hypochondria - My Anxiety and Yours

Nothing is more important than our health. No amount of money can buy it. There are famous, powerful and ultra-wealthy people who have fallen to the grip of diseases and illnesses. And they would trade it all for a well and balance health again.

We are all alarmed and triggered when there’s something that has the potential of threatening our health. We recognize a sign of abnormality and search for answer so we can correct it. Once it is corrected, the symptoms subside, and we return to our normal life.

Unfortunately for anxiety and panic attack sufferers, this becomes a cycle of hell that consumes and sometime ruin their life. Since anxiety can cause so many mental and physical symptoms. Their victims constantly experience one symptom after another, from one part of the body to the next.

Physical symptoms experienced by anxiety sufferers are REAL! It’s not “just in our head”. I myself experienced hundreds if not thousands of them. There was no one who could convince me at the time that it was because of sensitized nerves, that it was all because of anxiety. Until I found Dr. Claire Weekes book “Hope and Helps for your Nerves”.

That sounds like me!

I spent most of my days googling what a symptom that I had would indicate. And, of course, I found diseases that match with my symptom perfectly. Now, in my mind, I had that disease, and no one could tell me otherwise. I would go to my doctor and do whatever necessary to get a scan or test done to confirm my new-found problem.

The result came back, everything was normal. A big sigh of relief, I would laugh at myself for being so silly. A boost of energy rush through my body. Confidence returned to me, and I felt like a new person. The test confirmed that I’m healthy so I would go on and live a normal life now. Anxiety is no more. Right? NO!

A couple days later, I would feel a twitch, a pain, a numbness at a different part of my body. Or I would feel dizzy, nauseous, hot cold or both at the same time, and many more sensations that you can think of. Or even if I heard people discussing about an illness or disease that they or someone else had. I would freak out and back on the internet I go.

The previous one wasn’t correct; this is the real one!

And magically, whatever the description that Google has about that disease is what I started to feel exactly. My body somehow managed to produce the exact symptoms and sensations that Dr. Google would suggest. Now all my confidence is gone. Anxiety got a hold of me once again.

The more I stressed about my body, the more stress hormone was released into my system which further sensitized my nerves. Highly activated and sensitized nerves intensify every little feeling I had about this new “disease”. I didn’t know anything about anxiety at that time, so I had no choice but to call my doctor and beg for another test.

Another test, another medical bill, another normal result which game me another short-lived happiness. Until the vicious cycle starts again. This went on for years. It was exhausting and overwhelming. I did consider ending it all but didn’t have the strength to do it.

The breakthrough

At the point where everything seems so gloomy. When life was covered by a blanket of disappointment, exhaustion, hopelessness and an impending doom, I found hope. I realized that it wasn’t the symptoms that I was struggling with. It was my interpretation of the symptoms that keeps me in the living hell.

I realized that I had to switch my mindset about the way I feel. First, I have to truly accept my anxiety, and everything that comes with it. I had to break my habit of googling for answers. I had to stop asking people for reassurance. I had to quit my addiction of finding short-term comfort.

IT WAS SO HARD at first, but with commitment, discipline and a massive determination to gain my life back, I was able to break the cycle. I fell off the wagon a few times, I gave into my addiction and hop on my laptop looking for explanation and reassurance and got pulled back into the health anxiety hole.

Trust me, I understand how scary anxiety symptoms and sensations can be. It is easier said than done when you feel like your life is at risk. But if you read Dr. Weekes book, you’ll learn that anxiety is nervous condition. It has everything to do with your nerves. Our body has nerves endings connected to every part and organ. So, when nerves are sensitized due to months and years of excessive stress and tension, they will create symptoms to whichever part or organ they connect to.

And since our brain never really sleeps, some people experience symptoms even while they’re asleep. You don’t feel pain when you cut your hair and nails because there are no nerve endings there, that’s why we barely ever hear people complain about symptoms related to their hairs or nails. Most symptoms are around the head, heart, eyes, belly areas where nerves endings are found the most. Knowing this makes anxiety symptoms seem much less scary and easier to accept.

