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Yesterday, I got light-headed from getting up really fast after sitting down at my desk in front of a computer for hours. I think? Well I hope that's the reason why I got light-headed and not something more serious but anyways, So I felt it coming and immediately I started to panic! Before my panic attacks began, I used to get light-headed all the time and it never bothered me because I knew it would go away. Now, I start fearing the worse! WTF!!! ughhhhhh... Why am I freaking out about it? Does this happen to anyone? I started noticing that I'm freaking about every little things that's uncomfortable or that doesn't seem normal in my body. What is wrong with me? I had my first panic attack in July of 2014 and had several more bad ones after, but its only been a few months that I've had this and when I thought I was getting better, a new thing arises. Now, I'm starting to have doubts I'll ever feel better or normal again. Needs advice- Thanks!

I recently posted on here of my concerns on skin c****r. I was given a terrible dermatolgist who did nothing but made my anxiety worse. He did nothing to ease my worries and basicly told me to prove that skin c****r runs in my family by getting my grandmothers medical records. I felt I was going in the right direction by seeing a doctor but now I dont know. I want to go back to my primary and tell them I need to see another dermatologist, but my primary knows all about my GAD. I know its not going to look good. Its hard having health anxieties and not being able to get reasurrance from a doctor. I just feel embarresed and frankly like a nut! Basically I have 3 irregular moles that just recently popped up, and one that looks like a skin patch thats just slightly darker than my skin. Also a lump behind my ear. Doing my damndest to stay off google and web md because all they do is just scare me. I wish I had better insuracne because I cant just go see any doctor! Need to stop worrying so damn much

I am a 25 year old male and have noticed a small (about 1 centimeter in diameter) movable lymph node behind my right ear. Its been there for about 3 months. I haven't been sick or had an infection since I have found it. I have been told that because its movable, it is not serious. Is that true? Im just worried it could be some type of c****r. I was freaking out. My family doctor said it was probably nothing to worry about, but would send me to a specialist because I am worried. I went to the Ear nose throat doctor and he told me its just a lymph node, and many times said, he doesn't think its lymphoma. I felt great that day and the next day, but now a week later, I still have my doubts about it. Why can't I trust these doctors? Can the ENT doctor get an idea of it being benign by touching the lymph node??

Hi I'm new to this site. I have suffered with some form of anxiety for over 40 years on and off. I would like to chat with others to help myself and possibly help others with the knowledge I have accumulated over the years Thanks for the chance to be a part of your group Misterg

Hi there, For the last 16 years I've had chronic health anxiety having had every medical test under the sun and convinced I've had most diseases. For the last few months I've been going through an intense period of health anxiety about abdominal pains, I've had several tests which have shown nothing so far so beginning to relax about that but 2 weeks ago I started experiencing some disturbing neurological symptoms which are really terrifying me and they're as follows: Sun 26th October - left thumb started twitching whilst lying on the sofa watching TV, this has happened on numerous other occasions too, as well as index finger twitching. 27th October - both thumbs started feeling weird, sort of weak, almost like they’re on the point of cramping, with a buzzing sensation inside the thumb muscle and this has remained ever since, I feel it particularly when using the thumbs. 28th October – developed more symptoms, buzzing and tingling in fingers and both hands, especially in tips of fingers when typing or texting and seems to be particularly pronounced when using my computer mouse and keyboard at work. Also experience the odd stabbing pain. 31st October - I also started getting same buzzing/tingling sensation in my tongue, always in the left hand side of the tongue 1st November - whilst jogging the top of my left foot felt weird and tingly 6th November - experienced muscle twitching and tension type pain/cramping in my right forearm and right thigh muscle My worry is that the most I’ve ever experienced is some pins and needles in my hands and feet in 2006 caused by anxiety but I’ve been through a lot of anxiety since then with no neurological symptoms, and I’ve never had anything on this scale so I’m worried this is perhaps being caused by ALS, MS, Parkinson’s or some other kind of neurological disease. Does anyone know if I should be worried or not???

