Health Anxiety - part three!!

[MrsWhites]

Hi ladies, back again for thread number 3!

@tmh88 thank you. It's the waiting that is worse. Keep telling myself all will be okay but my thoughts run away. Doesn't help that I'm off work and not doing much.
Did you say you start therapy soon, I do think I need something like this, I've always had HA but since having these tests I'm a wreck xx

@Soon2BeMrs I started 2nd week of jan! It was really helping but past week I have had a bit of a spiral and today have weird stomach/rib pain! I feel like I need someone to pull my feet and some to pull my arms to stretch the pain away xx

Going to do some yoga now and see if it eases

Morning everyone. Welcome to the new posters!!

@Skyliner001 I definitely get that feeling off, ‘oh great it doesn’t feel too bad, definitely not a proper lump’ then two seconds later ‘oh no what if I didn’t feel it right, what if I missed something or didn’t use the right part of my fingers to check’...basically it’s anything that justifies me rechecking.

It’s very rare that I can enjoy a bath either, I’d love to be one of those people that lights candles and has a lovely glass of wine with loads of bubbles....in my case I use bubbles to hide underneath and I’m never in the shower longer than 2 minutes otherwise the temptation to start checking is just too much!

Since we have no secrets ladies 😂 can anyone help me with this. Anyone who suffered with a tear during childbirth...do you still feel the odd twinge years later? I’ve been doing more pelvic floors recently to try and help with a prolapse and I’m noticing stabbing type pains on the side near where I had a 2nd degree tear but it was 7 years ago so I’m trying to work out if it’s just the prolapse or pelvic floors irritating the scar tissue or if it’s something else.

Morning.

I've read back a bit and am definitely going to try the Dare book, thanks for the recommendation. Also remembered that a few years ago Yoga with Adrienne really helped me, she has a few that are aimed at reducing anxiety and the alternate nostril breathing techniques in them were really useful. I'll have to start it up again. It's just finding time atm between home schooling, work, studies. I just feel swamped.

Hello and welcome to new joiners and good morning to everyone.

Morning ladies how are we all?

Has anyone seen the post going round Facebook about the lady who only had 3 little dimples and it was BC? No lumps or anything?

Yes, I've seen that post during one of my many spirals about my breasts! It's interesting where the line is drawn between really genuinely worthwhile awareness, and obsession. I think it's really good that there is so much out there about breast cancer, but I also think it feeds into a lot of health anxiety.

What is the date book?

Dare!

Link was up the thread somewhere @Skyliner001. It was posted yesterday, I think.

Dare: The New Way to End Anxiety and Stop Panic Attacks https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0956596258/ref=cmswwrcppapifabcc_EN3JXZN5M8QPJMZBZZTW

Found it!

I had a similar conversation in CBT the other day about how this new obsession with smart watches etc is making us monitor our health more and increasing anxiety. We've lived millions of years with needing to constantly know our resting heart rate or do an ecg everyday or whatever.

@Skyliner001 I completely agree! It was interesting to know in terms of other signs but I've since found myself staring at myself in the mirror checking for dimples 🙈

I'm with you @dillydallydollydaydream7 I did so much of that last week, including lying down in the floor and shining my torch on my best to check for any indentation. No skin looks completely perfect when you shine a torch sideways on it. I got myself into a right pickle

I don’t have any social media for the above reasons it is a massive help! I did some yoga this morning and now the rib/stomach pain is barely there so I’m assuming it’s a muscle pull! Hope everyone has a good day xx

I have bad posture though so I think I squish my organs sometimes because I’m always either in a ball on couch or slumped to side... sleep in funny positions too! Always lean when I stand too... writing it all out like I’m surprised I stand up straight at all

Urgh, I stupidly just looked at online news and saw a link from The Sun saying that 143 people died after the covid vaccine 😖
I never opened the link but now that's all I'm going to think about. I had mine 3 days ago.
I sort of want to read it to make sure it was elderly people, not people like me but I know if I check and it's someone similar age/medical conditions as me I will freak out.

@tmh88 do you find lockdown has made your posture worse?
I've got what I think is a trapped nerve in my neck/shoulder from sitting folded up like an idiot for hours on end. I'm so inactive these days.

@ofwarren I had my vaccine about a month ago and I still get anxious about it, I was even considering not going back for my next top up. I know when I read something like that I read into it, it had nothing to do with the vaccine but really wish they wouldn't print things like that

@soon2beMrs
Which vaccine did you have? I had Pfizer.
Im not anti vaxx at all but it makes me so paranoid reading shit like that.

@ofwarren same I had the Pfizer and Im Definitely not anti-vax but after I had this, because of my anxiety, I was asking myself why have I got it. Since having it I've avoided Social media because of all the scary things on there about it

@ofwarren yes 100% I’m on furlough so really not much to do at all! I use to be out of the house 4 days a week and then out and about weekends too! Now I go for one daily walk and that’s it out of the house! Friday night is food shop which I look forward too but I literally don’t do as much now, so not only mentally it affects me but also physically! DP is home a day or 2 a week at the minute though so that’s nice!

Okay ladies, I'm doing it, I'm heading into a no poke weekend. Wish me luck… Did full breast exam yesterday, with additional poking this morning.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to do this, as I haven't been able to before, but even an hour of happiness with no poking will be helpful. I will update.

What has everybody got planned for the weekend? Heavy snow forecast here, so thinking it's probably going to be films and food for me X

I think the biggest challenge is settling my head down, the usual cycle of happy feeling, brain present me with a negative thought, but I'm going to really try!

@Skyliner001 I will join you for another no poke weekend. I did pretty well last weekend except for Saturday morning and then caved again on Sunday afternoon I think so hoping to actually go the whole weekend this time!

Good luck!