Have you followed up with your regular doctor since you had Covid? I wouldn't recommend Googling your symptoms. Google does not know what you have or don't have.

Also, regarding your previous post, have you tried eating healthy meals 3 times a day, drinking plenty of plain water, exercising, go for walks, get outside every day, do some fun things you like, etc?

I am glad you are starting therapy this week. This will help you.

Best wishes. You're going to be fine.

I have tried to but I can’t bring myself to eat much still. I have followed up with my regular doctor but since I’m younger they don’t care much about what I’m feeling it seems like. Makes me want to go to the ER just to get checked.

If you are experiencing life threatening symptoms, then yes, you should go to the ER. If it's not life threatening and you seem "okay", then the ER is not the place to go.

I do think eating something will help you feel a lot better overall. How about a shake? Ice cream, something sweet, anything?

Did you have anxiety before you caught Covid? Or has it been since you caught Covid?

Anxiety can do weird things to the body. And you are absolutely right, thinking of symptoms can sometimes make the brain mimic it even when you’re absolutely fine. As GirlinCalif said you should definitely stay off Google at all cost. It is the worst place to be for someone with health anxiety. You are most probably fine but reassurance from your doctor goes a long way in giving you peace of mind. See if he could do some basic tests just to give you the confidence to finally start dealing with this anxiety for what it is.

I know google is terrible for me but sometimes can’t help it and sometimes it does help. They don’t seem life threatening but sometimes I get myself so worked up I think they are. I’ll know when I need to go to the ER.

How long have you had anxiety?

In my own, strictly personal case, I have zero doubt that my anxiety causes whatever physical symptoms I obsess over and a host of physical symptoms which manifest whether I am obsessing over them or knot. I solidly believe my brain is the most powerful organ in my body and connected to every nook and cranny in the system. Mixed signals there will result in mixed signals throughout my body. Anxiety is a mean signal mixer and static producer. My own anxiety gives me a painful phenom inside my cranium which I call, "Pressure Centers." Those pressure centers have often had me wondering about brain tumors.

But that is me and every case is unique. . .

I'm thrilled to hear you are starting CBT. It can provide you with tons of tools to help you sort through the yaddah blahs of anxiety. I hope you will keep us updated on the experience.

Gentle support while you brave the great unknown. I hope it leads you to healing places.

Hi there. I struggled with health anxiety on and off...fortunately for the time being it's off. Alot of that has to do with just have anxiety.

Sometimes by fearing something so much and thinking about it so much...you can end up manifesting or believing these symptoms are happening.

First thing you need to do is find a way to manage your anxiety. First off...if you do have Covid related illnesses - you have to tell yourself...i have access to healthcare, drs have more experience treating it now, and 95% of people who get it recover (and insert whatever affirming calming thoughts here you can think of).

Secondly, acknowledge that you have health anxiety. You have to find ways to alleviate that tension and stress. Exercise is a great mood booster, try meditation (it helps refocus your thoughts when it wants to wander into anxiety land), pick up a new hobby, something you want to learn (maybe a few of them) and throw yourself into it. Immerse yourself. It gives your mind something else to focus on.

Try doing some self affirmations. I trust myself. I trust my body. I will be ok. With every day I will get better and better. I will eat right, sleep going, and take care of myself (these are things you can control).

I would try chamomile tea, it is calming.

Now...these are good habits...and you will have to practice them...you will not see results over night. But the more you do them, they will become more effective.

And yes, sometimes medication will be required...and that will help. But these are still great practices even on medication. You will start to see when a thought starts off as a seed of anxiety...and then be able to thwart it before it becomes a 500 foot mountain bearing fear messages at you.

Best of luck...and you will be ok. One thing I learned in mediation is - a thought only becomes powerful when you attach a feeling to it.

For example...I'm going to faint (then you attach the feeling of angst, fear, and anxiety to it). It becomes powerful.

Or...I'm going to faint (ok...this is just a thought...I'll let it pass). Focus on something else.

Sending you light and love! You will be ok!!

I worry about everything. COVID was very eye=opening for me related to my anxiety.

I saw news about a new disease in china in early January. I was in full prep mode within weeks. My family, colleagues thought i was nuts.

Then the rest of the world got anxiety over COVID ... and i was surprisingly CALM.

Here's my take: I was afraid of the unknown. I hunkered down, researched all I could and became as expert on the subject as i could. I felt empowered and was no longer fearful.

Here's what I told others: Fear is good. It keeps us on our toes helping us to make more informed decisions. Panic is bad. It clouds our thoughts to where we make uninformed decisions that could be harmful to ourselves or others.

Here's the point: Are your concerns fear or panic? Do others share your panic? If not, perhaps you are overreacting. OTOH, if you think its just fear, do your actions seem normal in the context of what others are doing? If not, perhaps it is panic you are sensing.

As an independent thinker, I don't mind not following social norms (i don't do facebook). What I increasingly try to do as someone with GAD is scrutinize my concerns against societal benchmarks. If I am going to deviate (especially to ring alarm bells), I try to be more cautious and informed.

Hope this helps! :)

I have had anxiety ever since I was a child around 4-5. It has always fluctuated on how bad it is just usually when the body does something weird or I feel a certain way, I start to freak out. So I was diagnosed with health anxiety and GAD. The thing that probably scares me the most is the anxiety/panic attacks I get. Anxiety lingers throughout the day but I know when an anxiety attack is coming. I feel tingling up through my neck to my head and I feel the tingling in my teeth. It scares me and make me think it’s a seizure or something.

I get that tingling thing too. In fact, I have it right now as I write this, lol. Believe me, it is nothing serious. You need not worry about it. It means nothing. Probably anxiety. (Also, from before.... have you been eating yet?). You have control over so many things. Anxiety is usually a feeling of loss of control. But you do have the control to eat healthy, drink lots of water, get good sleep, get exercise, go outside, take walks.... all these things will help you feel better. Staying inside and Googling symptoms is not the way to get better.

Since you've had anxiety about 10 years or so, did you try any therapy, take medications for anxiety, etc? These two things could really help calm you down.

It's hard, I know. But we have to take actions so that we can feel better.

Thank you so much. I had the tingling before my anxiety so that’s why I went to the ER and the doctor said that Covid got into my nerves. Covid has caused so many weird symptoms for me and then the anxiety on top of that has made life extremely hard. I have not been eating much, just barely enough to get by. I drink enough I think.

Yeah, the mind is like a tape and a tape recorder. Once something is put on the brain, it won't come off until it is replaced with something else. Before the covid virus, my mother had been going through sad news about doctors and whoever else. It had caused a depression in her so bad followed by anxiety, and her past had been at the top. Now she feels that whenever someone says or does anything, she'll begin to think that they are arguing with her. Sadly to say I am one of the people that get lashed out on. In my opinion, this health anxiety causes a person to behave and become someone different.

I hate doctors, the hospital; I don't go to the doctor myself no matter what is wrong because I am tired of this mess. I worry, lose sleep, hardly sleep, and work myself to the bone because thoughts are too much. It is hard to explain anything else but I can tell you that my life here at home does not seem the same as before when everything was more peaceful.