Anxiety

[plal]

Hi there. Recently had a tooth extracted and the after pain and sleepless nights had triggered health anxiety that has been quiet for years. Feel anxious and emotional, I have no one to talk to about it. I have had this under control for years and so disappointed it's troubling me again.

Hi 👋

I recently got a tooth removed, and my health anxiety is through the roof!
I catastrophy everything about it! No rational thought, its very frustrating!
What is making you feel anxious at the moment?

What is making you feel anxious about it?

I work in dentistry so happy to help any kind of anxiety around that if it helps.

Tooth extractions are painful and any pain in your mouth just feels 10x worse. I hate tooth ache with a passion!

Hi there, thanks for reading and responding. I guess it’s just that the procedure was awful as it was not straight forward which resulted in terrible pain afterwards, and that has started my health anxiety because you know how the anxious brain works, I find my thoughts going to stupid places and start to imagine terrible infections spreading to my brain and all sorts of catastrophic scenarios. I don’t do this willingly, my thoughts just Keep turning to terrible worries which then extend to worrying about my family and everything and anything. I lie awake so many nights which is just extra time to worry.I am not sure this is the correct forum (mumsnet) to post this kind of thing? Hope you doing ok what do you find to be the problem and what helps you?

I'm the same, I haven't eaten properly in about 4 days since I got my wisdom tooth out! Thinking I'm going to get dry socket, even without the fear of that if I wasn't worrying about that I would find something else to obsess about,
I was diagnosed years ago with pure-o it's a form of ocd, and it rears its head once in a while,
Don't know what will help this but mindfulness and exercise worked for me in the past, trying to get the motivation is another story though!

Xx

Oh my God I have a type of ocd too, it's sensorimotor ocd. So basically for five years now I am aware of every single time that I swallow and producing loads of saliva! It drove me literally to depression in the beginning but I paid for a specialist ocd counsellor and now I know how to live with it. And thanks to the dental professional for responding, I have a question if I may, should it still hurt on day five? And I am sure there is a piece of sharp starting to poke through the side of gum. And although it was a lower first molar, I keep feeling pain in the uppers above it? What on Earth?

Also, how on Earth do I navigate to my messages on the talk app? I keep going through email to see them? Cheers

Hi there, thank you for responding, I replied without messaging you direct, hope you see my message above, many thanks

I think it’s normal to freak out a bit after a health scare that triggers a repressed memory of some previous trauma. Your subconscious mind is just trying to protect you. It doesn’t understand that it doesn’t need to.

For example I know someone who stubbed her toe in the shower and later on when it was still sore her mind escalated it to ‘oh no my breast cancer has returned’ (even though she’s had a mastectomy and was totally clear and she totally knew what was causing the discomfort on a totally different area of her body).

I’ve gone to various alternative therapies for anxiety which really helped me. I’m not going into the debate of whether they are woo or not as I don’t care, they helped me. Acupuncture and kinesiology worked best for me. Mindfulness and homeopathy also helped. And then there’s antidepressants or counselling which also work and I can get from the nhs free.

There are plenty of options to get you through this difficult time, it will pass. You will be fine. I’m sorry you had such dreadful experiences

I'm on day 5 of tooth extraction aswel!
I have a mouth ulcer on my cheek that is painful so that's what is sending me down the Google rabbit hole at the moment! Is it normal?
Whatever works for you is great I would try anything myself woo or not !

I just can't wait for it to be like day 8 I think I'll be more relaxed!

The mind can really be our worst enemies! Pm of you like!

My health anxiety has been dormant for the past four years. I sailed through the pandemic. Covid didn’t give me a flicker of worry. Worked all the way through it maskless. However six weeks ago I had a bout of vertigo coupled with a bout of acid reflux. Both are still ongoing though very very much milder,Normally neither would’ve troubled me at all. But for some reason I am googling and thinking all sorts of terrible things. I hate health anxiety , it’s debilitating

It's horrible isn't it chipstick!
Like you know in your mind that you are catastrophising the thought but you still go ahead and do it,
I reckon it's all about control, trying to control the outcome of something ,
I don't know, it's just draining!
Google definitely doesn't work

Yes it’s definitely about control Solomon. Google is the worst thing for my mental health. Must keep away from it.

Oh I’m glad I’m not alone, it seems so self indulgent having health anxiety but it’s not something we do by choice! I hate it