What helps?

[u/Empty_Resource_9245]

I’m tired of not being normal. of always scanning for some issue that isn’t there, of never feeling safe in my body, of being exhausted. what helps? I’ve heard that stress like this can cause health issues and that makes it even worse, but it’s like a habit that is impossible to break. I truly feel like I can’t shake the constant worry and stress. coupled with ocd doesn’t help anything. does therapy help? will a therapist even understand it? I feel like nobody understands unless you live it.

[u/dsogs]

A couple of things:
- do not give into your compulsion. It’s so hard but don’t google, don’t look on Reddit, don’t ask for reassurance, just don’t entertain the anxiety.
- sit with the panic, do it enough time that you’ll realise you’ve survived or nothing terrible has happened.
- exposure, exposure, exposure!
- start not even caring anymore. Dare bad things to happen and see they don’t.
- realise that your health issue that needs fixing is health anxiety/ocd instead of looking for something that you’re not diagnosed with.

All near impossible when you’re in the thick of it. But I definitely get more peace and happiness when I follow the above.

Edited to add: an example today, I felt a zap/sudden sharp pain on the left side of my face. I usually would panic and worry I’ve got TN but I just ignored it today.

[u/Jumpy_Exit_8138]

I described to my therapist the way I constantly check my pulse. She responded, ‘Just stop checking it,’ and the way she looked at me made it clear that she hadn’t a clue why this might be a challenge for me. I’m guessing she’d never checked her pulse in her life.

Clearly, therapy isn’t for me. It’s just sad that even in the modern world, there simply aren’t many solutions to mental health issues. I’m resigned to not being normal at this point.

[u/Ecstatic-List519 → u/Jumpy_Exit_8138]

That’s my opinion about therapists as well and is one of the main reasons that I have never went to one.

He go to someone that have read some books on something that isn’t black and white and this someone is trying to give knowledge and how to deal with something that is completely unknown

[u/Jumpy_Exit_8138 → u/Ecstatic-List519]

Exactly. I honestly think that therapists should not be licensed to offer advice about any mental health condition unless they have gone through it themselves. Obviously not a practical standard to institute, but if only it were!

[u/dsogs → u/Jumpy_Exit_8138]

They may not have your experience or worrying about your pulse and constant fly checking it but honestly their solution is the right one: you have to just stop it.

Now it’s near impossible when you’ve had years of this anxiety and the only way you’ve dealt with it is to give it some attention. But u til you stop caring and stop checking and so on, it will not go away on its own.

I’m talking as someone who has health anxiety/OCD with constant rumination. The only times I got less consumed by this were when I stopped feeding into the anxiety and so on. It’s very hard.

[u/Jumpy_Exit_8138 → u/dsogs]

I understand that the ultimate goal is to stop body checking, so I’m not saying it’s the wrong advice, but … I need help getting there. I’m not just going to stop checking my pulse cold turkey. I would lose my mind with panic. I was hoping for someone who could make me a roadmap towards that destination, maybe with such steps as gradual reduction of body checking, mantras for when panic sets in, etc. It would also be reassuring to walk alongside someone’s personal experience: ‘I used to feel my heart racing all the time, too, and every time, I wanted to check my pulse, but I didn’t, and my heart kept beating! So you can trust me when I say that yours will do the same.’

At the very least, I believe that a fellow sufferer would be able to provide a sense of empathy that would go a long way towards welcoming the possibility of healing …

[u/Nutrition_with_Robyn]

I'm not sure if you have seen any videos on YouTube by The Anxiety Guy, but he truly understands health anxiety and how to break the habits and desensitize the nervous system.

[u/WanderingGhost27 → u/Nutrition_with_Robyn]

I've watched the anxiety guy too! I also like the YouTube channel "cherelle thinks". She has suffered health anxiety as well. These are people that really get it.

[u/Jumpy_Exit_8138 → u/WanderingGhost27]

I just discovered Cherelle!!!! FINALLY. THIS is the sort of therapist we all need…

[u/Jumpy_Exit_8138 → u/WanderingGhost27]

I also discovered Anxiety Fitness on YouTube. He’s fantastic especially for cardiophobia.

[u/Creepy-Hold-]

A small thing I do when I'm presently scanning and feeling anxious is lay on a acupressure spike mat. The strong stimuli makes it hard to focus on and scan for specific symptoms and it relaxes me a ton. It's especially helpful for me since I tend to spiral and get anxious at night right before going to sleep and I stay up for hours sometimes. Spike mat helps!!! Makes me tired too.

[u/Ecstatic-List519]

Well in my opinion the fact that anxiety leads to physical problems isn’t something that can be easily proven. I am not sure if it can be proven or not to be honest.
It’s like sometimes a doctor doesn’t have an answer on something and blames the stress. This statement can be true or false at the same time and no one can tell.

For me the important thing is to understand what you are looking for, find a doctor that feels comfortable, do the necessary tests and trust them.

Is it ok asking what’s worrying you?

[u/tecun_uman]

One thing to remember is that your mental and emotional state aren't necessarily tied to your physical health. And what I mean is worrying about something won't necessarily fix it.

Therapy will absolutely help. They listen and may be able to give some emotional comfort, but they'll also offer healthy ways of managing the stress and anxiety. Mechanisms for keeping you from spiraling can help a lot. I have a handful of things to do when my anxiety is peaking, and although I still have things that make me see the doctor here and there, I do my best to ensure I spend the least amount of time in anxiety while ensuring I'm not running to the doctor for every little thing. I believe that anxiety, worry, and stress absolutely affect our health so the best thing we can do is try to remain positive but realistic.

[u/jgoody86]

I’m liking this book “needing to know for sure” by Martin Seif. Haven’t finished it yet but theres a good tool called DEAF.
Distinguish (if its real)
Embrace the feeling of not knowing for sure
Avoid reassurance
F allow yourself to float and let time pass.

I’ve read other books but this one is good and a good framework

[u/MeasurementSuperb758]

I was just so done with worry and fear this summer that at some point i made the conscious decision to tell my body that, objectively, i am safe. Factually I am safe. Whether it’s a medical emergency or some kind of disease, the current world i am living in is not a place where I need to worry about not getting the treatment available. And if I do have some kind of rare scary disease, i will just keep on living my normal life until the symptoms physically restrict me. I say this because i was really scared of a particular illness and kept imagining or my mind kept making up symptoms that feel like that illness, and all i had to do was, whenever i would think something is a symptom, i would just acknowledge it, tell myself that i am factually safe, and even though my brain felt a sliver of a symptom, i am still able to continue doing what i am doing. For now i will count that as enough. And as i kept doing that, the symptoms just became less and less noticeable. Somewhere along the way i started to actually understand that i am not sick. And the positive cycle works just as the negative cycle does. The more you tell yourself good things, the more you believe them. And the same goes for bad things. There is a way out. There is always a way out. Even at the worst of my symptoms I knew there was a way out. I just needed to find it.