Hi all, I just wanted to post another query but firstly I want to take a moment to say how much I appreciate having a forum like this, not only can you help others, you can voice how you feel & people understand, people get what your talking about, they don't judge or are skeptic. They answer your question knowing exactly how your feeling. Even being able to hear other peoples opinions helps a million. Anyway I'm posting here today because according to my doctor and ent I suffer from an inner ear problem, certain things trigger my attacks, such as days after I fly, when I'm getting sick, sleeping on my neck funny, not enough sleep, not enough food or not enough water. It feels horrible, the attacks come on suddenly and often last a week with the first few days being the worst. I feel blurry & my vision is often blurry. My balance goes out the window and it feels like my body is about to fall down. I get ear pain & it feels blocked on one side but more down my jaw lower ear area. During the attacks ill randomly hear a soft ringing that only lasts about 1 minute. My neck goes stiff and my eyes go blurry. In the past 3 and a half weeks I have had two attacks with my most recents coming on yesterday. My concern is what if it isn't something with my ears what if my doctors are wrong, two weeks ago I got a blood test and am literally in perfect health. I don't get any crippling migraines, just the occasional headache here and there & there mainly from my sore neck. However what if it is something sinister.. Why haven't I been referred to a neurologist. I don't know if that would make me feel better.. But do you think if it was something sinister.. They would of? Also pleas if there is anyone out there with a similar situation.. What has it been diagnosed as.. How do you deal with it?? I hate the bad weeks and it pisses me off (sorry) that just as it was going away.. It comes hurling back again. Please any opinions welcome ))

Hi so its currently 2am & i have to be awake in 4 hours & it will be the first day of my new job. But I'm not sleeping, my symptoms are back, as I'm falling off to sleep I'm jolted awake by the sensation that my legs have gone completely numb.. they haven't but it sure feels like it. Not pins & needles just straight to immobile. Im also 99% sure it has to be a symptom of my anxiety as I slept at my boyfriends Friday night- nothing, was with girlfriends saturday night ended up going to one of their houses no symptoms. However as soon as i return to my own bed, of course it happens whenever I'm alone. (obviously sometimes ill have a "oh no moment" when with others, but it often dissipates very very quickly & i forget about it.) I found that last week, after i posted on the forum it helped a lot. I was then in a system of going to bed late late like 2am to ensure i would be that exhausted i wouldn't wake up. This went on for 3 nights. It was the perfect plan, however i start my new job tomorrow!! I guess i just need some friendly reassurance, ( I am highly aware that this isn't a doctors website, but its very nice to be reassured that you are not going slowly deteriorating) I'm not even sure what I'm afraid of now.. i know I'm not having something sinister, like a stroke (which was initially what was triggering my fear) i feel like now its the just wanting to sleep & not wanting this feeling. Im not sure why this is happening again, or why now! Pretty please someone help me :(

Hello All, Im very new to forums however not new to health anxiety lol. I have been suffering from health anxiety for over 7 months now & i thought i had it under control, i suffer from inner ear dysfunctions, cositiochondritis and several other mild dysfunctions, however i am only 21 years old, have never been sick & live alone. So basically for the past 6 months, its been a combination of heart attack fears & stroke fears. I thought though, i had it under control, i recently returned from vacation & it suddenly flared up 10X worse. When sleeping at night, i will jolt awake and have the sensation that my body is numb (its not) but i feel like it is & it doesn't feel like what i have read on sleep paralyse it feels different because i can instantaneously move my body, but it feels laggy and weak. I then spend the next hour or so, pinching every part of my body, this has gone on for about a week now, it happened again about 3 hours ago & i just haven't gone back to sleep. I am now so petrified to attempt sleep. I went to my doctor & did a big blood test with her, she tested for everything & it came back all clear. I know is very irrational to think I'm having a stroke, or something sinister related, yet its very hard to rationalise at 1 in the morning, petrified your dying. It would be nice to know there are others out there.. or someone who might of had something similar to what I'm describing. thanks everyone

