Dr Google - Don't do it!

[pjgrierson 2]

Wow - you guys are awesome. I have talked to one sufferer an some health psychologists about how health anxiety works and impacts on people's lives, would eitherof you two be willing to chat on Skype about your experiences and let me interview you? I think this is such an important topic to educate people about, and stop the. "All in your head" stigma about it.

[jonathan123 2366]

Hi pjg. Not me I am afraid. My thing is writing not talking. I agree about its importance, and if you need further info in written form ask away.  It is good to know that someone is taking this menace seriously.  Best wishes.   Jon.

[Jojo1967 0]

I have that for a big problem Dr Google is my go to guy lol

[cat lady 1]

LOL.

 

Looking at phantom/minor symptoms on the Ole Googs is bad news, for sure!

 

BUT the internet has been the ONLY thing in my life that's actually helped my continued recovery.  I've learned coping techniques, remedies, communication skills, relationship help, dietary treatment, etc,...

 

I gained all of this just because I Googled: "afraid dizzy heart attack" after breathlessly dragging myself off of the floor during a panic attack. lol.  Thank god for DR GOOGLE!!!

[Gilly 1086]

[gettingthere 2]

wow that is so true , i do google but i also go to the doctors to make sure i am okay , i also panic at the slightest thing wrong with me .

[gettingthere 2]

lol that's so funny 

[liline 0]

I was having a horrible time last night.i kept having attacks after attacks.the last one was so severe i was certain that i was dying.i was trembling,chest pain that moved to my arms ans back it was really horrible.i grabbed my phone and googled : symptoms of heart attack and panick.i wished i didn't do that,i felt worst afterwards.yes google is mr evil

[jonathan123 2366]

Hi liline and welcome. We always suggest, on this site, to keep well away from Dr. Google. It is not generally appreciated how vulnerable we are to suggestion when in an anxiety state. A word; a picture or even loud sounds can upset us. You are talking to us now so I presume you did not have a heart attack!! Of course not, because what you describe is typical of anxiety and panic. I suggest, if you have not done so, to see your GP and get some mild medication just to get you over this bad time and to give you space to think things through. Read as much as you can manage about panic on this site and especially the posts under RESOURCES.     Have a good New Year; or as good as you can manage.     Jon.

[Bunny45 0]

When you get a thought or an idea of some illness how do you stop yourself from Googling? You see i Gogle in the hopes to ease my worries, but sometimes the more it gets aggravated, I know. Yet i still do it. How do you guys control yourselves from Googling? Like right now, i had my wisdom tooth removed, its been 16 days. This afternoon I ate a bread with lots of sesame seeds. After which i realized that i shouldnt have because the seeds may have entered the hole. So i panicked. I then googled about it. And found out that sesame seeds dont dissolve or get digested. And thus i worried whether a seed may have entered the hole. And i might get an infection. And i will be in pain of suffer in the future because i ate that darned bread with seeds. I am scared right now and i dont know whether this fear is valid. I dont know what to do.

[jonathan123 2366]

Hi Bunny. Welcome to AC. How do you stop? By looking at the reasons you do it and realising that it is unproductive. Sounds easy? Oh no!

I know what you mean because I used to do it but no longer. Why do you do it? Mainly Reassurance and curiosity. Now if it were just curiosity that would be fine but it's not is it? The need to be continually reassured is a classic symptom of anxiety. If you really need that then there is only one place to go and that is to your doctor.  When you look up symptoms on Google how do you sort out the false from the true. You have no medical training, (have you?), so you have no real idea what you are looking at. Another thing is that you frighten yourself and why? Because in anxiety our imaginations run riot. If someone tells you you don't look well it can throw you for days. I say that I have, (metaphorically), set my computer to self destruct if I go near Google. I keep that in my mind as a joke but I wish, really wish, that it were possible to do that for anxiety sufferers. So much harm is done by Googling.

Your tooth problem will be ok. I have never heard of a sesame seed being infectious and the worse that can happen is that it may irritate for while. Worry will cause you a lot more harm than the seed!

There now, that is all I can say, but please bear it in mind. Self diagnosis in nervous illness is dangerous.        Jon.

[Bunny45 0]

Thank you Jonathan! You are absolutely right. That made me feel a bit better. Sometimes the worry persists though and I have a hard time deciphering whether it is a real and pressing concern or a product of my anxious thinking. I have a feeling a couple of dentists here think of me as a bit loony now. Sometimes I can't decide whether to go see a doctor or nor? Have this test taken or not? Is this woery that popped into my head a valid concern or not? Should I tell my dentist and look like a madwoman but ease my worry, or I shouldn't tell him at all and persist in worrying?

Should I tell my dentist that I have hypochondria? Or not?

[jonathan123 2366]

No, No, Bunny not mad,strange, peculiar, potty, messed up, none of those things. You and I and everyone here is far more normal that a lot of the so called normal people. We KNOW we have a problem most of them don't. Knowing means we can fix it; not knowing means we go on causing problems for ourselves and others. All you need tell your GP or dentist is that you suffer from anxiety. It is an illness like any other and nothing whatever to be ashamed of. Doctors are only too familiar with it these days. If you go to the docs for a test and get reassurance then that is fine provided once you have been you believe them. No second guessing. The symptoms you have are typical of anxiety. Uncertainty; lack of confidence; indecision all go to make up the pattern we all know. I think you are doing better than you may realise.       Jon.