Think about this situation. You have a headache, and your doctor gives you 2 answers:

1- “It seems to be allergy related, nothing important” or

2- “It seems to be related to your brain function; we’ll keep an eye on it”

Same headache, but the second answer would send you into panic and misery right away. You would focus on the headache and feel it intensifying by the day. But if your doctor gives you the first answer, you wouldn’t pay much attention to it, and it probably goes away without you even knowing it.

You see, as hypochondriacs, we give ourselves the second answer all the time. It’s never been the symptoms that torment us; it’s the fear that we create about the symptoms.

So, to cure hypochondria, finding answers for every problem is not the way, even if you have your entire body scanned by the best medical equipment. Fear created by sensitized nerves will keep you in its prison. You have to practice shifting your interpretation about how you feel. Remove fear from the equation and your anxiety will starve and eventually dies. You will gain your life back. You will find yourself again.

Practice A.C.E.R. and read the post about reassurance seeking to strengthen your belief that anxiety will be defeated if you put in the work and the will.

Good luck to you

One condition before we start. This method works well when you have read and been able to implement A.C.E.R. comfortably.

This is one of the best approaches to battle panic attacks and can potentially eliminate it. I developed this method for myself and defeated panic attacks for good. I’ve shared this approach with people I’ve worked with, and the result is very positive.

Panic attacks come in waves

Now let’s say you’re at a situation where you feel your panic attack is creeping up. I want you to recognize all sensations and symptoms in your body and name them out, either out loud or in your head. For example: “Hah! lightheadedness, dry mouth, heart palpitation, rapid breathing, trembling hands, dry eyes, shaky legs…etc..” By naming them out, even though they are very scary, you have successfully diffused the power of the first wave. At this stage think of yourself as a cute little puppy.

60 Seconds are all you need

At this point, you probably want to leave the situation or looking for safety. But don’t! Take out your phone or a timer and set it for 1 minute. All I’m asking is for you to do nothing for 1 minute! If you usually would run, then stay for 1 minute. If you would usually stop what you’re doing, then keep doing it for 1 minute. If you usually would call someone, then put down your phone and wait for one minute. By actively doing what you normally wouldn’t do during a panic attack for 1 minute, you’ve successfully diffused the second wave. At this stage, think of yourself as a wild cat.

This is when you have to make a decision

Now that the one minute is over. If you want to leave the situation now or return to your safety, that’s ok. At least you have successfully diffused two waves of panic attacks, which you have never done before. You can always try again later.

But! If you can pull a little extra courage and strength to go for an additional minute, it would be awesome! The first minute, as hard as it was, proved to you that you’re safe. No one noticed what you were going through that first minute right? Then let’s go for another minute, you can do it!

At the end of the second minutes, you might be shaken and exhausted. But now you are more convinced that you will be ok. Everyone has panic attacks at different intensities. So, if your attacks are strong like mine used to be. Don’t push too hard, return to your comfort zone and take a breather. Tomorow you will fight again. Now at this stage, you are a lion!

The outcome of the battle starts to shift

Two minutes become 3, three then become 4 minutes. I personally have rarely seen anyone who proactively challenged their panic attacks and had to exceed 10 minutes. As each minute goes by, your confidence grows, and your fear subsides. And since anxiety and panic attacks feed on fear so when they’re running out of fear, they will eventually vanish. At this stage you’re not a puppy, a wild cat or a lion. You are yourself again. You have made it to the other side of panic attacks and found the old but stronger version of yourself.

Dr. Claire Weekes emphasized many times in her books that “Recovery is on the other side of panic, not on this side”. You recover by going through it, not around or over it.

Reach deep in your heart, find the will and the determination to go out and face your fear. Equipped with this new method, you will defeat all of your panic attacks one after another, one minute at a time.

Adversities will happen in life and bring you stress here and there. But with A.C.E.R. and this 1-minute method, you are armed to defeat anxiety over and over again.

Tag: hypochondria

Post #3: Hypochondria/ Health Anxiety