HA Taking Something Known & Benign and Making It Sinister

[AndromedaWay]

Hello :)

I've had OCD/HA for eight years, had all the therapies and medications and have achieved some temporary improvements but nothing really workable. Currently going through a MAJOR relapse.

The problem I'm having is that my HA is suddenly latching on to things I know are benign, and then bugging me about them. For example, I have a serious nerve problem in my lower back. This is known, diagnosed, has been going on for years, under treatment. But suddenly my HA is asking me "is it really that though? Or is it [dun dun dunnnnn] something else?". It's doing the same to IBS pain (again: known, under treatment, long term), migraines (same) and even my beeping eczema.

Before this relapse, I used to be able to be all: "oh, visual disturbance. Better get ready for a migraine!" and be totally okay with it. Now it's "OMIGOD IMPENDING DOOM DOOOOOOOOOOM EYE THING EYE THING DOOOM". And I can't seem to get over that thought. It's not like talking myself down from other panics because I definitely do have these things.

It's confusing the heck out of me and is incredibly frustrating. I feel like I'm going backwards. I got control of these triggers-related-to-an-actual-thing and now suddenly my HA won't accept the "proper" explanation.

Has anyone else experienced this? I feel like I'm losing the last bits of control I had.

[msgb98]

This is me.
I go through times when I am fine and then there are other times when the least little thing will set me off.
My husband even said something about how I behave to me yesterday. I guess it gets on his nerves.
I wish I could do something because there are times when someone mentions something and I go full power ahead thinking the worst is what I have.
I have gone through some very stressful times in the last year and a half to three years. Before that was not really a piece of cake but I had it under control for the most part.
What I do to help me is to go to acupuncture (which thankfully I have a session tomorrow).

[MrMoleHill]

I have been the same way, in just the last year only, though I've had generalized anxiety for about ten years.  However, recently, among all the other little conditions here and there, I had a little opaque, whitish patch develop on my bottom gums behind my last molar - where my wisdom tooth was removed many years ago. (I only noticed this while looking in there with a pocket flashlight for other reasons).  My first thought was that it was from chewing preferentially on that side, which I had been, and that it was merely a benign keratosis (callus). 

Then, just like you said, HA is asking me "is it really that though? Or is it [dun dun dunnnnn] something else?".  So, after doing the inevitable - Googling - I looked up "white patch in mouth". MISTAKE.  You can only imagine where that led. It immediately became a slippery slope with all the usual doubts and worries.  After getting over all the usual HA worries last year, Parkinson's, MS, ALS, lymphoma and brain tumors; I felt pretty good for a while. Then that stupid thing in the mouth popped up.

I'm finally out of the woods on that one, and not worrying anymore about the other things like aches, pains, feelings, and sensations.  My recent relapse has tended to be more towards things that I can see with my eyes and feel with my hands, e.g. lumps, bumps, scratches, patches, blemishes, and sores anywhere including the mouth.  Although, right now I have an itchy index finger with no rash, no bugbite, no known reason - and like you, am trying to avoid being derailed into thinking it's something sinister.

[Slangevar]

I was experiencing that until my HA found two other potentially scary things to latch onto.  My therapist says that many of us have general floating anxiety that takes advantage of anything it can.  So if you don't have any new health issues it can exploit, sometimes it'll go for the benign stuff. ESPECIALLY during a major relapse, which I am also having at the moment. Not fun, is it?  Hope you come out the other side soon!

[AndromedaWay]

I was experiencing that until my HA found two other potentially scary things to latch onto.  My therapist says that many of us have general floating anxiety that takes advantage of anything it can. So if you don't have any new health issues it can exploit, sometimes it'll go for the benign stuff. ESPECIALLY during a major relapse, which I am also having at the moment. Not fun, is it?  Hope you come out the other side soon!

That's such a good point, argh. It's like it wants something to do, so it'll pick on anything!

I went and got my eyes checked out today because I'd had enough nonsense from my OCD about a couple of floaters, and my GP had suggested it was sensible anyway to get new floaters checked out. The optician said my eyes are fine as is and floaters are just floaters, but as soon as I got home I started panicking about breast cancer. It can't just sit down for awhile, can it? Has to be obsessing about something. I almost feel like I'd be better off never resolving anything because all it does is move on if I do.

Thanks everyone for the responses, it's always good to hear other people's perspectives.