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Health anxiety

ee124
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Hi, 

This is probably off topic but I was wondering if anybody suffers from health anxiety? 
 

The past 9 months have been hard and I constantly think I'm sick or dying, I google things and convince my self I have all these problems. 
 

it literally has been taking up most of my life lately and it seems like I can't get my mind off of it, I am 22 and I spend most of my days thinking about how short life is and that maybe I'll never get to fulfil it properly because I'm so cautious and worried all the time. I won't even let my nieces eat sweets on occasion because I'm scared they'll choke on them or play with certain toys because they have small parts, it's literally consuming every aspect of my life.

if anyone has suffered from anxiety like I do, is there anything that you have done that makes it better? 
 

 

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    Hello ee124, 

    Googling things constantly is a good indicator that you may indeed have a tendency to suffer from health anxiety. What you need to do I think is talk to your GP about it and see whether you can be referred to your local anxiety clinic for example where they will be able to help you manage these anxious thoughts. There are good techniques available like CBT to help you overcome health anxiety. This is something a lot of people suffer from and there is help available at hand so don't hesitate to talk to your doctor about it. Staying away from Google or health related sites or forums is also a good idea as it may just end up feeding and fuelling your anxiety. 

    I hope you get over this soon and find the help you need for this. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator 

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    I suffer from this too and I get into googling spirals and then also convince myself that I have a serious condition or something but I'm still young (15) and I know that hormones and growing can cause pains and things on the body that I'm not used to however I still think it's something far worse and it's really taking a toll of my day to day life but I find that speaking to others about your worries and getting reassurance from people who know you well definitely helps me and maybe try to book to see your GP as they are also great to speak to and they can refer you to someone who specifically can help you! Trust me I know how you feel and your worries, you aren't in this alone!

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