Wednesday 16 June 2010

Health anxiety




I've been hiding something but now I will tell:

I have had trouble with different things throughout the spring, especially my health.
Mostly due to stress and anxiety because of the physical symptoms I got. So many strange things started to happen in my body, or my mind..
I went through various tests, including a thyroid test. And it turns out that I actually have a little problem with it, so I've taken more tests and will find out in a week or so. We have thyroid problems in the family so it wouldn't be a surprise if I got it too!

I've also had an MRI examination of my head. That was scary..
And two days ago, I got a letter with the results. I had nothing worse wrong but they could still find something called "cavernom", which means something like a malformation of a blood vessel in my head.
First I got an incredible shock and panicked (the letter was written with long weird medical terms..) But after having learned more, it is apparently not dangerous. Maybe I have to undergo more tests and "fix" it, if the doctor thinks so.
Still random that they found it..if I hadn't done the MRI, I guess I never would have found out.

I hope it will come something good out of these months of feeling bad, that I finally get rid of my stupid, terrible hypochondria.

Anybody else who has health anxiety?

16 comments:

when skies are grey said...

I do go through bouts for sure. Most times it really is nowhere near as bad as I thought. I always try to remember what my mom tells me about fear not accomplishing anything at all, except kind of poisoning your body. Easier said than done. The good side of the thyroid thing though-doesn't it make you a anxious sometimes? Once it is regulated you may find yourself feeling calmer. Try not to worry, as you've said neither thing is too serious. Thanks for sharing though, I know how you feel :)

mette/ungt blod said...

YES! When i am stressed out i get very anxious! I am definitely a hypochondriac - though i think that term is very misused and have a very undeserved negative ring to it - it is really just a very normal form of anxiety where you focus the anxiety in your mind on something in your body and i find it very helpful to know that i can control it if i keep stress away and avoid things that would cause you to worry - then even when you can't avoid worrying (which you can't completely) you know that it will pass. Thank you so much for sharing! I hope you feel better! I really think its the sort of thing you can learn how to deal with and it won't fill your life!

SASHA said...

i know a lot of people that worry a lot about their health, but i don't worry very much/ at all. i had a brain tumor when i was 14, so had brain surgery to remove it and i think going through this thing that should have been so scary and being ok on the other side made me just not worry about the bigger things that you can't really control (like a tumor that was there from birth). on the other side of that, i think we have more control over our health than we think: so much of our physical health is completely tied to our emotional health. when we are super stressed/anxious it comes out somewhere in our physical body, we get sick. i think the most important thing we can do as human beings is not rely on medicines prescribed by doctors to be well (because most of the time these medicines isolate the physical problem from who you are, and just supress the physical symptom without addressing what is causing the symptom to occur). unless something is drastically wrong that only a doctor/hospital can fix the most important things are instead to consistently eat whole foods and feel connected to healthy foods and connected to healthy people and to pay attention to who we are and what we feel and try to be calm + balanced in our lives:)))
xo

Anonymous said...

Well... yes, the last year has been a dark spot in my life. You've probably heard about it. Well, what doesn't kill you, leaves a scar...

Pontus

Anonymous said...

I know that all will be well with your health and I completely understand. Everyone has had a health-related anxiety at some point in their lives.

whitney said...

i think it happens to all of us!

i (yes, this is embarrassing - although no one saw, luckily) fell down an entire flight of stairs a few days ago, and was completely convinced that i had broken every bone in my body. but i'm fine - i only ended up with bruises and a sore tailbone.
i think it's a good example of how sometimes it's easy for me to freak out about things before realizing they aren't as bad as i think. i don't know if i'm a hypochondriac - maybe i just worry too much!

i sure hope that this is how it is for you - that maybe things won't be too bad, and that you will recover quickly. and i hope you don't have to do too many more tests - because tests are awful! please keep us updated and definitely watch out for stairs.

emma said...

Oh Maria, so sorry you've had to go through that, but the worst is over now, right. You know what it is and can take action. I think the scariest thing is to know something is wrong but not know what it is.

I've had my share of unwellness with the celiac disease. Before I found out it was several years of constant tiredness and frequent migraines. It was a slow process back to health, but now, two years later, I feel better than ever. It's definitely taught me to take better care of myself, be kinder to myself, eat better and not take my health for granted.

Hugs!

cellulite cream said...

You are not alone. I am also worried about my health because my father died because of heart attack 24 years, then the same thing happened to my brother 4 months ago. I'm really scared that I might inherit the disease too. I'm planning to see a doctor and heart specialist to determine my condition... :(

expwoman said...

My heart goes out to you! Health anxiety is exhausting and scary. For me, the health anxiety was harder to cope with than the actual health problems, because the anxiety was about being absolutely certain I would be ok, which isn't possible to achieve, and erodes whatever I am able to enjoy in the present moment.

Pixie said...

lol...2 years ago I had the WORST pain in my side and rib cage. It hurt to lie down flat or on my side or the back, it hurt to take a deep breath, it hurt to move certain ways. for some reason I just knew I had lung cancer even though I've never smoked. turns out I had strained cartilidge between ribs while working out...who knew?! lol It took a few months for the pain to go away.

I do hope that whatever it is, you feel better soon.

Emily's Moose - Karolina Kubikowska said...

I hope everything turns out fine for you! And don't worry, I think that it's better to know something earlier and deal with it than just not know about what's going on with your body...

H. Kids said...

Almost this problem is happening very much. Don't worry everything will be fine very soon.

steph. said...

good luck, hope all is well soon! x

gracia said...

Oh... poor, poor you. I hope everything pans out okay and that you get to relax a little. xo

silvia said...

i hope you get your thyroids taken care of. i've had hyperthyroid problems for over 4 years now, and it is finally regulating itself, but thyroid disease really messes with your state of mind and that may affect how severe your anxiety is. so take very good care!

sunkentreasure said...

wish you all the best!!! xo