[shadowness]

i am going to see my doctor (GP) tomorrow to explain how i am doing (i have not seen him in ages)...

in my family there are a lot of heart and lung problems as well as liver and kidney disease...

so i am wanting to ask him if i could get as much as me checked out as possible...

but as i have an anxiety problem...he says that i am just over reacting and that there is nothing physically wrong and so do not need tests done...

but i am not wanting these things checked out because i honestly think i have something wrong! i do not think there is anything wrong with me physically or mentally....i think it is all just obsessional thinking and anxiety too...

but getting it all checked out would settle my mind into understanding it is all anxiety based and might help a bit...my mum wants me to get checked out as our family health history is not good at all....

but i am not sure what to say to him as everytime i ask him if i can have myself checked out...he just says i am worrying about nothing...

what can i say?

any comments and suggestions welcome...thank you

 

[g-funk]

Getting reassurance for your hypochondria is not the way to go. Trust me. Its like a drug, the more you do it, the more you need to satisfy you. If you get the tests done, you will be satisfied only until the next ailment crops up that demands an explanation. If you feed an obssession, you only make it worse. Its so addictive, I know this because I am a total obsessive. If there is nothing in particular that you are worried about your health, then don't go looking for trouble, if it ain't broke, don't try and fix it. If there is a particular family history of say, breast cancer, then have the recommended check ups etc but don't obsess over it because you can't protect yourself this way, you will only make yourself feel worse.
If it is a genuine health worry then go for it, but you said in your post that you knew it wasn't, so believe your own words! You can't stop yourself from getting ill by being 'prepared' for every eventuality or by monitoring yourself all day long.

You don't need the tests to settle your mind or help you understand that it is anxiety based, because you already know this - why would the doctor telling you that make any difference? If the understanding or reassurance doesn't come from within, it will only be a short time that your mind is settled, and you turn to the next external source of satisfaction.

That sounded a bit harsh, I didn't mean it to! Good luck - I'd be interested in other people's opinions on this - any other obsessives relate?

 

[shadowness]

thank you very much for your post gfunk...and to be honest...what you have said is what i have said to myself...

this is a genuine health worry and not to do with the dp/dr...i know there is nothing physically wrong causing the dp/dr....

it is hard to explain what i really mean but this is not a "i am so paniced i think i am going to die i think i have a serious illness" reaction to get tested...lol

it is purely because alot of my family were diagnosed with things really late and i have a high chance of the same things...

i just want to be checked out...that is all...if i did not have anxiety probs i still think i would do it....

a lot of what i have just written is not what i really mean but i cannot get the words right haha

 

[Guest]

I don't even need to reply when g-funk is on the case, lol...GOOD work, girl!

I expected any replies to be encouraging you to get checked, etc.

Nope. Do not give in to the constant need for reassurances. It will NEVER be enough.

The addiction in these obsessions is limitless - you will need one clean bill of health today, then two more next week...then another reassurance a month later, then a second opinion the following week.

NO amount of reassurance will EVER be enough. You must ingrain that into your brain.

Every reassurance you seek only whets the appetite of the obsession....and makes it crave more and more still.

Peace,
J

 

[Guest]

I tend to agree Janine

When I was in the hospital I used to feel there was something wrong with my heart. It was hard sleep for fear that if I wasn't paying attention to my heart it might stop beating.

I asked the ward doctor to check out my heart. He listened to it for a few minutes and said it sounded fine.

I said something to the effect that he must be mistaken. He asked me if i thought he was likely to be mistaken then why did I bother have him check it at all?

I used to feel the same way about my breathing. If I didn't watch it all the time I would stop breathing. And there really is no re assurance when one is in that state of mind.

John