I just spent $45 for no reason to see a doctor and get an ECG because my heart rate felt slow. I knew deep down there was nothing wrong but I become obsessive about dying.
This has been going on for years. Anyone got tips to overcome it? I don't think a psychologist is helpful. I have heard about prozac but it also causes limp dick and other horrible symptoms.
>I don't think a psychologist is helpful
Your issue is clearly a psychological one, so why would you dismiss professional help for it?
Stop fearing death?
No psychologist can ever properly understand a mental health issue like hypochondria without experiencing it.
Stop. Just go to therapy
You need to stop and go get professional help. In fact, skip straight to psychiatry because... yeah, you need help, man.
What can a psychiatrist do? Prescribe you ssri's that make your dick limp? Or benzos that numb you and get you physically dependent on them Sounds fun.
that's text-book depression.
See a therapist and get rid of in a couple of months.
Or let it fester and let it fuck you up.
Get you something to quiet down the constant voices shrieking all these mantras into your ears. You may have to try multiple prescriptions, but you just confessed yourself this is already causing you to blow money.
How old are you?
Accept that we all die, it cannot be stopped. Once you truly accept this then life will be more enjoyable.
I'm 28. The condition has probably cost me about $450 over the last 5 years.
You are a healthy whole person who with a few good tools and a little self motivation can do anything.
Yeah, the whole condition is predicated on non-acceptance of death. I've looked into all sorts of stuff to help come to terms with it, even including shit like buddhism but nothing has really helped.
I was the same as you before I got cognitive behavioural theraphy and read the Bible. You have depression and a huge fear of death. Seek help before it consumes you.
But that's their job. You go to someone who *specializes* in it and they will have seen plenty of people like you. Plus, whose to say they haven't experienced hypochondria or had some similar experiences to draw from? No one can totally understand any one individual's experience, but that does not mean they can't emphasis and help.
Just remember that with therapists, you often have to shop around a little to find one you can connect with. That goes for every patient; You're not at all exclusive in that way.
>I was the same as you before I got cognitive behavioural theraphy and read the Bible. You have depression and a huge fear of death. Seek help before it consumes you.
Did you take any meds?
Everyone copes in their own way, for me it was warhammer 40k of all fucking things. I've become so proud of humanity what we've accomplished and built, I look at the cities around me and see what we've done in our short lives, it makes me happy to be a cog in the unstoppable machine that is mankind. I can't even listen to pink floyd anymore because it's just whiny bullshit. They say were just another brick in the wall, I say the wall isnt finished until every brick is set.
Worries about shit causes shit. I was a hypochondriac and ended up getting eleven surgeries and radiation sixty something times. I believe I convinced myself to fuck myself up. Now, I still have a brain tumor and I don't even worry about that shit. I'll tell you another secret. Doctors are idiots like you and me. They aren't going to be much help anyhow. Be happy and die.
>Doctors are idiots like you and me. They aren't going to be much help anyhow.
Just because you came to terms with it in a different way and saw some shitty experts which you don't even tell us are mental health experts or what doesn't mean other better experts might not help OP. Stop giving shitty cynical advice.
CBT is proven.
>thinks about death for some reason
>textbook depression
>depression can lead to suicidal tendencies and OP is a hypochondriac.
What the fuck are you doing user? Are you insane? This isn't a joke.
I had that issue for a while as well.
$2,000 pointless ER visit made me realize i was being retarded.
you just have to ignore the "fake" symptoms your mind makes up.
it's hard, but just ignore
Are you the OP because that's who I was talking to. None of my experts are mental health experts. I don't believe in that crap. Especially, why would somebody who thought they were sick go to a shrink to convince them that they aren't? That defeat The purpose of being a hypochondriac. It is either search for a medical problem or don't fucking worry about it. If you have something to add. Go on ahead. I'm not asking for advice. There's ten thousand sides to every coin. I showed mine.
Relieved to know I'm not the only one.
I've made 10 GP appointments over the lymph nodes in my neck (they're pea-sized and haven't grown in years). Every doc I've seen has laughed me off or plainly told me "no" but at the same time I swear I have a mega-rare lymphoma which lasts for decades and somehow kills you without showing any symptoms. I'm seeing another doctor on tuesday, I'm going to try make her pity me enough to get me a biopsy or at least a scan. I know it's such a waste of money and energy but I can't stop.
He he. I already got raped in here but I was going to doctors for years and getting laughed at until a 33 mm brain tumor was found. Then it was like, "why didn't you come to us sooner?" Kicker is that it wasn't only the brain. It fucks up the whole system and should have been obvious six ways from Sunday. Not just one but scores of doctors said I was fine. And it was a not even real doctor that convinced a specialist to see me.
I know what you're trying to do to me.
Sorry. Wanna talk? I wasn't trying to make you blurry. It was me crying on your shoulder.
Hello OP. I was a hyperchondriac a few years ago and maybe I can help you.
(Just to be clear: In my home country the social health system almost pays for everything, also psychotherapy, so money wasn't an issue for me.)
My symptoms were psychosomatic and felt fucking real. I had pain in the chest and panic attacks. I thought, I had to die.
Some doctors checked me but didn't find anything, so I switched between many doctors for months. But nobody found anything in the checks.
An older doctor nearby finally told me to see a psychiatrist and I did. It simply was an aniexty disorder with depression.
He prescribed me some antidepressants (Venlafaxin) and psychotherapy.
Therapy was clearly my life saver. I learned a lot about myself not getting my emotions right. About ignoring them because I had to perform in different situations in life. I also talked about all my fears and my childhood. I had a sick mother who died from cancer in a short time after diagnosis, so the fear of illness and death was something I experienced a long time ago. My therapist really did a great job by helping me understanding myself and my body better. The body simply sent me physicially signals because I had to much stress, wasn't sleeping enough and did not stop. She also helped me with my depression and aniexty in general.
Today I am almost symptom-free.
So, try to keep your head up. Be rational with your actions and stop for a while to hear what your inner self tells you.
Also:
- Don't google symptoms. It just makes it worse, trust me.
- Don't switch doctors. Its just running away, symptoms won't get better.
- See a psychiatrist and get some pills.
- Go to therapy. Learn to understand yourself.
- Talk to family and friends about your problem and ask for their help. Try not to lose contact. Don't live in isolation.
- Don't be mad at you. You can get things right. Try to stay optimistic.
Good luck and get well soon!
You really couldn't just measure your fucking heartrate with your finger? I suffer from the same thing but I'm more or less self aware of it now and can recognize my own bs. Heres some tips
>Hypochondria is linked with Anxiety
>If a symptom is only showing sporadically and in different places its probably Anxiety
>Try not to read shit about horrible diseases or illnesses
>If you do actively try to not think about it and tell yourself its extremely unlikely to get said disease
>Use Occams razor, the simplest solution is most likely. Your headache isnt cancer you just didnt eat much today.
>If you are truly convinced some shits happening to you go through a couple tests you can do at home and read up on your alleged ailment and 9/10 times you'll convince yourself of being a retard
>Get enough sleep
>Try to figure out the root of your fear. For example mine started because I was fearful of health problems because I transitioned to a sedentary lifestyle.
A doctor can probably help but I've never been to one about anxiety but my family doc knows and calms me down whenever I get fantastical ideas in my head.
If you're against seeking professional help (a concept I find highly ironic) then I suppose the best way is to just accept that you are going to die and there's nothing you can do about it.
Nope. Just sessions with a good shrink who understood where I was coming from. Meds were an option, but I was committed to fixing myself without meds. Shrink didn't push them either. So, everything was cool.
Recognize that hypochondria is a mental illness and get help