Have you ever questioned everything that’s happening in your life? If so, then you are not alone. It is estimated that 6-9% of the population suffers from hypochondria on a regular basis, making it one of the most common mental health problems around. We know there are many misconceptions about what this condition entails and how debilitating it can be for sufferers, but if you have an interest in learning more about being a hypochondriac or just want to feel better after reading these articles, then read on!
The “how to stop being a hypochondriac” is a question that has been asked time and time again. It’s not easy for someone who is constantly worried about their health. But there are ways to stop being a hypochondriac.
It began with a few of muscle twitches as I was attempting to sleep, which is a frequent but innocuous phenomenon that many individuals have when sleeping.
Nonetheless, I persuaded myself that it had to be something more sinister.
As I convinced myself it was the degenerative, nerve-destroying ALS, I instantly saw the time on my lifetime clock decrease.
Even for a fraction of a second, entertaining my health worry in this manner was enough to set off a panic attack.
I lay up all night, anxiously trying to distract myself from my thoughts, until at 6 a.m., I couldn’t physically keep my eyes open any longer.
This wasn’t unusual for me; I had extreme fear over my health around once a week, combined with a continual undertone of nervous thoughts.
This was, however, a particularly severe event in the previous 15 months of living this way.
My fears usually dissipate by the next day, but they remained this time. I was still nervous, and it was difficult to ignore my nagging suspicion that something more nefarious was going on.
After scheduling an appointment with a doctor, he examined my limbs and tested their reflexes before deciding that my symptoms were most likely anxiousness.
But I remained anxious even later.
My struggle has been continuing since I was diagnosed in December 2020. (Picture: Jennifer Medlicott)
During the first phone interview, I had revealed to the doctor that I suffer from health anxiety, which I regretted. I’m concerned that telling medical experts this may affect their diagnosis or make me seem less serious, even if just subconsciously.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that this doctor seemed to really care about my issues, I received the impression that my symptoms had been assigned to anxiety much too quickly.
Excessive fear about being dangerously sick is characterized by health anxiety, often known as hypochondria. However, this term just begins to scrape the surface of what it’s like to live with it.
It may manifest itself in a variety of ways, including routinely scanning your body for indications of sickness, excessively studying health information, fearing that the physicians have missed something, and even projecting your own health worries onto loved ones.
My quest has been a continuing fight since I was diagnosed in December 2020. But the realization of how difficult it is to live in the digital age with health worry has hit me the hardest. It’s like a nightmare where I have no control over my actions or thoughts.
During the early stages of the epidemic, I started to have health concern.
Prior to lockdown, I had been afflicted with a succession of small, ordinary ailments that were quite inconvenient in the short term. My experience with tonsillitis was the most unforgettable.
I’d never had it before, so I ignored it for nearly a week as a nasty cold, until I couldn’t eat or drink without weeping in agony. Every time I swallowed, it felt like daggers were piercing my throat, and I screamed into the phone, pleading for an appointment, only to be told there were none available that day.
I scheduled a phone consultation with my doctor, who listened to my worries and concurred that I seemed to be suffering from health anxiety (Picture: Jennifer Medlicott)
The pain of these sicknesses persisted in my memory even after I had healed.
As a result, when lockdown began, the lack of diversions combined with an inordinate amount of time alone with my thoughts compounded these unpleasant recollections of being sick. And, in retrospect, I’m certain that this time of sickness contributed to the onset of my health concerns.
During lockdown, I alternated between feverishly researching symptoms and mentally noting any body sensations I might be concerned about.
In a short period of time, I’d accumulated a sizable collection of conditions that I suspected I may have. My mental health deteriorated, and worry became an unpleasant but regular companion; I felt like a shell of my former self.
But it wasn’t until I told my mother about a persistent symptom of stomach pain that I sought medical help. All of the other symptoms I was concerned about were inconsistent, but the abdominal ache persisted on a daily basis for more than two months, until I couldn’t ignore it any longer.
