd tested positive and not googled other things it could be. I even had a spirometery lung function test done and scored +100% of predicted for each reading. Just keep imagining dying and leaving my 6 year old with no mum, and I keep bursting into bloody tears! Madness.
I'm actually feeling a lot better physically in the last couple of days. Doctors just said it must be another unspecified virus, but in theory if I could catch something else despite all the isolating and distancing, surely I could have caught covid too!
I'm not naturally a depressive person, but I've lost the plot in the last couple of weeks.

@Panpig yes my anxiety has gone through the roof because of all this Covid stuff! I'm also 38 weeks pregnant and asthmatic. My partner is a key worker so I've been for months worrying. I'm hoping things calm down soon, it's just awful worrying about everything so much.

Same here. And not being able to see the doctor but have a phone appointment instead is awful.

Sorry to hear that OP. Have you had help/counselling/treatment previously? Can't you use the techniques they have given you? Did you mention your concerns to your GP and ask for CBT? If it will be months, contact someome privately to help you through your thoughts and feelings to put things in perspective.

Thanks for replying! No I've never had any kind of counselling or CBT. Will have to bite the bullet and phone the doctors I think

Same here. I was a complete mess when we first went into lockdown. Now the closer return to school is creeping up I can feel myself struggling again. No advice Im afraid but lots of empathy

I’m the same OP, you’re really not alone, but I don’t know what to suggest..
I’ve always had anxiety but it’s getting out of control now. I have a few days where I’m ok with all of this and just see it as a bad virus that is recover from, but then that is followed with complete paranoia and worry.
It’s triggering a chronic condition that I do have and has always been well managed, to start getting bad and out of control for the first time in 9 years, which then causes more anxiety.
I’m a mess, and my mental health is starting to make me physically ill