New to the Hypochondriac scene.

[captainbeers02]

Hello,
I am 21 years old and have recently discovered i have sever "health anxiety". It all started when i had the flu from the severe flu outbreak we are having. i then caught a minor sti and was treated for it. I did how ever worry about it for almost 2months and went to the doctor 3 times because the first time it did not get better. He told me that he sees nothing to worry about and that i am now fine and not contagious. i have found this to be true so far. However just about the same time i started taking anti viral meds i noticed a small new floater in my eye. Which of course let to an eye appointment where i had my LEFT  eye ONLY dilated and examined. The doctor said both my eyes were fine, but just had to tell me the signs to look out for. So of course every single flash of light i see or floater i see freaks me out and makes me only 2 seconds away from calling the doctor and rushing back in there. THEN i got a cold 2 weeks later which i am still just fighting off and i STILL have a sore throat after 2 weeks and notice possible swollen lymphnodes (since im not a doctor i cant really tell). Now of course because i kept getting sick i now think i have and underlying HIV infection of lymphoma. I have been driving everyone close to me insane with all of this and i dont wish to keep on bothering people and i want to be able to live my life. My questions are these...does it sound like i have HIV or lymphoma or something minor like allergies? Also what can i do to help my anxiety? 

[vardnas]

Welcome captain,

No, it doesn't sound like you have HIV or lymphoma. It does sound like you have anxiety, though. So I guess you're in the right place.

Listen, right now you're caught up in a cycle of fear-symptom-fear. Because you're stressed, your body is reactive, and every time you feel one of these physical manifestations, you react fearfully, thereby ramping up the stress in your body, which only makes it MORE reactive and symptomatic. To treat your anxiety, you've got to short out that circuit, so to speak.

When you react fearfully, what do you do? You jump online and research your symptom, or you run to the doctor to get more tests, or you run to your family and friends to receive confirmation that you're fine and not dying. As good and comforting as all of these things feel in the moment, they're actually what mental health professionals call "negative reinforcement behaviors" because they help reinforce, in your mind, that you NEED them to deal with the fear, and also they reinforce that what you're experiencing bodily really IS dangerous, because despite tests and reassurances, your body keeps being reactive and symptomatic.

So, you ask how to deal with your anxiety—there's lots of ways. First, try and curb these negative reinforcement behaviors. When you get the urge to panic or jump online or run to the doctor, take a moment and see what it is you're doing. It doesn't really matter what else you do as far as treatment is concerned, if you don't get a handle on these types of behaviors, you're not going to feel better. Acceptance that what you're experiencing is anxiety and nothing more is the other CRUCIAL element to recovery. You have to quash that little voice in the back of your head that says, "but what if it's something else?"

Anxiety treatments that people on the AZ have found helpful are things like talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, medication (both anti-anxiety and antidepressant), meditation and breathing exercises, yoga, exercise, hobbies and changing eating habits (there are more). Have you talked to a doctor about anxiety and how to possibly go about treating it? Treatment is not a magic bullet—it won't make you feel better right away, but if you're diligent with it, you WILL feel better, I promise.

[captainbeers02]

Vardnas,
Thanks! This actually helped me out a a lot. Yes, i have been rushing to the internet and searching my symptoms. I had read an article on hypochondriacs that use the internet, and it said that if you search your symptoms you will always find a result. A result that is usually associated with something terrible. This does not mean that you have this illness. Most of the time its just something minor like stress or a cold. But since your worried in the first place the bad results freak you out the most even though they are highly illogical. I am incredibly guilty of this doing this.

I try to look at it like this, as logically as possible. I could not possibly have aids or hiv because i've only had unprotected sex once about 4 years ago and that girl does not have any std of any kind. The odds of getting it through any other means, other than unprotected sex, are incredibly slim to none. As far as lymphoma goes..im an otherwise healthy 21 year old who does not smoke and only occasionally drinks. I dont have any of the risk factors for having it. I'm really freaking out over that though because i have had a sore throat and minor cold symptoms going on 3 weeks now. Now even though i still feel all the mucus from the cold in my throat, and i still clearly have a cold that my allergies are not helping, im still freaking out about having some sort of underlying issue. But as you have stated this is more then likely stress related. Because i've been stressing about all my symptoms for the past two months im probably making it hard for my body to rest enough to fight off a simple cold quickly. Is this possible?

I am very close to having another break down and just running to the doctor. Im trying to avoid doing this because i am still a dependent in my household and it would cost my parents more money and thats not fair to them. I dont want to run off to the doctor on the false pretense that i have something wrong with me. Basically i dont wanna waste my own and others time and money on tests and doctors visits that i dont actually need. But i am worried that maybe there is something wrong and if i dont go then the worst will happen. But i dont feel that i am only thinking i need to go out of anxiety.  I have a life i need to live. I NEED to get over this. Not just for me but for the people close to me and my career.

I have looked into breathing techniques and have even talked to a "stress counselor" who taught me some. They do work but i can see i have a long way to go.

[hypomom]

You already got the perfect advice so I will keep this short. Get to a doctor now and get control. Do NOT let this ruin your life. You have been sick and had a weakened immune system  and guess what..? That happens to everyone from time to time. Good luck to you and get out there and LIVE!

[captainbeers02]

Just thought id up date anyone that took interest in my post. Last night my sore throat got to a point where i could not even sleep or talk. This morning i had to go to the doctor, the pain was just too much, it turns out i do have strep throat and have been given antibiotics. Im very capable of accepting this as im prone to getting strep throat a lot. Even without my tonsils. What has my anxiety acting up about it is that i have no other symptoms. No fever, chills, nothing. Just incredible throat pain. Then as im going to get the Rx filled the pharmacists tell me that the medicine i was prescribed has some of the same ingredients in it as ceclor. Im highly allergic to ceclor and the doctor knows this. How could he of not known to prescribe something else at first? Thankfully the pharmacy called the doctor and got me the correct meds. However this makes me doubt my doctor even more. Am i just being a worrier?

[SighNoMore]

First I am sorry you are dealing with strep! No fun! Second, I am highly allergic to penicillin and my old longtime doctor prescribed me a ned with it. She knew my allergy, but I honestly think she spaced it. This happened long before my HA kicked in, and I just surmised that she forgot.

I think you are probably hyper focused on something else being amiss so it is easy to start to doubt your doctor.