Need to be convince that I'm alright

[van151]

Hi I'm from Indonesia and I'm 37 years old.
Currently I have diarrhea and some pain in my stomach. The doctor gave me  nexium for my medication. Last month I had the same diarrhea and the same pain. I'm worried that I have a stomach cancer. My father in law is a psychiatrist and he knew about my anxiety problem, he is sure that I'm alright and it is only my anxiety. 3 monts ago I lose my job and I keep trying to be positive, to accept this situation and move on but it is still hard for me.

I try to convince myself that is nothing wrong with me and it is juat my anxiety getting worse, but still the image of me lying in hospital bed fighting cancer is always in my head. Please someone to reassure me that is just my anxiety or maybe IBS.

[gcalex]

It seems likely that you are fine, but we cannot diagnose you over the internet.  Certainly what you describe are common anxiety symptoms.

[vardnas]

If your father in law cannot convince you, and you cannot convince yourself, what makes you think WE will be able to convince you?

Reassurance is a fleeting measure of peace and in fact a detrimental one because it reinforces that idea that we NEED it to feel better. The key is learning how to reassure OURSELVES that nothing is wrong and that we are not in danger. My therapist calls reassurance (whether it's in the form of googling symptoms or running to the doctor or seeking advice from friends or the AZ) negative reinforcement.

So no, we can't just reassure you that everything is okay (which it most likely is) because even if we did say, yeah everything is fine with you, you wouldn't believe us in the long run anyway. Temporarily feeling better about your situation is not the solution to your problem. Dealing with your anxiety in a real and manageable way should be your top priority.

[van151]

Thank you for your advice, and yes I need to deal with my anxiety problem rather than asking someone to convince me that I'm alright. My father in law gave me several pills to calm my nerve and tell me take that pill last night, now I dont have any pain in my stomach.

I never tought that my anxiety could make me have a really bad dierrhea and wierd pain feeling in my stomach.