I am gooch. It has actually made my anxiety worse. The trigger of my anxiety is my health. Any little health symptom I have, I end up looking it up online. Obsessively. I will obsess about it all day. I have been trying really hard to not do that anymore because it makes my anxiety worse and convinces me I have 50 different health problems. Is that what you experience?

health anxiety they call it now dont they lol but yes same thing i think - im terrible - i currently have had headache for 3 days and im freaking big time !! even though thttas probably makign it worse - i know its not a tumour ( probably ) but i dont want it to be a bug or something

The hell with that health anxiety thing. That makes it sound too proper. I have found it best to accept me as is. I have always been a hypochondriac. After many years I am able to manage that much better. They even make jokes about me and I keep them laughing. Then I ask them what is their shit like.

The availability of information on the internet has definitely increased some of my health anxiety aka hypochondria, but I will say this:

A Person knows when something just is NOT right about their body or their health. You just know........!

I have always just known and they have tried to compartmentalize it into these nice neat little boxes....with names and "isms". I have to contstantly look at the big picture.

Hypochondriac right here gooch! I have been one for a long time. Since I was 11 when my best friend was diagnosed with a brain tumor. And since then that has been one of my biggest fears. Granted it does come and go. But I'm with Jenn. I've had head pain and this dull ache on and off for days no and I know it's not a tumor. But my hypochondria drives me there and I hate it. I'm obsess and constantly keep reassesing the pain.

Ding ding ding!!! You've found another one! Me too! Isnt anxiety great? NOT!!!! All forms of it suck!!!!! This one sucks bc you just worry about every freaking thing! You always think you are going to die! This all sucks!

Nice to meet you!

I have the same problem a little ache a little pain and I'm all over the internet thinking I have some horrible disease and the more I see the worse my anxiety get's your definitely not alone..

I am on the hypochondriacs train! And all the flu commercials on tv is not making it any better. I spend all day freaking out about what is wrong with me, and making my anxiety go crazzzy! My family is always making fun of me and rolling their eyes every time I think their is something wrong, but It's not a joke to me. I can laugh about it, but it's kinda comforting to know I am not the only one in the world freaking out 24/7.

It is great to hear from you all. It is not a fun problem. For myself it is a part of me. It is not going away , but I have adapted to it. It is not something foreign any longer. I have a really funny story that I will tell sometime. It is so outrageous that even I knew this was crazy and it is a part of me. I feel so good knowing there are others like me.

Yes I have to challenge my thoughts about my health all the time,.
I don't even like listening to commercials about heart attacks, COPD,, etc. All someone has to do is say I look tired and I worry . It is getting better though, I am challenging the thoughts.
At the beginning I couldn't tell the anxiety from real health issues. Didn't know what was real or not.
This might sound morbid, or extreme to you but now I just tell myself when I get scared "OK die right now, I am ok with it"

I must admit if someone close to me says they have been sick or has a bug im in freak mode !!!!

Shemp, what you said is so true! I am so sick of freaking out from all my symptoms and I am starting to have the same attitude and it kind of helps!

I have been trying to think like what Shemp says. Worst case scenario you die. I believe in God and Heaven. So it is suppose to be better there than here anyway. I guess our fear really stems from a fear of death. And we must first challenge and concur that before we can defeat our health fears.

I can relate to jenn1, it made me laugh when she said she goes into freak mode. It's almost like I have radar for spotting sick looking people or if someone is coughing and gagging around me, I will turn and go another way. I haven't always been this bad but I went a little overboard when the flu thing broke out last year. I must have went through gallons of hand sanitizer. I don't like being like this and it can cause me alot of stress but I do have quite a sense of humor so I suppose it can make for some very entertaining stories.

I am a hypochondriac! My anxiety is awful. If I start to get stupid things like a headache or dizzy I immediatly think something is wrong with me like I am having a stroke or going to die. I am only 24 years old! I recently got the implanon in my arm and its not helping that I have had ALL of the side effects. My legs recently became really swollon and I started, of course, thinking I had a blood clot so I went to the hospital. (Mind you I have a 1 year old and a 6 year old). Well they thought I had one as well! So for 2 hours I started convincing myself I had one, and was going to pass out and die on the table. If I suddenly get shortness of breath due to random panic attacks I will look things up online and start "having those symptoms". Its awful. I almost dont know whats in my head anymore. I need on anxiety medication because I am already stressed out enough~