Could my Hypochondria be fuelled by PSTD?

[haphazardbutterfly]

When I was 13 I was told that there was a chance I could have Multiple Myeloma and so I had to get tested for it. I don't think my doctor realized that I was aware that it was a cancer when he was telling my father about the risk. But my best friend at the time, her father had died from the cancer two months prior, so I was very aware of it.
From since then, just seeing the word cancer causes me to have a mini panic attack followed by an extreme fear that I currently had cancer, of any type.
I think about cancer at least 20% of my day constantly.
I've never thought that maybe I was traumatized when I was 13 or suffered from PTSD, because since I haven't been sexually or physically abused, I figured that I had no cause to think I suffered from PTSD.
But do you think maybe this is where it all started?
My hypochondria is very out of control to the point I sometimes want to cut myself. I've taken to biting myself when it gets really bad, and I know it is a form of self-injury but I keep telling myself at least its not as bad as cutting.
  I'm just such a wreck.

[not moses]

The cognitive school of psychotherapy that is predominant at this time asserts that as we think, so do we feel, and as we feel, so do we behave. What you have described is classic "distorted appraisal," at least according to the cognitivists. Fortunately, it's =very= easily treated.

There are books galore on the subject. I think the best ones were written by Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck (the co-founders of the cognitive therapy method), but Dr. Bourne's books (especially his workbooks on specific types of results of cognitive distortions like the one for anxiety) very ofetn can produce a =lot= of relief.

RG, Psy.D.

[pm]

I've been writing in the hypochondria section but just had the same thought as you. I watched my grandmother die a horribly painful and relatively unmedicated death (in the 60's) from cancer and seemed to develop hypochondria after that. After all these years of HA it never occurred to me.  My fear is cancer. My father also developed HA at that time , I now remember. It's like a light just went on. I can't believe I never connected the two. I went went through a year of CBT, which helped but the slightest abnormality in my body still strikes panic. I guess it's an underlying fear of death, but I only feel it as a sign of fear of disease.

[Katya]

I think it is quite possible your HA could be fueled by a PTSD... that's quite a scare to have at 13 years old. It seems also a lot of other people here who have HA have had really bad health scares with themselves or with someone they love.

It makes sense for me, even though it's hard to accept, that I might have some form of PTSD. My HA started only a few months after spending nearly a year helping my dad recover from a battle with leukemia, one he almost died from, but thankfully was able to make a full recovery once he started to get the right treatment. It's funny, once he started getting back to normal, I was relieved and went back to my daily life, and then only a few months later started having all these crazy symptoms, anxiety attacks, heart palpitations, a host of other things, that took me months to get sorted out once I started medication and having more therapy. Now I still struggle badly with HA, I am still recovering from a very horrible bout with it.

I understand how you feel about self-injury. I've only cut once, and most of the time my usual choice is raking my nails down some part of my body, usually my legs that leave welts that last for days. It's not a healthy coping technique at all, but I know that feeling of desperation when it seems like the only thing that gets your mind off of the HA.

Have you talked to any therapists about your issues and your health scare with melanoma when you were 13?

[Nina000]

I am right there with you 100%. I will tell you that my HYPO has come from my PTSD. This is associated with my first funeral when I was 9. I was extreamly traumatized from the whole situation. I also dealt with my ex fiance killing two people along with my grandmom having a seizure in front of me. This is all apart of my Hypo.

[pm]

The more I think about it the more I see the connection. I had a tendency toward hypochondria but it took a few major life traumas for it to really take over.

[lollidah]

Is it possible to have PTSD from a health related trauma?  For instance, something that was just horrible and scary but not really life threatening? I thought I was going to die, I called 911 and was so scared. Ever since that day (8 years ago) the panic door opened up. I had no idea what a panic attack was before that day. I have lived with it ever since. Its like I don't trust my body and anything.. and I mean ANYTHING can precipitate a panic attack.  Examples:  starting my monthly cycle causes panic, gas pains, toe pain, tooth pain.. anything can set it off. I hate always living in fear, I hate paying for doctor appointments that go nowhere. I feel crazy and worse I feel like I wear those I love down with my constant worry and complaining. I just want to feel normal and hope and pray that my head doctor can help me. I dont know.. I sometimes feel that what I have is incurable and I am hopeless. The worst part part of all of this is I can see the pattern starting in my kids. They say things like "I am having a panic attack or feel my heart its beating too hard" Its horrible to pass to disease on!  I never thought I had PTSD but reading these forums have made me think.. maybe that fateful day had more of an affect on me than I think? I have tried several medications.. no luck.. the only relief has come from telling my anxiety to "bring it", deep breathing, and of course xanax. I hate taking xanax..i worry about getting addicted to it!  so much worry