Darn you Google

[Heal 13]

Why does Google have to throw in MS related stuff if anything related to odd sensations is searched. I am mad at Google rn

[adamden 58]

51 minutes ago, Heal said:

Why does Google have to throw in MS related stuff if anything related to odd sensations is searched. I am mad at Google rn

Good! Be enraged at Google, but QUIT USING IT. It’s for your own good.

Google is trained to give you the worst possible scenarios for every little symptom. They could tell you a cough means you’re dying. Anything can be found on the internet nowadays.

[bin_tenn 1252]

Results are influenced by location and search / browsing history. The results vary from person to person. If I were to search for the exact same term(s) you did, I guarantee I'd get very different results. What's an example of a search you did that yielded MS results?

[ZenCube 58]

Hey friend dont be mad at Google, be mad that you used it again to search symptoms! 

[Jae 210]

5 hours ago, ZenCube said:

Hey friend dont be mad at Google, be mad that you used it again to search symptoms! 

Amen!!!

Come on, you knew better. If it were me, I'd be mad at myself. 

When you going to stop ?

[BrightPhoenix 78]

It's a bit of both, it's our fault, but it is also Google's fault.  If you look up "nerve pain" or "twitching" for some reason MS comes up as an initial result.  Instead of websites saying "Common causes of (x) are" it's just societies and support groups coming up, which is great for people who have been diagnosed, but not good for health anxiety sufferers.

Protip, if you want to look this stuff up without subjecting yourself to Dr. Google freaking you out, add site:www.anxiety-central.com or site:www.nomorepanic.co.uk when you do your search term

So something like

site:www.anxiety-central.com twitching will only search this site and you'll avoid all the other sites that pop up that will freak you out.  It's the next best thing to Googling without - well - Googling yourself into anxiety.

[bin_tenn 1252]

1 hour ago, BrightPhoenix said:

It's a bit of both, it's our fault, but it is also Google's fault.  If you look up "nerve pain" or "twitching" for some reason MS comes up as an initial result.  Instead of websites saying "Common causes of (x) are" it's just societies and support groups coming up, which is great for people who have been diagnosed, but not good for health anxiety sufferers.

Protip, if you want to look this stuff up without subjecting yourself to Dr. Google freaking you out, add site:www.anxiety-central.com or site:www.nomorepanic.co.uk when you do your search term

So something like

site:www.anxiety-central.com twitching will only search this site and you'll avoid all the other sites that pop up that will freak you out.  It's the next best thing to Googling without - well - Googling yourself into anxiety.

I have to disagree about Google being at fault. Results are based primarily on search and browsing history. If I search "nerve pain", I get common causes "not due to underlying disease", along with recommendations for nerve pain specialists. Same with twitching. When I search "twitching" this is the very first thing I see:

"Common causes of this symptom

Muscle twitches can have causes that aren't due to underlying disease. Examples include low magnesium levels, muscle fatigue, or medication side effects."

[Holls 1496]

1 hour ago, bin_tenn said:

I have to disagree about Google being at fault. Results are based primarily on search and browsing history. If I search "nerve pain", I get common causes "not due to underlying disease", along with recommendations for nerve pain specialists. Same with twitching. When I search "twitching" this is the very first thing I see:

"Common causes of this symptom

Muscle twitches can have causes that aren't due to underlying disease. Examples include low magnesium levels, muscle fatigue, or medication side effects."

Holy hell!! I looked up twitches too to test it out and I got what you did...I was sure I'd see als.. but nope. The time I did see als I was googling all about ALS 3years ago. I didn't know it did that. I haven't looked at anything als related in about a year. 

[bin_tenn 1252]

1 hour ago, Holls said:

Holy hell!! I looked up twitches too to test it out and I got what you did...I was sure I'd see als.. but nope. The time I did see als I was googling all about ALS 3years ago. I didn't know it did that. I haven't looked at anything als related in about a year. 

