“Health anxiety is destroying my life.” Health anxiety is an excessive fear of having a serious illness. People with health anxiety may worry excessively about physical symptoms or minor irregularities in their body, even when there is no evidence for any medical problem. Therefore, they may become preoccupied with the idea that they have a serious illness and may spend hours researching their symptoms online or repeatedly visiting doctors. Health anxiety can have a significant impact on quality of life, leading to difficulty concentrating, disruption of sleep and impaired daily functioning.

A person’s thoughts are likely to become distorted and exaggerated. He or she may focus on the worst possible outcome and interpret any physical symptom as a sign of serious illness, no matter how unlikely that may be. In some cases, the person may believe that he or she is having a heart attack, even when all medical tests show there is nothing wrong. Research suggests that panic attacks and anxiety are responsible for a significant amount of emergency room visits.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan

When Health Anxiety Takes Over

“Health anxiety is destroying my life.” A person’s thoughts are likely to become distorted and exaggerated. From time to time, he or she may focus on the worst possible outcome and interpret any physical symptom as a sign of serious illness, no matter how unlikely that may be. In some cases, the person may believe that he or she is having a heart attack, even when all medical tests show there is nothing wrong. Given these points, research suggests that panic attacks and anxiety are responsible for a significant amount of emergency room visits.

According to Professor Peter Tyrer, head of the centre for mental health at Imperial College London, “about 1-2% of the population have pathological health anxiety”, and in people who have already had treatment for a condition, it can be around 10%. He thinks the number of people affected is rising.

“Life’s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.” — Benjamin Franklin

Symptoms

Shortness Of Breath Anxiety At Night

“Health anxiety is destroying my life.” Some of the symptoms might be shortness of breath can be one of those responses as well as chest tightness, faster breathing, muscle tension, feeling of suffocation, nausea, and more. In other words, anxiety can happen anytime, but for many it happens towards the end of the day. You may feel like your mind is racing. You may be thinking about all the events that happened that day or maybe you’re worried about what will happen the following day.

If you’re experiencing anxiety and shortness of breath at night, there are different paths to explore in order to find more calmness and rest in the evenings. Obviously, sudden and severe shortness of breath at night can mean a serious condition. Seek prompt care if you:

• Can’t catch your breath when lying flat
• Experience worsening or prolonged shortness of breath that doesn’t go away or gets worse.
• Chronic shortness of breath occurs when you experience the symptom for more than a month. About 85% of conditions triggering chronic shortness of breath are related to your lungs, heart, or mental health.

“Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be.” — Grandma Moses

   Eye floaters Anxiety

Eye floaters, such as spots, specks, squiggly lines, strings, cobwebs, and other visual disturbances that interfere with your vision are common eye symptoms, including symptoms of anxiety disorder. What do floaters look like:

It can also seem as if you have a cloudiness or fogginess in your vision that also moves with the movement of your eyes. These spots and lines can appear dark or gray, and can appear transparent against a light background. You can also move them by gently shaking your head.

• Eye floaters can be in one eye only, and can be in both eyes.
• They can also appear and seemingly disappear, only to reappear again later.
• They might be very visible and fade away over time.
• Eye floaters can come and go rarely, occur frequently, or persist 24/7 day after day.
• They can appear anytime, but often become more noticeable after an anxious or stressful episode. However, they can appear anytime and without an apparent cause, as well.
• They might range in intensity from barely noticeable to very visible.

The prevalence of eye floaters can change from day to day, moment to moment, or remain as a constant background to your struggle with anxiety disorder.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” — Dr. Seuss

   

Impending Doom Anxiety

“Health anxiety is destroying my life.” A feeling of impending doom is a feeling that something tragic or life threatening is about to happen.

Some people may have this feeling as a symptom before a serious medical event, such as a:

• blood clot
• heart attack
• seizure

Symptoms such as chest pain and shortness of breath are common symptoms of a heart attack. However, some people may experience a sinking feeling, such as something bad is about to happen, before physical symptoms occur. A feeling of impending doom can happen outside of medical events as well. Some people with certain mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder or panic disorder, may feel a sense of impending doom. They may also feel upset and cannot get rid of the feeling or explain it. In the same fashion, other symptoms that may occur alongside a feeling of impending doom include:

• heart palpitations
• shortness of breath
• depersonalization, which is a feeling of being detached from oneself
• sweating
• hot flashes
• tremors or shaking

“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” — Charles Swindoll

   Nervous Stomach Anxiety

Doctors may use the terms “nervous stomach” or “anxiety stomach” to refer to symptoms, such as nausea or bloating, that are unrelated to any gastrointestinal (GI) conditions. In other words, a nervous stomach is one example of how a person’s emotions can affect their body. The treatments for a nervous stomach often include techniques to reduce anxiety, stress, and tension. In essence, the symptoms of a nervous stomach can include:

• cramps
• changes in appetite
• diarrhea
• indigestion
• nausea
• constipation

A nervous stomach can give someone “butterflies” in their stomach or even make them feel as though they need to vomit. Some of the potential triggers that a person might need to address to reduce their symptoms include pressures relating to school, work, family, or relationships.

