I am honestly am the same exact way! Any sensation sets me off! I feel tingeling in my legs, I think MS or anyother "disorder" if my neck or head hurts.. I think there is something wrong with my arteries or brain. My abdomen hurts.. I worry its my gullbladder,pancreas,liver or appendix. And of course all diseases possible run thru my mind. I literally worry about anything and everything and I will send my self into a full blown panic attack. Its horrible. I am 30 and I've been like this for the past 10 years. Some days, months, weeks better and it always comes back. I feel your pain. I really truley do.

Ugh thank you for replying and I feel badly that you understand ....what do you do to control it?

I try to give myself advice like I would another person. For example if your friend tells you. I have nausea, do you think I have stomach cancer? Well most likley you would tell your friend, of course its not that! You probably are stressed, ate something bad, acid etc. You wouldnt think stomach cancer. However as you know when It comes to ourselves and what we think about our aches and pains it is always the worst possible senario. I always try to reassure myself logically as if I was talking to a friend that I have gone to the doctor (alot more than most people) and If I actually had something I would of known by now. Of course then I think to my self.. But what if it just came on in the last couple weeks? What if the test didnt show it? Well I try again to be logical and think to myself that I sound ridiculous and I am very aware of my body sensaions and That is why I feel a certain way, and I explain to myself why I may have a certain sensation for example I tell myself you have abdominal pain because you sit all day, you ate something that made you gassy etc. I also tell my self how many times have I been afraid of having such and such disease and I turned out %100 normal.

I hope this helps! By all means I struggle with this horrible dibilataing mental illness on a daily basis. I have also tried to stop "googleing" my diagnosis. That helps as well!

Hello
I think we are related !!!! I have done the same as you suggested however even though I know I am being ridiculous I still think about the worst..... unfortunately I know the way to think is the likelihood there ? What are the chances but I still worry ...I do this because my husband ended up with a very rare cancer so that out the chances of something rare happening logic out the window for me!
Again your words did help and I so are appreciate you taking the time to respond

Yes I think we are! I also know of know who have had cancer or hear of people with 'rare diseases' and so I get ya too with the logic goes out the window! Because my mind goes to... well so and so had this an everday person had this other thing. So then I think oh my god anuthing is possible. I would love to feel healthy, optimistic and know I will be ok. I have even thought about getting the genetic testing done that tells you what diseases you can have, I think sometimes if I do that will it make me better so I can prevent them? Or will it make me worst because I now know what diseases are in my genes. *sigh, it is very ver tough" :(

I have contemplated the genetic testing thing too years ago ....thinking it would give one a false sense of control but I think honestly it would be bad idea for people like us since we would probably spend our time thinking and waiting for those "certain" symptoms
I think it would be hell for us

Ugh :(

It is difficult! I have always wondered, why me? Why do I have to suffer this. Alot of people dont understand the feeling :(

Yes I agree I once was like others and did not worry like this.... I envy people who live their life not even thinking about the "what ifs"

I am the same way!! I only recently realized that I had health anxiety disorder. I was convinced for 8 months that the doctors were missing my DX because it must be rare. Closes to a hundred ER visits in 8 months, plus many other doctors visits. Total panic tjat I was about to suffer. All the logic in the world wouldn't convince me that I was fine. If all tests came back normal, I was convinced that the testing was done too early, and now a few weeks later they would be positive. I have banned myself from researching symptoms..

Ugh I feel you !
No way however I am the opposite - rather than go back and forth to the doctors I dread going and try to avoid it ....
I so understand what you are saying about questioning the validity of tests as I do this as well with so much
Yeah symptom searching is not good for people like me who become irrational about health things
Don't do it , glad to hear you banned yourself!

I would try not to go to a doctor or the ER, but I felt that hat only way to stop the panic was with reassurance seeking. It would help me to relax, however a few hours or maybe a day later I would start to think of another possibility that the doctors didn't account for during my first visit, or a new bodily sensation/pain would start, and then the cycle of anxiety and panic would resume

Again I totally get what you are saying as I do the same exact thing... before I would run to the doctors now I wait as long as I can but of course still need the reassurance but then I think of others scenerarios that they may not have thought of it may have missed etc so now it has become a situation where I get brief reassurance and start the process all over again shortly after
Either that or my mind finds something else to obsess over

I have been a hypochondriac for 9 months now, but only realized that I was one for about 2 months. I am in CBT daily, so I am truly hopeful that I will get better. I wish each of you happiness and peace of mind

Im crying so much reading all of this. I always think WHY MEEEE? WHY DO I HAVE TO LIVE LIKE THIS? And now i see all you people live the very same way as me. Everything! Please how do we stop this? Any treatment? Im seeing a psyvhologist and i do meditation but i dont see any improvements.

When I find the magic combo I will let you know!
I have been in therapy -which makes sense and works only temporarily for me.... been on low dose antidepressant which certainly helps but at some point I want to learn how to control my thinking without it...when my mind gets unable to control meditation is definetly out the window ---have done yoga....read lots of books etc....
perhaps it can be helpful to us to know others suffer like us and we can support one another?