I am writing here today because I need to vent to people who understands what I'm going through. I've always been a bit of hypochondriac since my Aunt died of breast c****r in 1985. But then two incidents in the last several years have kicked up my anxiety to almost unmanageable levels. First my mom was diagnosed with breast c****r in 2007. Then in 2009, while news exploded that HIV infections were on the rise in my city, in one industry in particular (not the sex trade industry), I slept with an ex-boyfriend who was working in said industry. He has been tested as negative since then and my mom has been c****r free since 2009 and so it really makes no sense why I am so paranoid right now. I obsess over everything. I think every mole is c****r. I have this one particular mole in my arm and I used to watch it like a hawk. I was obsessed and crazed over it that I was convinced that every time I checked it, it was slightly larger than the last time. I finally got over that. But then the anxiety was still there. Every time I would have my period and I needed to use the toilet I would Lysol the toilet. I would make sure that I always had hand sanitizer or alcohol or both. But then again, like I said for the last year or so, it was manageable. Then this August, I realized that my tongue was white. My best friend who is a doctor told me that it looked normal that it was probably just dry. I was convinced that I had oral thrush and she negated it. She said only babies and HIV positive people had thrush. At the mention of HIV from her, it triggered a bout of health anxiety. This was end of August and it is now nearly the end of October and I am still anxious. I have become obsessed with my tongue. I go back and forth with thinking that I may have oral c****r (I do smoke - this is probably the only legit fear I have) or that it's a sign of HIV. I see a spot of white and I start looking at my tongue in the mirror. Depending on the light, I sometimes see real white patches and then when I turn to a different angle it's gone. I've examined my tongue under a flashlight and under a flashlight it looks normal. You would think that that's the best view and angle since you're shining a light directly on it and you would see anything abnormal. But oh no, the moment I turn off the flashlight and I only have lesser light, I believe again that I see a white patch. I'm scared that it's leukoplia (?) and I turn the flashlight on again, examine it again and again, find nothing. I have gone to a dentist - my best friend who is a doctor told me to go to one if I was really worried since they are the oral health experts - and the dentist ready told me everything is normal and yet I'm still scared. I hate this. Logically I know I'm being crazy. But something in me keeps worrying and obsessing. Logically I know that if there was something really there, I wouldn't need to examine my tongue that thoroughly and that it would be obvious flashlight or ceiling light. I hate this. I hate how I'm so anxious all the time. I go up the elevator and when there is no one with me - I check my tongue in the elevator mirrors. I wake up in the middle of the night to pee and I check it again in the bathroom mirror. It's really taking over my every day. It's like my emotions won't allow me to believe my brain. And oh I GOOGLE. I DO USE DR. GOOGLE and I KNOW I SHOULDN'T! BUT I CAN'T HELP IT! I see pictures and I start panicking! I need to stop googling but it's like a separate obsession almost! Gah! No matter how much I tell myself, stop looking in the mirror, stop googling - heck, I find myself looking at other people's tongues whenever possible, I know I just need to stop. But I can't. What should I do? :-( This is really driving me up the wall! I am a single mom and the fear that I may be sick and die and leave my still young son alone makes my anxieties rise even more. It's a never ending cycle! I also think on top of the above, the fact that I have a friend who is the same age as me, who was also a single mom, died recently and she left her 6 year old daughter behind. It's just all coming at me all at the same time and I can't take it anymore. Please if anyone out there has a suggestion on what I can do. I am NOT on medication at the moment although more and more now, I am tempted to get psychiatric/psychological help already. Anyone who has suggestions and thoughts out there, please do reply. I'd really really appreciate it. In the meantime, I am so grateful that I have this forum to write my thoughts - because even this exercise as scary as it is to see my feelings so plainly describes on my laptop screen - does help a little to put things in perspective.

Hey guys. I just wanted to ask from people who may know... The physical side of my anxiety symptoms are out of control. I have shooting pains all around my chest area, where my heart's at, in the middle of my chest, on the right side as well as the left, etc... I also get them in my wrists, my neck, and occasionally my rib area and my gut. I'm also a chronic pulse-checker, and last night, I swear I felt my heart stop for a few seconds, on multiple occasions, which ended up keeping me awake all night in fear. I've been to the hospital several times, had several EKGs, several chest x-rays, and several blood tests, yet I'm still completely convinced something is horribly wrong with me that the doctors missed, or there's something wrong that the doctors didn't check for. Are these pains normal? Should I try to get another doctor's opinion? I feel like my heart is gonna just stop beating any second and I'm gonna drop dead. Please help, this fear is ruining my life!

