Dealing with health anxiety/hypochondria

Hi everyone, I’ve always struggled with health anxiety regarding serious illnesses, and things really ramped up last year when I dealt with my first bout of severe gastritis after eating some bad shellfish...

Over the last few months, my digestion has been all over the place—lots of stomach and intestinal noise, dark stools over the past two weeks, occasional diarrhea, cramping everywhere, and some light nausea...

I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist this Monday, but the anxiety is hitting me so hard that I actually start shaking. I can't stop spiraling into worst-case scenarios, thinking it has to be something like cancer...

It’s becoming exhausting. When I feel okay, I’m on top of the world and feeling great, but the second I notice a dark stool, I immediately panic and end up feeling depressed for half the day...
I've also been dealing with some family issues lately, which just adds more fuel to the fire...

I’ve already requested a referral for a psychiatrist, but does anyone know of any herbal supplements that might help manage this kind of anxiety?

I am honestly just over it. I'm only 25 years old and I shouldn't have to deal with this level of stress and fear...

Thanks for the help 🙂

Best

First off, stop catastrophizing everything!!!! You’re just fueling your own gastritis with all this stress, and obviously, that makes you feel worse immediately.

And why on earth are you obsessing over some fatal disease? You can't control it anyway, so why waste the mental energy?

I get where you're coming from because I'm 25 and dealing with my own health issues. But getting worked up achieves absolutely nothing—in fact, it does the exact opposite by making your condition worse.

Plus, you don't need a referral for a psychiatrist. Everyone living with a chronic illness goes through this exact same thing. If you really feel like you need a professional to talk to, just go see a psychologist instead.

Go see a therapist, a psychiatrist, or whoever you need to—if you honestly think that’s going to make you feel any better.
Your fear is completely irrational—it’s just like being terrified of flying or any other random phobia.
Some people manage to get over it, others don't, and then there are those whose worst nightmares actually come true, which is why you're sitting here spiraling...

If we're looking at this objectively, you're 25. Your chances of having cancer are incredibly slim—I mean, it’s not impossible, sure, but it is highly unlikely.

Look at it this way: you aren't scared (or maybe you are) of pneumonia because that’s curable, right? You're scared of cancer because of that "incurable" label.
Even if you did end up facing a diagnosis, every case has its own timeline depending on the type. Let's say, hypothetically, something happened 15 years down the road—you'd still be medically considered young. You could live with it for several more years, and who knows what kind of medical breakthroughs will exist by then? Who knows what they'll be able to cure?
Bottom line: if you actually do get sick, maybe by then it won't even be a death sentence anymore. So, seriously, stop worrying about things that haven't happened yet.

Drew Booth said:Hi. I’ve always had a fear of serious, life-threatening illnesses, but it spiked last year when I dealt with my first bout of acute gastritis (triggered by some bad shellfish)..

Over the last few months, I’ve been dealing with digestive issues—noisy stomach, gut problems, dark stools over the past two weeks, occasional diarrhea, abdominal pain everywhere, and some mild nausea...

I have an appointment with a gastroenterologist this Monday, but the anxiety is paralyzing. I find myself shaking, incredibly nervous, and spiraling into worst-case scenarios, like cancer and such...

It’s becoming unbearable. I try my hardest to fight it; when I feel fine, I’m great and life feels wonderful, but the moment I notice dark stool, I immediately jump to the worst conclusion and end up depressed for half the day...
I’ve also been dealing with some family issues lately, which has only added to the stress...

I’ve requested a referral for psychiatry, but are there any herbal supplements that might help with this kind of anxiety?

I’m honestly fed up. I’m only 25, and I shouldn't have to deal with this level of stress and fear in my life...

Thanks for the replies 🙂

Bye

We’ve all been there. Whether you're 20, 25, 35, or 40. You hit these phases, and then they pass. Eventually, people swing to the other extreme and stop going for routine checkups altogether.
Just calm down and get the tests done. You need to realize that worrying won't fix your health; it will only make things worse.
And cancer isn't nearly as common as the advertisements make it seem. They scare us just so we'll buy their products at the pharmacy and keep flooding private practices.
Look, my friend, fear is where the real money is made.

As long as cancer remains more profitable than a cure, the "white mafia" will continue to profit by keeping people terrified and constantly cycling through hospitals and pharmacies.
The truth is, the most difficult diseases could have been managed long ago if it suited the international "white" establishment. In places where medical intervention is limited, diseases spread easily. Every 10 to 20 years, we see outbreaks of strange ailments that look less like genetic predispositions and more like targeted attacks.
Take MS and certain neurological conditions, for example—often seen as direct consequences of vaccinations in the US. Now, we see them appearing elsewhere under entirely different epidemiological circumstances.

Do the bare minimum required to get your answers, and don't let it consume you. Healthcare workers are often the sickest people on the planet. If they can't even help themselves, what hope is there?

Thanks, I tell myself these exact things all the time. Honestly, I should slap myself for being so incredibly stubborn about these fears... but it's hard. It usually starts with family drama, then I overeat just to cope, and suddenly everything goes wrong. My stomach hurts, my stools turn dark, and my mind immediately jumps to the worst-case scenario—like stomach cancer or appendicitis... which just leaves me even more spiraling.

About six months ago, I was convinced I had HIV because I’d been with someone "risky." I kept getting oral thrush, but it never occurred to me that it might just be my immune system crashing after dealing with shingles and gastritis a few months prior... Plus, back when I had 500 blood tests done 7 or 8 months ago, every single lab result was perfect. I even had a blood transfusion during a hernia surgery, and nothing suspicious showed up at all...

Anyway, I’m going to start opening up more so people can understand where I'm coming from. I’m definitely going to see a psychologist or psychiatrist; it doesn't cost much with my insurance, and I really need this to stop before the stress gives me a permanent headache.
It's tough to break habits that have become second nature over the years, but I'm going to give it everything I've got to move past this.
Maybe I'll try yoga or meditation, who knows...
Anything to avoid ending up like an old friend of mine who turned into a heavy alcoholic due to depression.

Thanks for the advice. If anyone else has some wisdom to share, I'd love to hear it instead of just venting 🙂

Thanks again, and take care!

It feels like I’m talking to myself here... I’ve been under massive stress for the last two days, crying like six times a day. Ugh, basically non-stop. So, I’ve had this big, ugly mole behind my ear for maybe 6 or 7 years, and I just noticed it’s growing. Of course, my brain immediately went straight to melanoma—thinking it's already spread to my lymph nodes and into my bloodstream, giving me leukemia and everything else. My appointment isn't until Thursday, which is five days away, so by then 😢
I'll probably be toast.

Honestly, having this constant, chronic fear of getting sick is basically its own illness. It’s just that, from what I can tell, you don't actually realize you're afraid of the sickness itself