health anxiety poking and prodding

[summerrain34]

Hey does anyone else struggle with Healy anxiety and just work them self up with poking and prodding for example their boobs with their fingers rather than the advices three fingertips finding all sorts of lumps and nodules and convincing myself theirs something wrong . I can do it for hours on end making them sore and bruised it is as though I can't stop . When I check with three fingers I can't find anything it when I go digging and press very hard I can find hard lumps in my boob that isn't on the other side . I'm 21 by the way and also pregannt it's making me sick if it's not my boobs it's somewhere else it is so exuashting

Hiya i just wanted to say you are not alone
I also have abit of health anxiety and its the hardest thing to live with. If i find a spot lump or any other concern i can give it all
My attention for weeks on end and make myself
Worry sick.

You need to seek professional help for an anxiety that makes you hurt yourself looking for lumps that aren’t there.

Google health anxiety checking behaviour, it's very common. But the checking reinforces the anxiety

You could be my friend. Shes been panicking about breast cancer since before xmas. Shes seen 3 doctors who have all said 1. Shes not checking right. 2. What shes poking is breast tissue.

If I poke I can feel all sorts. Not just in my boobs but all over my body. If you go digging you will find. But what you find isnt something to be concerned about because the way our bodies are made, they are full of lumps of fat, tissue and muscle.

When you're pregnant your boobs do weird things anyway. Mine changed size and shape every day. Even now, when I'm due to ovulate, my boobs get lumpy. When I'm due my period they swell, go hard and are very sore.

Please stop prodding and poking yourself. You will make them bruised and sore. And also you will make the tissue swell where you are poking which will make you panic more.

Is there anything that's making you think about lumps in your breast? Like a family member having breast cancer? Anything that could have triggered it? Having breast cancer under 30 is extremely rare!

Have you spoken to a gp or midwife about it? Apparently health anxiety is very common when pregnant or after having children.

Wow what you have described is me but I'm 43 had my last baby in December 2020 I prod poke to the point of reds marks cracking my skin bruises and can feel god knows how many lumps I'm the opposite I won't go doctors for fear of them finding something but I have made myself a doctor appointment as I've noticed dimpling well I think it is that and now bloody crapping my self I have inflammatory breast cancer I haven't stopped poking and now I feel like on the bottom on my right breast it's slightly harder than the rest of my skin and on the bottom right I can feel a squishy sore lump that I think I can move my anxiety I'd through the roof afraid I'm gonna die can't control emotions

Hey how are you doing ? Xx

For the last few months I keep checking my breast especially my left one it’s quite lumpy but I’ve not felt anything I would say different but I can’t help it I think I’ve made them soar by keep prodding but then I get paranoid because they are soar also I keep checking my moles thinking they’re are bigger etc and checking things on Google which I know is bad . I use to be a positive loving life person but since losing my dad last year and my auntie to cancer also last year I’ve not been the same since and I seem to be worrying all the time I’ve got a doctors appointment in a couple of weeks booked in xxx

Hope your doing okay ? Xxx

@summerrain34 what ever happened?