It's designed to show the most relevant results, on a per user basis. That way you get the information you need more quickly. It's the same thing that drives the ads you see, based on search / browsing history. If you go to a computer you've never used and do a search (without logging into Google) chances are you'll see different results. Many of them are generic, yes, but the most prominent results will likely change. Same with ads.

[BrightPhoenix 78]

So if you do want a less-tailored more "generic" search, search in Incognito/private browsing mode so they can't use your previous search history as a base.  And like I said, maybe stick to HA-related sites so you can see that you aren't alone in your worries. :)

[Jae 210]

Why do people feel compelled to search at all? We KNOW it's going to cause more anxiety. 

Just dont do it. 

[Holls 1496]

13 minutes ago, BrightPhoenix said:

So if you do want a less-tailored more "generic" search, search in Incognito/private browsing mode so they can't use your previous search history as a base.  And like I said, maybe stick to HA-related sites so you can see that you aren't alone in your worries.

Yes ! When I search anything I always add anxiety or no more panic at the end.. definitely changes the searches. 

[bin_tenn 1252]

1 hour ago, BrightPhoenix said:

So if you do want a less-tailored more "generic" search, search in Incognito/private browsing mode so they can't use your previous search history as a base.  And like I said, maybe stick to HA-related sites so you can see that you aren't alone in your worries.

I do tend to push the site: prefix hack for Google as well. Very helpful! It really narrows down the results. And when you restrict it to a site such as this, you realize just how common your problem may be. You don't see that when it's burning among all the other medical results.

[Heal 13]

Hi. 

Yes I agree because the term I searched was "weird sensations body making due to anxiety" and the MS result was from an MS support site in the 4th number.

Actually I had read an article on American psychiatrist association or something that said for OCD body starts making noise which gets noticed by ppl with OCD. I was trying to track that back.

[BrightPhoenix 78]

On 7/5/2019 at 2:36 PM, Jae said:

Why do people feel compelled to search at all? We KNOW it's going to cause more anxiety. 

Just dont do it. 

Tell an alcoholic to "just stop drinking" or a smoker to "just stop smoking" and see how well it works for them.  You don't force these people to quit cold turkey, that's almost guaranteed to fail for them.

The whole reason why you tell people to do the site: thing is it allows you to curb your desire to Google a symptom but also to find reassurance that there are people out there who went through the exact same experiences as you.  It prevents you from feeding into your anxiety while also keeping that addictive part of your psyche at bay.  It's the "nicotine patch" for us HA sufferers.

Using the site: hack is a good way to slowly stop yourself from feeling compelled to Google - it's part of what you should do to EVENTUALLY not feel that need to do it in the first place,. At the very least this is better than just plain old Googling symptoms and worrying yourself sick.

[AbeLinkedIn 40]

Maybe I'm not the right person to say this as I've at times fallen down the Google rabbit hole, but don't Google your symptoms. There's a rare case that they may be right, but 95% of the time they're dead wrong. Dr. Google got his medical license from the back of a cereal box. They don't know your personal medical history or your individual circumstances. The information they provide is meant for general knowledge and not a personal diagnosis. Even the symptom checkers only go for a general diagnosis, but to their credit they put the most likely and common cause first. 

It's really a two-way street. We, as HA sufferers, want an answer for why we have a certain symptom and want to be reassured that it's nothing serious if not just anxiety playing mind games. Naturally we search the symptom on Google and look for the most debilitating cause when there are literally hundreds if not thousands of other outcomes depending on the symptom. And again, Google doesn't know your preexisting conditions that could alter a diagnosis. Anxiety is, as another user put it, a bastard that magnifies our worries until we come face to face and what we once thought of as a gargantuan behemoth of a problem is merely a minuscule malady that we'll feel stupid about making a big fuss over. 

[Angelica Schuyler 217]

Another thing about Googling symptoms is that you never, ever forget the most sinister causes of any of them. 

[Iugrad91 501]

When I am tempted to google I say to  myself, how’d that work out the last time? Have you EVER felt better after googling a symptom? And plain old DON’T DO IT! It usually works for me. Reassurance seeking is also a vicious cycle that needs to be broken, so not googling can help stop reassurance seeking.