I was given pain medication and was sent to the hospital for an ultrasound. I got a call from my GP a few weeks after my ultrasound to discuss the findings.
He only mentioned a few minor ovarian cysts when they came back normal, with no symptoms of anything dangerous. While I was relieved, I was nonetheless concerned since the symptoms I had been experiencing were genuine and were still there.
Because ovary pain is a sign of PCOS, I sought to gain an answer by asking whether these cysts were the cause of my abdomen pain. But I was never informed for sure; instead, I was comforted that I had nothing to be concerned about.
I expected the obsessive concerns about my health to end after I was checked out, but they just got worse. At this time, I didn’t completely recognize that I was suffering from health anxiety. I was encouraged to seek medical help six months later, when I worked myself into a particularly terrible panic attack one night.
I scheduled a phone consultation with my doctor, who listened to my worries and concurred that I seemed to be suffering from hypochondria. She diagnosed me and recommended anxiety medication to assist me manage my symptoms, as well as advising me to seek Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).
The drug was first unhelpful, but after increasing the dose, my physical symptoms improved and my thoughts became more bearable. However, I felt that CBT exacerbated my health anxiety since it required me to ruminate on my concerns in order to address them – and before I could make any progress, the sessions were cut short due to my move.
I want to be able to go on social media or watch TV without being interrupted by anything that will cause me to lose sleep that night.
Since then, I’ve been on a waiting list to begin CBT again, and in the meanwhile, I’ve done my best to apply what I’ve learned. Specifically, how to end the anxiety’s vicious cycle.
When I have the inclination to research symptoms, for example, I wait five minutes before acting.
However, I get the impression that I am waging a losing battle. The worry is never-ending; one day I’m afraid my heart will stop beating in my sleep, the next I’m certain a new spot on my leg is cancer.
And the fact that I’m connected to the internet, where there appears to be an endless supply of health scare tales, doesn’t help.
I may be casually surfing through TikTok when I come across a video highlighting someone’s really unusual condition, and before I know it, I’ve worked myself up into a frenzy about getting the same problem.
Or I’ll come across a story about someone whose cancer was repeatedly ignored by physicians, making me suspicious of my doctor.
Don’t get me wrong: I understand that the amount of digital media I consume is ultimately up to me, but it doesn’t take away from how unpleasant it can be.
I want to be able to go on social media or watch TV without being interrupted by anything that will cause me to lose sleep that night..
When my anxiety becomes unbearable, I normally turn to my family for comfort. But I’m ashamed to talk about it most of the time because I know it’s ridiculous, and yet my irrationality nearly always wins.
Additional Information: Health
Because a doctor’s reassurance typically only gives brief comfort, and you can only avoid triggers so much in a world where digitalization is ever-growing, it’s difficult to specify what can be done to help those with health anxiety. But, in the end, better and more urgent therapeutic resources are required.
Although I am cautiously hopeful, I hope for a future in which our NHS is revitalized and all of its sectors are fully financed, so that individuals with disorders like health anxiety may be treated early and never see it grow into the monster it has the potential to become.
And I hope for a future in which I am able to conquer my health concerns, since that version of myself has existed in the past and I know it can again.
Do you have a personal story to tell? Send an email to [email protected] to get in contact.
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
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What It Feels Like… is an intriguing new series from Metro.co.uk that exposes one person’s moving tale, as well as the facts and emotions entangled within it, to give readers a real glimpse into their life-changing event.
“When you think you’re sick because someone else is” is a blog post by a hypochondriac. The author talks about their own experience with the disease and how they have been able to cope with it. Reference: when you think you’re sick because someone else is.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it feels like to be a hypochondriac?
A: It feels like youre constantly waiting for the next shoe to drop. You lie awake at night with your heart racing, wondering whether or not something could be more serious than it is and have been feeling sick all day because of this anxiety.
Can hypochondriacs make themselves feel?
A: Yes.
Related Tags
- hypochondriac test
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- illness anxiety disorder
- what causes hypochondria