How did your health anxiety start? I have often wondered how my health anxiety started. I have had Crohns Disease since I was 12 years old. I was always sick, had numerous surgeries including 3 major ops. I know my anxiety took on a new level in 2009 when my mum suffered a stroke. I've had a few traumatic events in my life, including finding my nanna dead but I think I can now look back with clarity and see where the health anxiety aspect was majorly triggered. Through my illness I never once had anxiety over being sick, never once felt depressed or scared something bad could happen. I always just got on with it and was confident I would get better. But looking back now, I know for sure that all changed in 2002. In 2002 after my Crohns had been in remission for 5 years it came back with a vengeance. Prior to having my colon removed (I have an ileostomy) in 1997 I was constantly sick, I had a brief period of remission in 1987 but it was brief. But after 5 years of feeling great, healthy, it was back again. I was very sick for months, I developed a fistula on my stomach. I won't go into details but it was gross, very painful and debilitating. I was housebound, on constant antibiotics, steroids and codiene and it was just horrendous. I had more surgey to repair the fistula and remove the diseased bowel later in the year. the hospital stay was horrific, by then I'd developed a fear of vomiting and refused to eat anything whilst I was in the hospital (or hid it so they thought I'd eaten) I remember pleading with my husband not to leave me there, crying as he left because he had to. I now know this is where the HA began, or was triggered. Afterwards I slowly started to worry about getting sick again, at first it was the Crohns, then it was anything. I just don't want to, I cannot go back there again. Do you know how yours started? If it was triggered by something? I think if you can figure that out you have a better chance of dealing with it. Gilly

Hiya so im holly IM 25 and am struggling tk understand the fact i have health anxiety andd am not dying. I have physical symptoms everyday every minute

Lately I have been trying new things to manage my health anxiety and I wanted to share some of them. Hope it helps! 1. Nostalgia- Listening to songs from middle school always puts me in a good mood and distracts me from thinking about my "symptoms" 2. Writing- For me it helps to write all of my worries down on paper and leave it there. Get it all out and go have a good day. If you're like me and have health anxiety sometimes you will force yourself into having certain symptoms. I get confused, dizzy, light headed, etc. so writing forces me to use my brain and also helps concentrate. 3.Keep it moving- Find things to occupy your time as well as keep your circulation flowing. With anxiety we sometimes aren't breathing right or moving enough and it tends to give you numbness or a tingly feeling in your limbs. Feelings like that only make our anxiety more intense. I try to keep a busy schedule and do everything I can to just not think about it. The fact is we with health anxiety probably do not have these illnesses now but one day we all will and we all will die we need to live as best as we can. I know it is easier said than done or I obviously wouldn't be here but I hope it heps someone.

Hello My name is Tiffany and I am a 20 year old from the US. I have lived with anxiety for most of my life and recently it has become pretty severe health anxiety. I have almost constant headaches, neck pains, chest pains and other random pains throughout my body. I also suffer from mild social anxiety, depression and panic disorder. It has consumed my life and made it difficult to even get up in the morning. I recently started law school and i think that is helping but who knows? Anyways I thought it would be good to talk to some people going through the same thing so here I am. If anyone has any advise or personal experiences to share I would love to hear it. Thanks

Hello everyone, I'm brand new here and this is my first post. Here it goes. My name is Kara and I am 24 years old. I've been suffering from health anxiety since I was 16 years old, but it's gotten much worse over the last year. I have severe panic attacks, that usually result in my begging my boyfriend to take my to the hospital. I had a slight agoraphobia, so I used to be primarily house bound. I didn't even want to go to therapy, but I made myself. I've been up and down for the past month, but all I want in the world is to get better. I look forward to getting to know people on here. As for now, a therapy session awaits me. I hope this message finds you all as well as can be. Kara

When someone around me is sick I find myself getting anxious. If they have a cold, or a tummy bug, I get really scared to catch it. It's nit just that I may not get better. It's the thought of being sick, even with just a cold, it scares me. And if I start to feel unwell, a sore throat, sneezes, even headaches I feel that intense doom feeling. Is this health anxiety or is it a phobia of illness? is there such a thing? My husband is sick right now with some virus and I can't stop thinking Im gonna get it and the thought of it is scaring me. I can't help fearing the feeling of being unwell. Its like losing control over my body, maybe its a health OCD thing? ugh idk what it is but I hate it.