[Bunny45 0]

Thanks Jon! I need to work on those things you said. I am glad though that I found this place.

[Big 1]

Pure awesomeness. I can't stop smiling!

[LADA 44]

I made my decision to Divorce Google as of yesterday. And I am proud to say our Divorce is Final!! And I get the house (little corny joke) And even better! I get full control of my MIND back. I hope for any of you who have a negative relationship with Google can do the same asap! Google is not a good wife, husband, friend in our time of need. I find this website to be more of a wife, husband or friend...Figuratively speaking Have a great Saturday everyone!!! And Thank you all for your help and support. This site is Awesome

[Jamieleigh 0]

Think I also have to make the same decision it's so easy to google your symptoms then left thinking something is seriously wrong like right now I after googling I'm terrified that I might have a blood clot in my leg and crohns this has only made me freek out why do I continue to do this all the time

[Mark G 1186]

You must stop with Dr Google. He is not your friend, he craves your fear.

[HDBobbers 55]

 

I dunno why anyone does this.  It's the most surefire way of causing yourself issues.

[SlowAndSteady 1]

I used to do that all the time, looking my symptoms up online. I finally realized what a bad idea that was because, for one so many of the symptoms that indicate you have a serious problem are also things that can be brought on by the stress of thinking you have a serious problem. And for another when you see the list of symptom you forget that you may have them for another reason. Like the reason you have stomach pain is because you ate something that didn't agree with you, or your throat went dry because you're scared. Of course the reason I was always looking my symptoms up was because I didn't want to be going to the doctor for every little thing. Now whenever I think something is wrong with me I try to distract myself (actually I found this site) and wait a few days to see if I feel better.

[jonathan123 2366]

Hi. There SAS.  Welcome to AC. .

You will find a lot of helpful advice here from those who know because there is no substitute for experience in nervous illness. We have a firm policy here, NO GOOGLING. We are not doctors and can't even begin to understand the many and various disorders  the human body is capable of having. Have you noticed how it's always the same diseases that come up? All the known and much talked about one's? It's never 'Joe Blogs Syndrome' or 'Mississippi Swamp Fever' or 'Bill Jones's Blight', oh no, always something that's in the news or the papers. Pick up a woman's magazine and you will find many articles on all sorts of disorders and how to cope with them. But they are always the most common ones. So we, the nervous ones, are given many opportunities to worry over something. In the UK we have the Nation Health Service which should really be called the National Sickness Service because we have become a nation of hypochondriacs. My doctor reckons around 70% of his patients have psychosomatic disorders, and I believe him. I am one of them..  Yes, Google is a no no in anxiety. And a big one. Very dangerous.      Welcome aboard.                 Jon.

[KathyC 88]

I was stupid enough to go on Dr Google and was convinced I first had Lupus then I had PGAD then I had neuropathy it was horrible because I had mostly all the symptoms. Lupus was because my ANA blood test came back positive but the next round of test was negative, then I hurt myself between my legs and a friend told me I had PGAD so I looked it up and I freaked out then as for the neuropathy I was on a medication I got a bit dizzy and numb feeling in my feet looked it up on Google and totally freaked out more. Now I try to stay away and instead come to anxiety boards instead because I feel we can get more support and understanding my next thing I'd I have a CT scan for my neck and my anxiety is high because dr found a lump on my lower front neck and yes, I think of the worse. If it's not one thing it's another and the only bad thing about internet is when we feel something we look it up and we scare ourselves even more. Because I do and then worry 24/7 it's like now I have tingles my feet for no reason and I am trying to ignore it.

[Drewdude 13]

I often google as i kid myself that it can still help at times. Like it's a gamble....Russian roulette.  If I get an answer I like...it calms me....for a while...then I google again just to make sure.....I then may find something that worries me more! Crazy. My best cure has been meditation and relaxation. There's a great book called 'finding peace in a frantic world.' Really helped. I'm about to do it now as I've been worried recently and ...trying not to google 'running water feeling on legs!' Yikes...... 

[jonathan123 2366]

Hi Drew.

"Running water feeling on legs". My goodness!!. Now that is sure to be Tibetan Woggle Fever or even Outer Mongolian Swamp Fever. So sorry to be facetious, but it's a good example of what you get from idiot Dr. Google. We are all conned. If you look on the so called 'advice' websites you find they will always try to sell you something to cure your imaginary ailment. Having told you that you have so and so they have a sure cure for so and so, and it even comes with a guarantee of your money back in 30 days if no result is obtained. THAT is the biggest con of all. Anyone with HA should keep well a way from Dr. Google. With HA you are so vulnerable to suggestion because it sticks in a tired mind.

It seems the negative is even more attractive than the positive when in an anxiety state. But I suppose that is a definition of anxiety.

Stick with the meditation and relaxation. Ten minutes of that will do more good that an hour in a consultation with Dr.Google.

[Ihadcancer 319]

I wish there were a way to block all medical websites!  I've wasted my whole morning playing Dr. Google because I'm so afraid of 'superbugs'. 

I think our lives were easier and less stressful before the internet when we lived in ignorance (tho I'm sure many lives have been saved because of this availability to info).