Anxiety/health

Polly Same here it's been a lifelong battle. I used to worry myself sick about the children, then the grandchildren, not forgetting myself and DH. I’ve no answer, when I mentioned it to the GP they suggested CBT, which I declined. I just need to be reassured every time there’s a health scare. That’s all. So it’s never ending.

Yes. Same. Spent mist of my life panicking over safety, unable to deal with uncertainty, unable to relax until I know it’s ‘safe’ and terrified of the anxiety if it wasn’t. Must be a way to retrain the brain?

Pollyj

Yes. Same. Spent mist of my life panicking over safety, unable to deal with uncertainty, unable to relax until I know it’s ‘safe’ and terrified of the anxiety if it wasn’t. Must be a way to retrain the brain?

There is. Cognitive behavioural therapy does exactly that.

There are several ways to change your negative thinking.

Here’s just one.

www.veenaugargolyogatherapy.com/post/michael-mosley-changes-his-brain-with-mindfulness

I’m sorry you have found a lump Polly and anyone would be anxious about that while waiting for the result. ?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is very effective at helping you to re-train your thoughts but you have to be open to it.
You do need to want to do it. If for instance you start a course telling yourself it is not going to work for you then it probably won’t.
I wish you Good Luck with the lab results and managing your anxiety. It can be crippling.

Pollyj. I could have written your post. You are not alone. My childhood was frightening and the fear has never left me. It has now manifested into health anxiety so severe that if I even get a spot on my face I am Googling to see if it could be fatal.
My husband like yours, has had health issues. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer 8 years ago. I asked if he was scared. He said he wasn't and that he would be scared if they told him he had something to be scared about, which they didn't. I am ashamed of myself when there are people who are really ill
With regards to your lump, by way of some reassurance, I had one a few years ago. My GP said he thought it was a cyst. It turned out he was right. The days waiting for my hospital appointment were torture. Someone who had had a similar experience told me to be careful how I crossed the road as my mind would be elsewhere. I wish you luck.

Oh PollyJ.

My heart goes out to you. I can so relate. I had a breast scare a few years ago and I was terrified... couldn't eat or sleep on the days between the letter telling me I needed to go back for further examination and the actual recall date. It was about a week. It was the most horrendous week.. I was so scared I was literally leaving my body with tension!

I was fine as it happened. They reassured me in the letter that most recalls are negative but they need to check if the X-ray wasn't clear enough. This may well be the case for you too. Most cysts are just that.

I too can get anxious very easily. It originated with my mother being a perfectionist and a bully.

Many years ago I learned some breathing techniques and I also meditate and those do really help. If I feel anxious I immediately do the deep breathing exercise and feel a lot of relief. I also found acupuncture helped me to be more relaxed.

As you say, it's a very difficult thing to live with. Try and get some help if you can. PM me if you would like to.

Kate1949

*Pollyj*. I could have written your post. You are not alone. My childhood was frightening and the fear has never left me. It has now manifested into health anxiety so severe that if I even get a spot on my face I am Googling to see if it could be fatal.
My husband like yours, has had health issues. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer 8 years ago. I asked if he was scared. He said he wasn't and that he would be scared if they told him he had something to be scared about, which they didn't. I am ashamed of myself when there are people who are really ill
With regards to your lump, by way of some reassurance, I had one a few years ago. My GP said he thought it was a cyst. It turned out he was right. The days waiting for my hospital appointment were torture. Someone who had had a similar experience told me to be careful how I crossed the road as my mind would be elsewhere. I wish you luck.

Thank you. Helps to know.

What we need is reassurance isn't it?

Wish there was a ‘like’ button for each post. I do appreciate all your responses.

Yup. And we want it NOW! Which we can’t, of course.

It helps to know we are not the only ones and nowadays it’s easier with the various health forums on the net. Men in general don’t seem to panic like we do assuming the worst every time.

I completely understand what you’re saying. I’ve suffered from anxiety and depression since I was a little girl. Now I’m approaching 70 and it just doesn’t get any easier. I’ve had every form of therapy, treatment & counselling available over the years. It’s crippling!! My health anxiety is the worst but not my only form of anxiety. My mind is forever asking “what if”? I catastrophise every possible scenario. I’m going on a family holiday in the summer and in my head I shall be too unwell to go/be taken ill whilst away etc. etc. I have several very real health issues and several more imagined but terrifying ones. I’m sending you hugs ?

