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Original poster

health anxiety

999 replies

hopeliss · 14/10/2013 11:18

has anybody ever found a cure for health anxiety. it has plagued my life for 7 years and don't see an end to it. awful day today.
ps never been on mumsnet before. sorry if this is the wrong place to raise this.

OP posts:
PeriodFeatures · 14/10/2013 12:05

HI, I found a cure for an anxiety disorder i had suffered for about 15 years. It was a generalised anxiety and social anxiety. I was off work with stress and anxiety (again!) and got on google and found The Linden Method.

I was really sceptical but it actually worked. The telephone support is a good addition too.

Good luck.

choclab · 14/10/2013 19:46

Another health anx sufferer here ... not easy i go through bad phases ...in one now ...but getting out helps talking helps to ..

monikar · 15/10/2013 10:59

For me, health anxiety was part of general anxiety. A few years ago I was particularly bad and worried about my health obsessively. I would check myself constantly - I even got to the stage where I would be checking my breasts in the supermarket - I am not joking, it literally took over my life.

I got a book from the library which helped me. It explained a technique where you retrain your brain to stop anxious thoughts. So in your head, you name 5 things in the room which are red, then 5 which are blue, and so on. You do this when you feel very anxious and want to start checking.

I also found being in the open air helped me - I hate gardening but just working outside for a short time a couple of times a week was helpful. The air above your head is supposed to help the anxiety lift and to a certain extent it did.

Good luck - hope that helps a little.

treaclesoda · 15/10/2013 11:10

another sufferer here. Cognitive behavioural therapy and long term medication have helped me lead a more normal life.

choclab · 15/10/2013 18:08

Just bought some rescue remedy spray to try anyone els tried it ? had a bad day today back to doctors for reassurance ....

she was lovely went through all my anx and feel a bit more reassured .

comfort to know I'm not the only one who suffers HA

treaclesoda · 15/10/2013 19:16

why don't we try to keep this thread going, we can all have a bit of a chat and maybe take some comfort in knowing we're not alone?

monikar · 15/10/2013 19:30

choclab I have used rescue remedy drops but not the spray. I found it helped a bit but not as much as I had hoped for.

choclab · 15/10/2013 19:50

sounds like a good idea to me treacle soda ...

had some mint tea and some RR drops ....see what happens

treaclesoda · 16/10/2013 10:51

how are you all today?

choclab · 16/10/2013 15:18

hello , am ok ...how about you ? is health your main anx ? is for me ...

treaclesoda · 16/10/2013 15:22

yes, I've been diagnosed with generalized anxiety, but health anxiety is the aspect pI find to be truly crippling when it's bad.

choclab · 16/10/2013 15:24

oh ok ,mine is health ...i find when other things going bad in my life this then triggers me to health and then i start checking and so it goes on ....

treaclesoda · 16/10/2013 15:24

I also find that if I'm not struggling with worry about my own health that I focus on DH or the kids.

I'm not at my worst at the moment although I had a bad patch a few weeks ago. There is comfort in knowing I'm not alone.

choclab · 16/10/2013 15:30

yes there is , i went almost a year with no trip to the doctors Smile

although i do go to other clinics for other checks Confused

sweetkitty · 16/10/2013 15:41

I'm on medication and awaiting CBT for general anxiety and health anxiety. With me it's obsessive stressing about something happening to the DCs, me or DP. It affects my life so much I can hardly drive for fear of crashing Hmm

treaclesoda · 16/10/2013 15:48

that's horrible for you sweetkitty.

It's such a difficult thing to explain to people, because anyone who doesn't 'get' it just thinks 'well, we all have worries, you just have to put them in proportion'. Which is true. But if it was as easy as that, then that's what I'd do. Wink

I put such a lot of time and effort into maintaining a calm exterior. Its exhausting sometimes. Only my DH and a couple of close friends know the true extent of my anxiety.

choclab · 16/10/2013 15:52

hello sweetkitty , i to have tried CBT i did find it very good i have various books also that have been helpful i must get them out again as think could do with a look again may help get me on track again , hope you don't have to wait to long for an appointment .

and yes your right treacle , i find other people just don't get it !! i keep a lot to myself and try to work through it myself ....does help though talking to others who feel same

choclab · 16/10/2013 16:01

I have to go out now , but will check in later if anyone fancies a chat , bye for now :)

monikar · 16/10/2013 17:31

treacle I know what you mean - I put a lot of effort into maintaining a calm exterior too and also find it exhausting. My anxiety is general but I have health anxiety too. I think if you don't suffer from it you can't understand how it takes over everything.

A few years ago I was worried about a mole on my back and my anxiety reached its peak at Christmas. We were visiting family and I remember playing with DD on the floor and thinking about my mole and how I needed to get home to check it again. When I look back on episodes like that I realise that I am better on the health anxiety front now, but it can rear its ugly head at any time.

sweetkitty · 16/10/2013 21:58

Oh I have had the mile thing as well, I have a sore back it's cancer of the spine Hmm

DP has to text me twice on the way home from work (he has a 40 mile commute) so I know he's ok.

I think one of the reasons I'm so bad is we have no family really there's just DP and I and I am always thinking what would happen to the DCs if something happened to one of us.

choclab · 16/10/2013 21:58

i totally understand what you have said , moniker

NudeRevengeWiggle · 18/10/2013 12:22

Hi, how are you all feeling today?

I have health anxiety and am really struggling at the moment. I seem to fixate mostly on one thing at a time and obsess continuously, anyone else? Right now it's my blood pressure, and have just discovered a BP machine in the health centre so I keep walking up there with the buggy to check it. And of course it's always sky high because I am sitting there panicking that it might be high. Ridiculous but I can't stop it.

monikar · 18/10/2013 13:28

Yes, with health anxiety I tend to fixate on one problem at a time. Now my anxiety is more general though, I have several worries going at once. Neither situation is good.

Nude that is the trouble with blood pressure - anxiety makes it go higher.

treaclesoda · 18/10/2013 17:36

am having a bit of a wobble today, but trying to take deep breaths and try to ride it out.

I think, in trying to overcome my anxiety, that sometimes I go to the opposite end of extreme behaviour. Rather than obsessively checking myself for lumps etc, I'm so terrified of the feel of them that I find myself trying to shower without touching myself (difficult! ) in case I find something. Or shower in the dark, because then I can't see any marks on my skin that might frighten me. Its no better than obsessive checking, its just obsessive avoidance I suppose.

treaclesoda · 18/10/2013 17:38

oh, did any of you see on the BBC news today there was a report about health anxiety saying that cognitive behaviour therapy is much more effective than simply assuring a patient that they are not physically ill.