Medical anxiety

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m generally not anxious- I manage a high stress job and household just fine. But I have terrible medical anxiety. Chest pain means I think I’m having a heart attack (and I’ve been to the cardiologist and my heart is fine). Back pain and heartburn- is it pancreatic cancer? Kid scraped their knee at the gym and I make her put soap and water on it immediately so she doesn’t get sepsis.
I don’t want to medicate myself when I’m fine in the rest of my life. But…am I alone in this or is this kind of thing common?

This is me right now! constant googling and focusing on worst possible situation. However I have past history of cancer so I think I am doomed ..

I was just thinking about this as someone who has a history also. Once you have cancer you will never again not have medical anxiety. Not just bc of your existing history but bc you know that it ‘can’ happen to you

Another cancer survivor who doesn’t have medical anxiety. Never did, still don’t after diagnosis and treatment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m generally not anxious- I manage a high stress job and household just fine. But I have terrible medical anxiety. Chest pain means I think I’m having a heart attack (and I’ve been to the cardiologist and my heart is fine). Back pain and heartburn- is it pancreatic cancer? Kid scraped their knee at the gym and I make her put soap and water on it immediately so she doesn’t get sepsis.
I don’t want to medicate myself when I’m fine in the rest of my life. But…am I alone in this or is this kind of thing common?

This is me right now! constant googling and focusing on worst possible situation. However I have past history of cancer so I think I am doomed ..

I was just thinking about this as someone who has a history also. Once you have cancer you will never again not have medical anxiety. Not just bc of your existing history but bc you know that it ‘can’ happen to you

Some people say the opposite—that getting a scary dx cures them. People respond differently to different things.

This is me. Stage three triple negative breast cancer sure my medical anxiety. I realized the worst happened, and I got through it, so now not much worries me. Talk about finding a bright side in a crap situation!

Glad you got through it!

I think medical anxiety, and the rumination and worry that comes with it, can be about the illusion of control for some people. Meaning: if we worry, we feel like we’re doing something about the thing we can’t actually do anything about. Once the crap thing actually happens, we realize we weren’t actually preventing anything with our obsessing and worrying. So why bother. Just skip that part altogether.