Hi, I had both at one point. I used to get very concerned about any physical symptom I had that wasn't normal. Things would bother me for weeks until I could see my doctor. Once I saw the doctor and heard that it was nothing or was caused by stress, then whatever it was that was bothering me would disappear within a day. I've had panic attacks from symptoms though, where I scared myself so much that I went to the ER about certain symptoms. I know exactly how you feel! What I've found to be a solution for me is not looking up symptoms on the internet. That seriously made things worse because I would always assume that I had the worst thing possible (cancer, heart attack, etc). Therapy may help you learn why you are experiencing hypochondria. It helped me see that I was experiencing it because of certain fears.

It really bothers me to be like this. In the past 5 months i have gone to the urgent care 2 times. Because of symptoms. Its like i read about 1 disease and i automatically have it! Then for the longest time i feel symptoms. Like for example right now my upper back hurts. Like between my shoulder blades. When i sit up straight it hurts l, it sounds like it pops. I have really bad posture. So i am trying to tell nyself that its just my bad posture and not somethi g bad

I know what you mean. I went to the ER a number of times in one year because I kept scaring myself into thinking it was something serious.
o One of the CBT techniques in a book I'm reading says that you can imagine what will happen if you do have the illness you're scared about and then ask "what if?" Then write the next thing down, and ask another "what if?" By doing this, you can uncover what you're really afraid of (it might not be the disease itself). I hope that makes sense and is helpful.

It does help. Thank you. I need to find me a good book to read. Something helpful. Any suggestions

i have both and I beleive they feed off of each other. If you read my post "Just wanted to share" you'll see what I mean. There was a great post on an anxiety website I read the other day that said "we worry about worrying". I still do not know why we think the worse. there are some good post by I believe the username is shemp who has some great suggestions. Maybe he or she will post on this thread.

Yes the internet searches are the worst thing for me too. I have spent many hours trying to self diagnose only to make myself feel worse or have some of the symptoms that I did not have before reading about them. I am still working on not searching because this is the worst thing for us to do.

You have to tell yourself so what my back hurts no big deal. My neck hurts well maybe I slept wrong no big deal everyone's neck hurts once in awhile. My chest hurts and my heart is beating fast well maybe I am not breathing properly. Instead of thinking the worst try and think normally. Yeah i know its easier for me to write this than use this kind of thinking. But just writing it down helps.

I have these same problems and want so badly for them to go away so I can be myself again! In the past 4 months or so I have been to the ER and to urgent care. Ive had EKG's, blood work, chest x-rays and 2 ultra sounds. Everything comes back normal but low and behold...Im sitting here right now with pain in my chest and back. If its not chest pain, then its abdominal pain. If not abdominal pain, its leg pain or pain in my head. I try and tell myself that its just the anxiety but sometimes the fear is just overwhelming and I work myself up so much! After I leave the doctor and am told nothing is wrong with me, I dont feel a single pain for a good 3 days. But it ALWAYS comes back. I just started seeing a therapist and I hope he can help me. I have my second visit next week! It really does help to talk to people that have the same symptoms.

Thanks guys! EZE. Ive had the same thing. Blood work and all sorts of stuff. The Dr even told me " wow, your blood work is perfect, better than mine" hahaha so when i think back on it, it makes me laugh. But when it starts occurring again, i get scared Poopless!

Gored, i will look on ur post. Tell me how your sessions go. Im interested in trying therapy.

EZE285~~

I have the same thing happen to me. I go to the DR. and the symptoms go away, a few days later they return and I am thinking what the heck is going on with me!!
The last few days I have had chest pains because I heard of somebody my age dying of a heartattack. I made a Dr's appt for Thursday just to have my heart checked so I don't have to worry. I HATE living like this, it's just crazy....

Just wanting to share that I am a hypochondriac with anxiety, panic, and depression disorders. That is part of my reality, but only part of it.
Starting to talk to someone you can trust was very important for me.

Anxiety is a mind-body-mind reaction. We have an anxious thought and it triggers anxious feeling and that triggers more anxious thought, and you begun the anxiety/panic attack. Once you are mindful of this. Then you can catch yourself and stop it as it first begins by challenging that thought, or restating the thought into something positive or something that you can feel comfortable with. For instance, you feel dizzy. Your first thought OMG I am dizzy. What is going to happen next. Maybe I will faint. Now your bopdy will react because you just sent anxious thoughts. You start breathing heavier, which makes you even more dizzy, whoich triggersw even more anxiety ridden thoughts, and on and on. The good news is that fight or flight repons the anxiety/panic attack, can not last. You mind and body will naturally calm down. You have to learn to stop it . Now every time you feel a bit dizzy your mind is and body reacts with anxiety attacks.If you got dizzy in the bathroom-lo and behold your mind remembers and sends anxious thoughts. If it happen in the car again lo and behold your mind remembers and sends the anxiety signal. You tell yourself oh being in the car gives me anxiety attacks or beimg in the bathreom gives me anxiety attacks.You have to retrain your brain, your thoughts. Instead you have to say of course I feel dizzy I moved my head too fast, or I got up to fast and go on with your day. Period. If the the thpought like oh it is still here just tell yourself you are fine and focus intensely on whatever you are doing.
once you are mindful of your thoughts and counterattaack them you will feel more in control and less and less anxiety.
Even when an attack comes-tell yourself ok this is an anxiety attack. I will let it come . I will let it enter and leave my body. And ask it to come....this way you are not sending omg thoughts, or fearing it. It takes a few times to master but eventually it will become less and less intense.