Is it always easy? No. Can it be done, absolutely. Is it worth the effort? Yes.

[bin_tenn 1252]

1 hour ago, Iugrad91 said:

When I am tempted to google I say to  myself, how’d that work out the last time? Have you EVER felt better after googling a symptom? And plain old DON’T DO IT! It usually works for me. Reassurance seeking is also a vicious cycle that needs to be broken, so not googling can help stop reassurance seeking.

Is it always easy? No. Can it be done, absolutely. Is it worth the effort? Yes.

I agree 100%. Going to Google for reassurance is never helpful in the end. It works for a short time, but it only drives anxiety. Fortunately I'm able to Google now, when I have a legitimate reason, and not be freaked out or assume the worst. I can actually pick through the results rationally. Takes a long time to get to that point though; it took me a few years or more.

[Jae 210]

On 7/9/2019 at 5:06 PM, BrightPhoenix said:

Tell an alcoholic to "just stop drinking" or a smoker to "just stop smoking" and see how well it works for them. 

That's a bit extreme... and really poor comparisons. 

Googling symptoms is a choice. There are no "nicotine patches" for it, there are no AA meetings for it. It's a choice, like what am I going to watch on TV, or what am I going to eat for lunch.. don't make it bigger and more important than it is. 

 

[jonathan123 2365]

 Googling can become an addiction. Now that's a fact and I have seen it happen often. Addicts are drawn to it like a magnet. They wont hardly move without consulting Dr. Google, and that's why it's so important to catch it before it gets a hold. Health anxiety sufferers are looking for reassurance, and they hope to find it on Google. But advice on Google is not necessarily good advice, no matter how many medical qualifications they have. You are you, and only a physical examination by a doctor in your local surgery will tell if anything is wrong.

Now as bin-tenn says, having a legitimate reason for Googling is ok. Like looking up dosages for medication. But if you begin to get into the realm of side effects and possible other causes then you are in trouble.  In general we have always said on this site, don't Google.

Yes, to a certain extent we are able to make choices. But our choices are always governed by what we know, our feelings and emotions.

[Jae 210]

I refuse to give it that kind of power.

[jonathan123 2365]

Having read all the posts I ask myself the question. 'Why don't we trust our doctors'? It all comes down to that. I am old enough to remember pre computer days. You went to the docs; he/she told you the problem and if anything needed attention. You walked away with a prescription or a referral. No where else was there to go. The doctors were not under so much pressure as they are now, and it's my view that Google sites are a lot to blame by putting the frighteners on people so they rush to the doctors with a twinge or twitch.

I suggest alcohol has no power and Nicotine has no power is you don't use or abuse them.  Nothing can have any power over us until we give it. But that applies to those who can be rational. In HA who is rational? Drugs, prescribed or otherwise, give relief just as does Googling for some. They rely on it when they should rely on their medics. It's still a fact, at least to me because I have seen it, Googling can become additive and that is serious because it reinforces anxiety

 

[Jae 210]

I believe true addiction is something that you would suffer withdrawal from when it's stopped. IE: Drugs, alcohol, smoking. These things chemically alter your brain.

Googling symptoms is not even in the ballpark of addiction, it's a bad choice and a nasty habit. 

Nothing about HA is rational, that doesn't in any way shape or form mean we should forgo any common sense we have and give in to its whims. 

STOP GOOGLING TODAY

[mollyfin 366]

I take it you don't believe in gambling, sex, food, etc, addiction? 

Compulsive behaviors generally require treatment to stop, because if it were as simple as making a decision not to do them, no one would go through their hours-long OCD rituals when they're running late and don't have the time to touch every doorknob nine times.   

That said, you can't overcome those behaviors and the driving forces behind them while continuing to engage in them.  So at some point if you want to get past HA, googling has to stop.  And it CAN be stopped.  None of us are powerless here.