How to stop catastrophizing and irrational thoughts

[Whiterabbit88]

Hi all
I have been a worrier and an over thinker for all of my life but since my son was born I seemed to have developed health anxiety in regards to him (not myself!)
i constantly worry about past illnesses (nothing minor) that could affect him long term and then spend hours googling to reassure myself. I have a current example of an event which happened a few months ago which I know I have blown out of proportion but I constantly think about it. Even when I try to reason with myself that it’s fine, it still comes back as a worry.
I have signed in to a stress and anxiety course but has anyone have a similar experience of this and how did you overcome it? I am worried that I won’t ever be able to share off these current thoughts.

Have a look at this video about anxiety;

And then this from the same guy;

And step away from Google!

If you can't, ask yourself this - if you googled something and the first answer to come up was "Nothing to Worry About" would you be reassured and stop looking, thereby depriving them of selling you something via affiliated links, or would you keep going until you found something to fit your fears?

This document on cognitive distortions will also help you;

arfamiliesfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Cognitive-Distortions.pdf

Some DBT would be brilliant for this. Look it up. Xx

Obviously not diagnosing you but sounds a bit like OCD.
I'm diagnosed with OCD which can come in many forms including health anxiety.
CBT is the gold standard treatment for OCD which includes exposure response prevention.
It's a bit like your bad thoughts being a playground bully demanding your pocket money. The more you give in (for example googling looking for reassurance) the more the bully terrorises you.
The idea is for you to kind of say I'll take the risk XYZ may happen and not to reassure yourself. The anxiety is huge but over time it desensitises you.
Admittedly easier said than done.
Look at Shannon Shy on Facebook. I find his posts really helpful.

Thankyou for the replies. And totally agree @Ilovedogs1 and @Eyesopenwideawake the issue with my current worry/irrational thought is that I have Contacted professional experts on the specific area and they have told me there is no risk yet I am still worrying! Every day multiple times a day! I feel like I need some test to definitively say everything is fine but then this is giving into these thoughts…. But I can’t see how else I can fully shut these thoughts down - this is the constant argument I am having in my head daily! Even I know the scenario in my head is totally stupid and irrational !

Do have a look at those videos, they will help you.

@Whiterabbit88 the problem is you are trying to be 100% certain. I totally get it, I'm having a setback with my OCD at the moment and I'm trying to be totally certain about things.
The aim of treatment is that you have to accept uncertainty, sit with the anxiety till it goes down naturally. Again easier said than done.
I read somewhere that if your worries start with 'what if' then that's your anxiety talking .

Hi, be well worth talking to your GP, they would be able to offer online help (eg CBT) or medication or referral to specialist if necessary.

Yes I agree with the above poster that in order to tackle this you are going to need to learn the art of sitting with uncertainty. It is hard but so worth it OP. The thoughts may continue to come but your strength to question and challenge or just let them go will increase. And so they won't hold the same power. No expert can convince you, so you currently know more than everyone? How can you 100% know this is the case?

As the previous posters have said, it's about acceptance - accepting what is happening (or what you've been told, in your example OP) rather than continuing to fight it or look for another opinion that matches your own. So much easier said than done, though - I hope the upcoming course helps a bit.

Again, Thankyou for your replies. I feel likes it’s constant roller coaster with the main worry I have. Sometimes I have reassured myself - I refer back to emails I have been sent by ‘experts’ on the matter and that helps me then other times it’s the total opposite. I just can’t seem to let these latest worry go and @Ilovedogs1 this whole worry was born out of a ‘what if’ scenario I played out on my head. It then got worse by another ‘what if’ scenario! The issue is it concerns my son which makes the uncertainty a little more difficult to handle @coffeeisthebest I had a similar anxiety last year in regards to myself - sought advice on the topic and then felt a lot more reassured about things. This time it doesn’t seem to be having the same effect!

@Whiterabbit88 you previously said you need to find the reassurance to 'shut these thoughts down ' . Believe me I know what you mean. I have done this and am still doing this episodically. The problem is your mind is saying just this one last reassurance/google/check then it will be ok but this is flagging this thought up to your brain as a 'danger' and no amount of reassurance will ever be enough hence trying to sit with uncertainty. I feel for you as I know from experience the anxiety is excruciating .

Anxietynomoreuk and dare response. Google these two terms and they might help you.
Follow some leisure activities to distract your mind if possible.
Lastly if nothing seems to be working, meds can be a good option. I am on antidepressants and they worked when sports music and distraction techniques didn't work for me.