hypochondria

I've just downloaded ab audiobook entitled How to Re-wire your Anxious Brain. I am feeling better already just discussing this with all of you but I will certainly look into CBT. Thanks

The worst thing to do, I think, is google a disease or your symptoms . A true hypochondriac will then suffer from all of them. I know the internet is helpful but it's probably best to us the 111 help line, which hopefully they will be upgrading soon (back to what it used to be when it was NHS Direct and you could talk to an actual health professional.

grandi please do talk to your GP and ask about access to CBT. There is good access in some areas although sadly others do have very long waiting lists especially for individual meetings. There are other options, though. Workshops can be really helpful, if for no other reason than to give a sense that you are not alone. Also you could ask about books on prescription, should be available from the library which can be a good beginning. You aren't alone with this issue and your doctor won't be horrified. Wishing you well.

Ask your GP for help, granDi. They should be able to refer you for suitable treatment. Good luck.

My DH self-diagnoses quite a lot, usually quite complex things which he maintains he knows more about that the GP. I imagine GPs aren't terribly keen on that, especially when they probably have a simpler explanation (that DH doesn't want to hear) for his symptoms. DH is not a hypochondriac; I think he just has difficulty dealing with what other people think is the obvious truth.

GranDi Lots of good advice on here. My biggest worry now is having a migraine (which in my case robs me of vision, speech and feeling on one side) or other problem when I am looking after DGC. I have to convince myself when it has happened in the past things have always worked out, but it still makes me anxious.

After being knocked down by a car last year my GP suggested CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) for the anxiety attacks I suffered afterwards. Luckily I had attended a course on it before I finished my job and I 'self administered' as the waiting list made it impossible to see a therapist. I have improved dramatically and as new worries come along I forget the old ones! Not sure if this helps but Good Luck anyway.

Agreed Elegran. Personally I wouldnt even trust myself to diagnose a broken leg.

I was wondering if the op keeps looking up medical things on the internet or in a medical book. Which, in her case, is not going to prove helpful.

(I mean, be realistic about the real and understandable fear some may have)

Unless of course it's a possible recurrence of a previous problem which potentially could be terminal.

Let's be realistic here - I am a bit paranoid myself about that very possibility!

ankers It is very easy to self diagnose flu or a broken leg, but if you decide it is something rare or terminal, you you will probably be wrong.

Grandi it does seem that you need some professional help to deal with this. There are counsellors out there well versed in finding strategies to help you cope. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Good luck.

How do you go about self diagnosing?

Without wishing to alarm anybody may I just remind you of Spike Milligan's epitaph on his tombstone?

"I told you I was ill"

My ex used to have any condition that was in the news. As far as I know, he has never yet had gallstones or tuberculosis.

I certainly have noticed that when I worry about things quite unreasonably, it's because I am over-tired. That's the first thing now that I say to myself when I find that everything seems to be on top of me. I occasionally worry about my health and am convinced that something is drastically wrong when it's usually nothing, but since I had a barrage of tests in hospital on Monday and all came back with no problems, then I probably will feel quite healthy for the next few weeks!

Has anyone read 'Three Men in a Boat'? One of them goes to the library and reads a book listing diseases and illnesses and decides he's got all of them except one - and feels quite hurt that he hasn't got that one as well.

Moving IS one of the most traumatic situations in life. I clearly remember lying on a sofa suffering from pins and needles and being convinced I had MS when I was supposed to be preparing to move house with 3 young kids. I didnt have MS, we did move and I did feel exhausted afterwards. That was 36 years ago. Personally I do find myself feeling anxious about situations that never bothered me before so maybe my hypochondria is more about anxiety than physical symptoms. I do try and remind myself of things I have done recently that prove I am physically strong and also that the symptoms I am feeling (or imagining) are intermittent - usually alleviated by being distracted by a pleasant experience or exercise which would not be the case if I really had some awful disease.

Just after we moved here five years ago, I began to feel ill and in pain and I lost a lot of weight because I didn't couldn't bring myself to eat anything. I genuinely thought I was going to die. I was sent for all sorts of tests but they all showed there was nothing wrong with me - doc said it was just stress brought on by the move. That was a first for me! When DH was in the Army we moved nine times in nineteen years and I never found it stressful.

CBT might help you deal with your anxieties and worries but accessing this through the NHS is not easy, there is a big queue - you could of course go private if funds allow it does have excellent results.

Last year I seemed to think there was something wrong with me all the time, I had aches and pains on aches and pains, but the doctor could find nothing wrong, I think perhaps it was mainly stress, as the other half was having all sorts of tests. After the doctor examined my chest, and could find nothing wrong, I said to him "I am really quite healthy" and he said "Yes, you are, but if you are worried we should sort it out" The next week I was in hospital! Nothing serious just a broken hip, but all the other aches and pains vanished, and they took me off my blood pressure tablets!
Seriously I do think if you are anxious about anything it reacts on your health, and perhaps there is something else going on in your life?

I think my DH is a bit like that - I usually manage to convince him otherwise and he has often mentioned things to the GP who is usually able to allay his fears. Do you have anyone to talk to about this - or the current fear? I am sure it is worrying. I am the same age and just think that every year is a bonus as I have had my - three score years and ten- I too am healthy enough and able to do things - got blood pressure but controlled OK with the meds.
Try not to worry and make a GP app or ring whatever is the new NHS helpline if you are really worried. Hope you start to feel better.