Does anyone suffer with health anxiety?

[Mynewname2023]

I have had health anxiety at various times in my life but fairly infrequently. However last year it was worse than ever, I suffered discomfort episodically in my side and lost a few pounds. I couldn’t sleep properly for weeks, I was in tears every day and I was convinced I had cancer and ended up in a and e. Within a couple of weeks and with reassurance I suddenly felt fine.

I have often been found to have an incredibly fast heart rate, typically at doctors/hospital appointments as I go straight into panic mode. Recently I convinced myself I had a serious heart condition. I had palpitations, flutters and chest pains, I was hyper aware of every sensation. I ended up panicking as my resting heart rate shot up to 150 and I was sent to hospital. I had a battery of tests and so far they have been fine.

Has anyone been able to overcome this? My partner is lovely and understanding but I worry that he will get sick of me. I just can’t stop googling whenever I don’t feel well, I’m also overly pessimistic which doesn’t help either.

Im sorry for the essay! It just feels good to write it all down.

I haven't managed to get over it yet but I just wanted you to know that you aren't alone. I too suffer with health anxiety which mostly seems to be concerning my heart. I am also aware of every sensation and I will automatically think of the worse case scenario for my symptoms. For example, I will have a cough and think it's heart failure. I will have a palpitation and think my heart is suddenly going to stop. I do my own head in with it.

I still haven't worked out why I developed this phobia/anxiety. They say it comes from childhood but I can't pinpoint anything specific.

Forgot to mention that I normally have a fast heart rate too which most anxious people do. I take a beta blocker now though which was mainly for anxiety but it also slows my heart rate down.

This video may help you;

Solidarity, @Mynewname2023!
I'm the same. Thankfully its not all the time, but when i'm in the middle of an episode it's all consuming.

I haven't found the magic cure. I usually have whatever is bothering me checked out by a doctor, I do the recommended investigation and then I reason myself out of questioning the results. I tell myself that I can trust doctors and science and that I will never have 100% certainty so I need to learn to live with 99% assurance that I am indeed not dying.

I do not understand all this anxiety that I keep on hearing about
People say they are anxious but do not say what about
Everyone has stress in their life rom time to time

Health anxiety is being consumed by the thought that you have a severe illness. You worry about every little symptom you experience and you automatically assume it's something life threatening.

It's not rational and you don't have to understand it. Doesn't mean it's not a thing....

Hi!
I’ve had health anxiety on and off for years. I also had very bad generalised anxiety/OCD for about a year (7 years ago!) but managed to get better with counselling/ CBT.
However the health anxiety has stuck. I think we tend towards it in my family and my dad died when I was 12 - so mine very much links to being afraid I’ll die and leave my kids 😢 I also panic any time anything is wrong with them. Especially with the state of the NHS right now.
When I have a health issue I hate the uncertainty of not knowing what’s wrong with me and tie myself up in knots Googling my symptoms. (I know this is a bad idea but it’s hard to stop!)
It helps me to tell myself this feeling won’t last forever and it’s normally a couple of weeks I feel like this before I come out of it. It’s hard though, solidarity with you!

Solidarity, @Mynewname2023!

Same, I seem to go through periods thinking I've got something seriously wrong. It's all consuming and I can't focus on anything else.

I do have minor gastric health issues but these have been exacerbated by the anxiety I think. Loads of investigations have confirmed I'm fine and then the anxiety goes for a few months until I'm on to the next thing.

Currently worrying about pain in my breasts which is likely hormonal and I can't feel any lumps. Then I check and check until they really do hurt.

I'm thinking now I need to go down the CBT/medication route. Any experiences?

I It's gotten worse now I'm in my 40's.

Thanks for the replies, it’s good to know others are experiencing something similar. When I try to explain to people they don’t always realise how debilitating it is, sometimes living in constant fear. I may look into therapy but I’m not sure if there is a root cause for me. It seemed to begin in my late teens.

I also have episodic health anxiety. It mainly flares up when a friend or family member is ill with something life threatening like cancer. I had psychotherapy a few years ago and I now have a better understanding where it comes from. One of my parents had a serious mental illness, something that can be heritable, so when someone close to me is ill I always think that I'll be next in line to get it. Internally I become almost incapacitated with anxiety but externally I'll do anything I can to help the person who's ill.

CBT doesn't really help me. The one thing that helps a bit though is to imagine myself at different life stage eg me as a child, as a teenager, as there person I was in my 20's, as a new mum etc and work out which version is shouting the loudest when I get health anxiety. Generally it's the teenager, which was when I had the most problems with my mentally ill parent, and the most depression and worry and the thought that I could get the illness. It helps to know where the anxiety is coming from although it doesn't stop it completely.

@Mynewname2023 - there is always a root cause. You weren't born with this anxiety so it happened somewhere along the line; maybe the cause appears unrelated but it's there, somewhere.

Every time you get a pain or a twinge and your mind goes to the worst place, think what else could this be? Googling is not allowed.
For example if you have a headache make a list, start with your worst fear so that could be a brain tumor then start to think of other things it could be such as tiredness, hormones, stress etc etc. Think of as many things as you can even if they are horrible and write them all down. It sounds mad but sitting with a pen and paper and making a list of all the possible things it could be distracts the mind from the anxiety by making you concentrate and also helps you to become more rational as you go through the list. It really works as long as you don’t Dr Google

HI OP, have you investigated CBT? I went through a six week course of it for health anxiety and it helped a lot.

Everyone has stress in their life rom time to time

Indeed they do. Mine was being diagnosed with the condition that killed my father right on the anniversary of his death, along with another condition while the NHS was investigating the original one. IMO anxiety was justified.

Every time you get a pain or a twinge and your mind goes to the worst place, think what else could this be? Googling is not allowed

Yeah, don't google. Every doctor I've seen about my condition has looked at me and said 'You haven't googled this, have you?' in a tone of voice that implies the answer had better be no.

Essentially the above is what CBT teaches you to do and to stop the catastrophising and worse case scenario thinking.

I have terrible health anxiety, I'm sat here now feeling sick with terror as I have to have a dodgy mole removed, and automatically my mind has gone to dark places. I'm so sick and tired of worrying about dying, absolutely terrified of leaving my kids. Affects my life daily. CBT was useless, so I guess I need to think about medication. I do have general anxiety, but health worries are the worst

I've had health anxiety, too, and it can be overwhelming. It's great that your partner is supportive, but I get the worry about burdening them. When those anxious thoughts pop up, try finding something to distract yourself, even if it's just for a little while. And don't hesitate to call the anxiety attack hotline. I hope that helps!