Please take this ? seriously- phsyche?!
Question: ok so everybody tells me im a hyperchondriac and i always laughed it off....my fam dr admitted im "more concerned than most teens a/b my health". i used to have really bad depression and it kinda cycles (cyclothymia) i have anxiety and panic attacks...ok the ?.......should i recieve help for this is it 2 trivial?
i am obsessed with looking up medical info. usually to diagnose my own symptoms....the symptoms are real but alot of them i think i get way 2 worried a/b....i know i shouldnt be concerned like i a, all the time but i cant help it the thoughtd eont go away ...it seems more like ocd. do they go hand in hand?
(i spend an average of 4 hours a day looking up med conditions sometimes out of curiosity but alot of times for my symptoms)
Answers: ok so everybody tells me im a hyperchondriac and i always laughed it off....my fam dr admitted im "more concerned than most teens a/b my health". i used to have really bad depression and it kinda cycles (cyclothymia) i have anxiety and panic attacks...ok the ?.......should i recieve help for this is it 2 trivial?
i am obsessed with looking up medical info. usually to diagnose my own symptoms....the symptoms are real but alot of them i think i get way 2 worried a/b....i know i shouldnt be concerned like i a, all the time but i cant help it the thoughtd eont go away ...it seems more like ocd. do they go hand in hand?
(i spend an average of 4 hours a day looking up med conditions sometimes out of curiosity but alot of times for my symptoms)
I know exactly what you're going through. I'm 35 now, but all throughout my late teens and twenties I did the exact same thing. I looked up every symptom for every disease, some out of curiosity, but I always ended up getting those symptoms. If I read that one symptom was the left foot going numb, mine would automatically go numb. I spent all my time either pacing back and forth trying to convince myself that "it's all in my head", on the computer looking up symptoms to whatever I was focused on at the time, or crying to my husband that I felt so guilty because he'd probably have to take care of me in a wheelchair or something for the rest of my life.
The breaking point was in 2002, when from January to March I had convinced myself that I had a brain tumor, breast cancer, and multiple sclerosis. The only reason I had chosen these diseases was because I had heard someone talking about one or the other at some point. I focused on it, looked it up on the internet and then magically came down with it - in my mind. The multiple sclerosis was the big one for me and I actually saw 9 different doctors before finally going to a psychiatrist.
The psychiatrist did wonders for me. The first session she put me on Celexa (it's an SSRI like Paxil, Zoloft, etc.) and it changed me dramatically within 2 weeks. Now, 6 years later I feel normal. I don't dwell on diseases I don't have, I'm happy, not worrying all the time, and not wasting all my time on the computer looking up symptoms - now I'm just spending all my time on Yahoo Answers when I should be working. So many people told me to get over it, don't think about it, go exercise, find a hobby, etc., but it doesn't work that way!! The medication helped, and I still take it daily. I will continue to take it because I really, really don't want to become that person again. I was miserable.
So, talk to your parents and go to a doctor. Preferably a psychiatrist, but even your regular doctor can diagnose the problem and prescribe the medication you need. Just do it - certainly don't wait until your 29 like I did.
Best of luck to you.
i think that it is all in your head
i think you should seek help for the anxiety & panic attacks. they can be debilitating out in the real world, at work & stuff. it's great that you are aware of what is wrong & are courageous enough to admit it. i unfortunately never did until my mid twenties. so i suffered for years without treatment.
Why don't you try riding your bike instead.
Or going to the beach or pool and swimming.
Anything so long as you turn off your computer and get moving.
Go help grandma with her shopping!
If your symptoms interfere with your life then seek some help but don't overdo it to the point that it is all you are focused on.
One of the diagnosing factors in any mental condition is "Does it negatively affect your life" Obviously you are worring a great deal about worrying. Spending that much time on the computer obsessing about your health is not particularly normal. Since you feel its a problem, it is a problem and is worth discussing with a professional.
Instead of checking the internet for more ways in which you might be ill, discuss your worries with your parents. Ask them if it is possible for you to speak with a therapist to help solve the whole problem. Parents and other adults are going to be much more help to you right now than WebMD, etc.
Stop looking inward! Look outside of yourself, get involved with church, school, martial arts program. Fill your time with constructive activity.
When you focus outside yourself you stop trying to figure out what is wrong with you and learn some things that are right with you and ultimately find you are not much different than everybody else!
you should exercise instead