Hypochindria? Please Help

Hi swimmer:

i am very sorry about your step dad. That is always hard. Is he doing better now?

I would definitely say that you are suffering from anxiety. I suffer from the same thing now and have been for about 6 months. I didn't realize that I had anxiety until after numerous trips to the doctor and of course, finding out what anxiety is. I suffer, and it sounds like you do too, from what is called health anxiety, similar to hypochondria. Like yours, mine came on suddenly. One night after dinner, I was sitting with my husband ( I am a 20 year old female by the way) and I had a terrible heart palpitation. It just felt like my heart skipped a beat, or did something wierd. I got very scared. So I started to constantly worry about it. Pretty soon I got myself so worked up about it that I had panick attack one night. Anyways, I have thought since then that I have had something wrong with me, first it was my heart, and just recently I was so afraid of having a brain tumor, I was pretty much convinced that I did have one because I was getting terrible headaches every day and I never used to. I got all of this brain tumor information off of the internet and it really scared me just as with my heart. My point being try to keep yourself away from the internet sites about health stuff. There is a lot of information out there and it is a wonderful resource, but for people like you and me it just makes things worse.

Believe it or not, I had the exact same symptoms as you... Especially the heart palpitations and the muscles twitching and the tingling feelings. It is amazing what anxiety will do to you. I never imagined it would be so powerful. It has a huge array of symptoms. Just try to stop worrying. The longer you let it go on, the worse it is going to get. At your age, the chances of there being something wrong with you are very slim, especially if you have visited the doctor recently and he/she had a good look at you. I know it will be hard to forget... Just give it your best shot. If things don't start getting better, go to the doctor again and tell him that you think you have anxiety and describe your symptoms and they will guide you on the right path. Anxiety is common, just read in this forum.

I hope this helps... Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions. I'd be glad to try and help. Have a good one. ;)

Its great to know that there are other people out there who feel like this.

It helps..A lot when ever I hear people reassuring me. Its just been so rough for the past few months and I just havent been myself. I go all day through school just thinking about everything health related to me. Then, after all that worring I just need to come home and let it all out. So I just cry. It helps, but soon im back to my normal self. Looking things up online, which I constantly try to tell myself to stop because it makes things just 10 times worse for me. Its almost as if its an addiction.

Sometimes ill be doing fine, then out of nowhere, ill have some sort of symptom. Something that any other person would just blow off. I think that im doing fine but then ill start having tingling, or a muscle twitch. I just have top ask myself "what is wrong with me?!" its horrible how I dont even feel like myself anymore. Like today in gym I had myself worked up because when I was running I started feeling off balance, then the tingling started, then I had a slight ringing in my ears. Right away I started worrying and this just ruined my whole day. Sometimes I feel as if I cant even concentrate. This things just come out of nowhere...I think im fine but then ill have a symptom. I mean, things are back to normal...My step dad is doing great. I shouldnt be having anxiety. But I just cant stop this constant worrying that something horrible is going to happen to me.

Im sorry I keep babbling on about this, but as much as I love my mom and step dad, and as much as they do help. It helps a lot to talk to somebody who knows what im going through.

I cant thank you enough for providing me with some comfort.

These same things happen to me. I think at first I did have hypochindria, I'm on strattera but that doesn't help and the fear of the possible side affects makes it worse. I have a lot of headaches, maybe just from lack of drinking water. I hope this is just anxiety: I start feeling sick, and dizzy and my heart beats fast & palpitates. My chest starts shaking but you can't really see it. And then I confuse the two and can't tell which is my actual heart beat and that just makes it all worse. My arms get tingly and numb and my neck and sometimes shoulders. If I'm in a really bad time it will get horrible. But it just happens at random times when I seem okay though. I'm so scared. :/ I just feel so lost and I don't know what to do. I'm a 16 year old female by the way.