I think I am a hypocondria and I ask myself how do I help myself. Sio I came up with this. I will not worry about a symptom unless it last more than twenty minutes or so. Like heavy breathing (always think I have lung damage), I take a deep breath if I can, sometimes I can't and continue to do whatever I was doing and telling myself I will worry about this symptom in twenty minutes, not now. Some times I have to stop what I am doing and do affirmations, or relaxation exercises.

I have a list of things to help me change my thoughts and moods , so I do whatever is on the list.

When your anxiety is really high, check out why. Are worried about money, or not getting something done, or doing something that you don't want to be doing, etc. I know for myself I get anxiety when other people try to control my day or tell me I should be doing this or can you do this. Especially if they want it done now and I had other plans. Now that I know this about myself, I can do something about it or try to change my attitude.

You will find your triggers and your own coping mechanisms. You have to spend time thinking about how you can heal yourself or fix the situation or the environment .

good thoughts to you:)

Shemp thanks for posting. I have gotten alot of good stuff from your post. I even cut and copied one of them because it was as good as it gets. I think one that hit home the most was the one about dieing, "if i died tomorrow, I am fine with that". I really need to come to grips with this. I think alot of my anxiety is from the fear of dieing and I am a healthy 40 year old. There are some things in life you can control and others you can't. But if we continue to live in fear all our lives did we really live our life? My dad has cancer and he continues to live his life. I ask myself if I was in his position where would I be.

I am very scared of physical illness. I think for me, a lot of my anxiety gets stored in my body. And some of these symptoms are no joke. Muscle strains, gagging, loss of appetite, shaking, heart racing, trouble speaking, dizziness, blurred vision. I find that if I go online and look at the symptoms I will lose my mind. Most of the physical symptoms of anxiety are also symptoms of bad diseases and that is not a good connection for an anxious mind. What helped me is going to my primary care doctor, telling them my worst fears, and having them dispel them with testing. I felt much better afterwards.

JenMink...

If I hear about someone my age dying I start to feel sick too! Really this anxiety of mine got forced into overdrive when my cousin was found dead in her house about 2 months ago. Granted she was 20 years older than me, a VERY heavy drinker, heavy smoker and NEVER went to the doctor but STILL...it was a shock to the family and then to find out that she is not the only one in the family over the last 50 years or so that has dropped dead from a heart attack. It just scares me. There is a history of heart problems on both sides of my family. Everyone tells me I am too young to have any heart problems but HELLO Im not getting any younger here! I just made an appointment with a cardiologist today for next week because I keep getting palpitations and I am so afraid that one of those times my heart is just going to stop altogether. I am trying my best to not worry about it...I mean bottom line is, if something is going to happen then I have no control over it. So why worry? Wish I could listen to myself sometimes!

Its amazing that we can write this stuff down without a problem but can't use our own words. Its also amazing that soo many of us have the same issues. My grandfather lived to 93 and my grandmother is still alive and she going to turn 91. My other grandmother lived to 90. i don't smoke I drink occassionally and I work out and exercise. You would think that I wouldn't worry about dieing early.

i have been suffering for nearly 2 years now. i am constantly told that it is anxiety but i just can't accept that. it stated with these light headed spells that i was getting. i was out to dinner with family and all of a sudden i started to feel sick and i broke out into a sweat all over. my hearing went shallow and i was going to faint. i was sure i was dying right there in the restaurant. it was a horrible feeling. i went to my doc the next day and she had me wear a holter monitor and from there it began. the holter came back normal. i devloped shortness of breath as well. it was as though i couldn't take a good deep breath constantly! i had a chest x ray and saw a respirologist. he said my lungs were normal. i had a lung function test and a methacholine challenge test to rule out asthma. both normal. i also saw a cardiologist and had a stress test and an echo doppler on my heart, again normal.

i was finding my symptoms getting worse and worse. i had gastrointestinal problems too. as though my stomache was being twisted in a ringer. i had an endoscopy done and that was normal.

this past summer i was having a lot of light headed spells. i went to the ER and they said 'try yoga'. i thought that was horrible advice and left there feeling worse. i had an MRI of my head, i am convinced i have MS. that came back normal too. i saw the neurologist and he did some upper motor neuron tests and they were all negative, thank God. my husband is a physiotherapist and i have him check me all the time for signs of upper motor neuron symptoms. he assures me i don't have them. i am not conviced.

this past year or so, i have had a lot of left sided body pain. it is in my back, my shoudler and down my arm, under my left rib, my tailbone, my hip,thigh and calf as well as my left hand. it is like muscle and joint pain that comes and goes. i am terrified.

i have had so much blood work done. most recent was two weeks ago. my doc checked me for RA, Lupus, as well as any muscle/bone issues. all blood was normal. i know i sould like i have anxiety and i admit that this has given me anxiety. my issue is the chicken and the egg theroy. i feel i am getting anxiety because of the symptoms. EVERYONE else says i am getting the symptoms FROM anxiety. i am just so scared that the doctors are not picking up on what is going on and that i have cancer or some awful illness (MS, other neurological disease, auto immune disease) it has gotten so bad that i goes days of being in pain and crying becaue i think that i am really sick or dying and no one is seeing it.

can anyone relate to MY specific symptoms?

thanks for reading my book :)
lyns