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”— Lao-Tze

Health Anxiety Treatment

   Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center

Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center is a specialized mental health treatment center that provides services for individuals with mood and anxiety disorders. Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center provides treatment for a range of mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and others. They have an experienced team of mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, and nurses, who work together to provide comprehensive and personalized care to each patient.

In general, here are some common signs that you may need to seek treatment include:

• Interrupted sleep patterns
• Isolation
• Self-harm behaviors
• Suicidal thoughts
• Lack of improvement to your symptoms in outpatient care
• Recurring, intrusive thoughts

“Life imposes things on you that you can’t control, but you still have the choice of how you’re going to live through this.” — Celine Dion

   CBT Interventions For Anxiety

CBT is a form of psychotherapy that empowers us to manage anxiety by changing our thought patterns, feelings, and behaviors. Therefore, this is especially critical when reducing alcohol use, as anxiety can trigger a relapse.

Cognitive reappraisal is a potent technique for managing anxiety. It involves identifying negative thought patterns and intentionally reframing them to decrease their emotional impact.

Behavioral activation centers on involving ourselves in activities that bring joy and a sense of achievement. When we engage in rewarding activities, we focus less on our anxious thoughts and more on the task at hand.

Mindfulness techniques guide us to stay present, experience the moment fully, and accept it without judgment.

PMR is a relaxation technique that involves tensing and then releasing different muscle groups. Anxiety often causes physical symptoms like muscle tension, PMR can help alleviate these symptoms.

Exposure therapy is a more proactive approach to managing anxiety. It involves making a list of situations that cause anxiety and then consciously putting ourselves in those situations.

Keeping a diary of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors can help us understand our anxiety better.

Problem-solving techniques give us control over our anxiety. First, we identify a problem that’s causing stress, such as a looming work deadline or a relationship conflict.

“Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.”– Soren Kierkegaard

Anxiety About Anxiety

It’s funny, you can get anxiety if you worry about getting anxiety. The very thing you’re trying to avoid and you put yourself in that position. Like they say, “my anxiety has anxiety!” “It’s very common to be anxious about being anxious. It’s part of the anxiety cycle,” says Katherine M. Hayes, a licensed clinical professional counselor, who specializes in children, adolescents, and family systems in Chicago, Illinois. “Anxiety can be uncomfortable, emotionally and physically,” says Hayes. “Our minds want to avoid that, so we worry about the next time we feel anxious because we remember how it felt.”

So there’s one thing: it’s completely normal to feel anxious about being anxious, in the same way you might incite any negative emotion if you dwell on the thought of it too much. What we know is we want the feeling to go away, and we’ll do almost anything to get rid of the feeling – avoid studying for the test, cancel the date, skip the check-up. This desire to escape or avoid anxiety is very natural.

In sum, the problem is many people have come to fear the anxiety response itself; when we routinely have ‘false alarms’ going off, then situations that are not objectively dangerous –but make us feel anxious– come to be feared and avoided. When we become intolerant of uncertainty and risk, and come to fear the experience of anxiety itself, our world becomes smaller.

“The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.”– Henry Ford

Conclusion

“Health anxiety is ruining my life.” Worrying about your health is a common problem, but for some people it can become a full-blown health anxiety. Therefore, this type of anxiety can be crippling and make everyday tasks very difficult. Worrying about something makes it difficult to concentrate on anything else. When health anxiety feels really intense it can take a person over completely. In short, they might even feel like they are dying or close to death. Additionally, health anxiety can make a person feel compelled to take steps for their health they wouldn’t otherwise have considered. This can feel exhausting and can lead to feeling as if health anxiety is destroying your life. Until next time…

Articles

-Somatic Symptom Disorder: When Health Anxiety Takes Over Your Life

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/health-anxiety

-Health Anxiety Is No Joke – It Can Ruin Lives

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/27/health-anxiety-on-the-increase

-Anxiety Test

https://www.aetna.com/individuals-families/mental-emotional-health/anxiety-check.html

Have a Good One,

Cindee Murphy, One Voice – Unstoppable

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.” – Steve Jobs