Health anxiety getting worse

[pussinboots61]

Does anyone else find it difficult to control health anxiety? I feel mine is getting worse and it's going round in circles.

Over the past few years I've had worries about health issues, negative test results and then something else starts.

It started with constant cystitis, bowel problems, tests came back clear.

Now its my breasts. I had a mammogram in June which came back clear so that was a relief. Now my breasts have been a bit painful these past couple of days. I've been on a Google spree again. The NHS site says that breast pain is not a sign of cancer and nothing to worry about, yet I've read where people have had clear mammograms and then ended up with breast cancer not long after. If this is the case, how can we draw comfort from negative test results? I am past the menopause by the way so I know the pain isn't anything hormonal or to do with periods.

Plus I know that when this worry goes away something else will start up.

I am on the list for my CBT therapy which Ive had before but now I'm having this set back I feel I need more.

What were you like before the health anxiety? Not this particular breast issue but before the cystitis and bowel problems? Was there anything in your childhood that could have made you scared of ill-health?

Distraction and keeping busy helps. I find it worse at night so if this happens to you, recognise this, in fact spotting any patterns regarding when it gets bad can help to help you realise it is bad because it’s a certain time or there are other contributing factors which can help to distance yourself from the feeling and help you realise that you are not your thoughts. Do you have any other mental health concerns? My health anxiety was so bad at one point a doctor told me I was seeing the wrong type of doctor. Rude I thought at the time but he was actually right as I’ve collected a couple of neurological diagnoses since then.

Thank you for your replies. I've always worried about my health from being a teenager when i was woried that a nagging headache I had was a brain tumour.

I've just got home now and noticed my nose has been been bleeding sli8ghtly, this is another thing that keeps coming and going and worries me. It's never ending

What prompted the fear when you were a teenager? That's a very specific concern from a headache.

Just want to send a lot of empathy and support your way as I know that health anxiety can be debilitating ❤️

Have you considered seeing a therapist to try and get to the bottom of the causes/ triggers for the anxieties? Sometimes it can be a trauma response from something that happened a while back, but has resurfaced due to elevated stress, feeling unhappy or hormones as you mentioned.

At times our brain can get stuck on craving reassurance and that can be super stressful. I also don’t think you should underestimate the power of media. If you use social media there is a chance that your algorithms have adjusted to provide you more content on things that feed your anxieties more (I.e stories or pages on certain conditions, the food we eat, the water we drink etc). If you don’t use social media we still absorb a lot of information through the newspaper, radio, TV adverts and even bus stops (I have driven past signs with stats on diagnoses).

Perhaps you could try consciously avoiding or reducing the amount of time you spend absorbing information from these platforms whilst you focus on your own well-being - doing what makes you happy and what helps you to relax. Meditation is also often recommended as it exercises our brain to stay in the moment rather than running away with our thoughts.