Oh Grandyma. It's awful isn't it? I'm sure Pollyj is reassured that it's not just her. My husband calls me 'Mrs Whatif'.

Another Mrs Whatif here, from trivial things like the weather (too hot or raining?) to major stuff, like will we be taken ill or mugged or victims of a terrorist attack? Seems laughable while I’m writing it here but real enough during the night!

It's seems real to me! This is me before setting off to the local shops -
What if I faint, fall, have a nose bleed, get run over, get dizzy, feel or be sick, get stabbed, mugged. Note: It's all about me. Ridiculous.

Reassurance is definitely what you need , we all do at times I certainly know I do. I can fully understand how you feel ... but the doctor thinks it is a cyst, not saying he is right or wrong, but I am sure he wouldn't have said that if he thought it was anything else. Have your cyst/ lump checked out ... yes you are worried , no words can anyone say will stop you worrying. Like someone has already put, sometimes called back, but doesnt mean it is bad, I have been called back before, as sometimes things are not clear on the scan etc. Your doctor will understand how you feel, as no doubt had few patients with same anxieties.
Either make an appointment or phone appoinment to the surgery explain how you feel ... I know tablets or medication won't solve your problem , but may need that little bit extra help till you know ... reason I say that is because seems like affecting your everyday life at the moment ... which you need help with ... hope everything goes well

PollyJ- a couple of years ago, while undressing in the evening, I found the inside of my bra bloodstained. First I thought that I had scratched myself. So with the help of a mirror scrutinised my breast area and found nothing. Felt for lumps, but nothing. Couldn’t wait for the morning . Saw GP , who examined me and said there was definitely a lump….immediate referral to the Breast Clinic, seen within the 2 weeks, followed by operation, biopsy, waited for results…..agonising over the results, but then kept thinking, thank Heaven it’s me and not the children or grandchildren. And then again fear sets in. To cut a long story short, [the lump was benign]
Polly this shows, even a bleeding lump does not have to be anything sinister.
Be calm and distract yourself ….I visited my friends, they took me out for lunches etc. Good luck

Grandyma

I completely understand what you’re saying. I’ve suffered from anxiety and depression since I was a little girl. Now I’m approaching 70 and it just doesn’t get any easier. I’ve had every form of therapy, treatment & counselling available over the years. It’s crippling!! My health anxiety is the worst but not my only form of anxiety. My mind is forever asking “what if”? I catastrophise every possible scenario. I’m going on a family holiday in the summer and in my head I shall be too unwell to go/be taken ill whilst away etc. etc. I have several very real health issues and several more imagined but terrifying ones. I’m sending you hugs ?

Thank you. Back at you. X

Thank you all. Xx

I had blood in my urine. Tested for bladder cancer. Nothing. Tested for ovarian cancer. Nothing. Turned out to be lack of oestrogen! Lump in my arm turned out to be a cyst. Lump in my breast turned out to be a cyst. Another lump in breast turned out to be a swelling because my underwear was too tight!
I’m just saying there can be so many different reasons for medical conditions.

Skydancer

I had blood in my urine. Tested for bladder cancer. Nothing. Tested for ovarian cancer. Nothing. Turned out to be lack of oestrogen! Lump in my arm turned out to be a cyst. Lump in my breast turned out to be a cyst. Another lump in breast turned out to be a swelling because my underwear was too tight!
I’m just saying there can be so many different reasons for medical conditions.

Thank you, yes. For me there is never any other possibility than the worst. So infuriating. X

Pollyj I too suffer from extreme anxiety, particularly relating to health. I know it stems from a very unhappy childhood when I was surrounded by my parents’ health issues, none of which ended well. I tend to do the avoidance thing - don’t go anywhere near a doctor unless I absolutely have to. A few years ago I had a serious health scare and, like you, I thought ‘I’m never going to get through this’. But I did! I trained myself to live in the moment. Throughout the day, I would tell myself ‘I’m here now this minute; I’m fine now this minute’. If my thoughts went into ‘what if …’ I forced them back into the here and now. It made the whole situation bearable. I learned how to make the most of the moment and not focus on what might or might not come next. The past is gone; the future is unknown; all we have is the here and now. I’m not saying it’s easy and I still have anxiety but, at least, I have a strategy to deal with it when it rears it’s ugly head. I wish you well Oh, and please avoid Dr Google!!!

I fully understand your anxiety, CBD is worth doing.
Get the lump sorted and tell GP you suffer from Anxiety it could be just hormones?
Hope you are feeling better soon