Hi, I know your pain! My fears of heart diseases cost me a significant sum of money, consulting several doctors before I began to believe what they all were saying. You should have more trust. These people were professionally trained to find and cure all sorts of diseases, so even if some of them are worse than others, if they all are telling you that your worries are out of proportion, they can’t all be wrong. I know it’s easy to say it, coping with health anxiety is not so easy. But you can do it, because you want to feel normal, and you don’t want to spend all your money on doctors, while your life goes by.
Hypochondria can be treated the same way as OCD. Its very nature is obsessive. I recommend you to search for a therapist who specializes in OCD and does ERP sessions. It helped me immensely with my hypochondria and general anxiety issues.
I know this all too well. Doctors who dismiss all your symptoms and tell you it’s all in your brain… It’s good that you’re addressing your stomach issues. It’s all in the gut: our immune system, the production of serotonin and dopamine, neurotransmitters… Sometimes simple vitamin deficiencies may cause depression. A good diet is essential for growing good bacteria in your gut. Keep visiting your gastroenterologist, even if they tell you to take sedatives. I’ve had a massive improvement in my health and a boost of energy, all thanks to my doctor who cared about my microbiome as well as my brain chemicals. Good luck, man!
I successfully coped with my mild anxiety with a low dose of an SSRI. I think sedatives help more with things like insomnia or psychosis. You’re right, it’s depressing to take meds all the time. I tried to get off SSRI, but my anxiety returned, and I can’t afford it with my kind of job, so I think pills are the lesser evil. Why don’t you tell your psychiatrist that the sedative isn’t effective?
For how long have you had this health paranoia? If it’s more than a year, just think about it. If it were something dangerous, you’d be dead by now, or at least your condition would be seriously deteriorating. We all have some gut issues, look at what we eat! It’s OK if you want to take extra precautions, but you should stop worrying about things that are out of your control. Test norms target some mythical average human being, you can’t rely on them as your only source of truth.
It may sound weird, but regular appointments with my medical providers actually help me cope with my health anxiety. It’s counterintuitive, as we should want to forget about doctors for as long as possible. However, when I’m told to relax and stop worrying, all I do is worry more. So I made peace with my desire to have an extra control of my health. My family and friends got used to my obsession with healthy lifestyle, and their support helped me tremendously!
I deal with similar issues! Had candida too, and dysbiosis. I never know what to believe, when two doctors tell me different things. I think taking pills would only spur my anxiety. I’ve settled with a slow approach: strict diet and probiotics. I do go to therapy though, for completely different mental health issues. But I think it helps with my health overall. So your doctors may be onto something if they suggest you take care of your mental health too.
I feel you. The only two things that help me with my obsessive thoughts are therapy (the real one, not meds) and distracting myself in any way I can. When life is busy, I find that work and family issues worry me more than my health. But whenever life gives me a break, my brain immediately begins to worry about health. All I can do is tell myself that I’ve previously worried about so many things, and none of them turned out to be true, so this time it’s probably not true either.
Since I’ve had my first baby, I’m anxious about her health and my own health all the time. I guess my depression fuels my anxiety, and vice versa. I believe that all is connected in our body and our mind, so you can’t treat them separately. I wish you to find your healing path and to live a long happy life!
How do your health issues manifest? Do they negatively affect your everyday life? Or do you measure your health only based on blood tests? Most doctors will tell you that any serious illness would not stay unnoticed, you’d have strong symptoms. If you had to rate on a scale 1 to 10, what makes your life more miserable: your physical symptoms or your mental worrying about your health? Try to be as unbiased as you can. The answer will be your guide on what specialists can help you most.
Hello,
According to Harvard medical school gut-brain connection can link anxiety to stomach problems and vice versa. The gastrointestinal tract is sensitive to emotion. Anger, anxiety, sadness, elation all these feelings can trigger the symptoms in gut.Harvard study says the brain has direct effect on stomach and intestines. For example the mere thought of eating can release stomach juices before food get inside the stomach. This connection is both ways. when there is no obvious physical cause then in such cases it is difficult to try to heal a distressed gut without considering the role of stress and emotion.
Deviation can be normal variant. You need to start being aware of how your worries affect you and your behaviour.
stay active socially will help your well being
you need to avoid examing your body for sign of illness and repeatedly looking for reassurance that you are healthy.