Here is the FREE Health anxiety quiz www.paigepradko.com/healthanxietyquiz I want to help you to not only recover, but to thrive in your life. For more help for Health Anxiety: Join my OnLine Course: Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety Coupon Code for 10% Savings on Course for my UA-cam Subscribers YTTENOFF
when you said " its very treatable. you dont need to live with this horrible fear " I literally bursted into tears with relief. thank you so much for this video. first piece of advice on health anxiety that I feel actually helped me. you're a life saver.
I am so happy to hear that, Taylor. I hope that you feel better. Should you ever need extra help or support, I do offer an online treatment course for health anxiety. There is more information on PaigePradko.com
This past month I experienced health anxiety for the first time, and it was horrible. I put my body and mind through so much stress, and I kept the cycle going by constantly googling and seeking reassurance. The googling of my “symptoms” only made things so much worse, and I reached a point where I just woke up with heart palpitations cause I was so anxious. I made the decision to completely ban googling and focused on mindfulness. The first day I felt great, continued with the second day, then something made me cave on the third day and 5 minutes of catastrophizing and googling ruined my entire day and nearly gave me a panic attack. Then I made a promise to myself that I would stop googling for a week, and set a specific time I could “worry” about a body sensation, so I wouldn’t think about it constantly. It’s been 2 weeks since then and I feel so much more at peace and reassured. I find that letting the anxiety wash over me, let it be present and really sticking to the no googling rule has made it easier. I have to be strict with myself and it took a lot of time, but compared to a few weeks ago where I couldn’t even be present when I was accompanied by others cause I was constantly worried, I’ve made a lot of progress. I think I’ve reached the acceptance point, like if something is wrong - then I’ll deal with it. Until then I’m gonna live my life. This series was really informative! Thank you so much!
Wow! I hope that all of my subscribers read your comment. You describe exactly how seeking reassurance actually reinforces the anxiety. I am sure it was difficult to stop the googling, but you experienced that just mindfully feeling anxiety and letting it decrease on it’s own....over the course of a week....the thoughts and anxiety calmed. Great job! Keep up the good work!! And thank you for such an awesome comment!
How reassuring was that pardon that word i did not realise what i have been doing to myself and have really suffer i am going to work on this as it has helped already
I've been dealing with horrid health anxiety lately. It has been plaguing me for almost a month. Googling helps in the short term, but then I start catastrophizing and end up on square one.
@@stefanbernhard2710 hey, I really stand by my comment from a year ago and now I don’t deal with health anxiety anymore. It didn’t take more than a couple of weeks using the method I described in my first comment, and I’ve never felt better. I really recommend stop googling cause it reinforces the anxiety.
I’m literally in tears... after watching both of these videos I’ve realized that I’m not alone. That this happens to many people! Also that I’m naturally doing all of these techniques before I even knew what was happening to me. I have always been aware that my fears are not based in fact and that it’s an overreaction of the mind and body. I feel like mine is trauma based as I’ve not had this my entire life. My son passed from SIDS in 2007 and then my daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer... and then I was bombarded by lots of very stress filled life experiences after that. I do feel blessed that I am aware that these thoughts are untrue and that I don’t let them stop me from living my life. But I still carry them around with me and I’m just ready and almost angry at them. If I’m aware they aren’t true then why do I obsess still?! Lol I’m so thankful for you and these videos! God bless you!
Oh my gosh, Christina, you have experienced loss and trauma. I am so sorry for the loss of your son, and your daughter’s tumor and the other traumas you have been through. Health anxiety can certainly exacerbated by health traumas in ourselves or in others. I hope that these videos help you to identify how you are reinforcing your anxiety and what you changes you need to make. Wishing you the best ❤️
(THE ULTIMATE CURE OF HEALTH ANXIETY) Hello I have also suffered the same problem and it has elevated a lot since lockdowns and always thinking about it ,but this video on the channel shaan Kassam titled "my symptoms were changing day by day" will definitely help you a lot and please once check the pinned comment and you ultimately find the CURE Link:-. ua-cam.com/video/WOAm_4doxB0/v-deo.html
I just found out that I suffer from health anxiety. I went to the doctor 8 days ago and had a complete check up. My blood was checked, my heart and chest scanned and everything came back fine. I was fine for a few days then started to think what if they missed something. If there is really nothing wrong with my heart why do I sometimes feel sensations? Thanks for this video. It puts everything into perspective for me. I will try the methods you recommend and work on getting a therapist.
I've had chest pains since I was in high school. Doctors have examined me, done EKG's, and everything comes out normal. Just a few weeks ago, I experienced my first panic attack, believing I might be having a stroke. It has been difficult living with constant symptoms of nothing. Thank you for providing these tips for us. I will try them.
I understand and I am sorry that you are suffering with this. I will be making more videos to help with health anxiety. Many can turn this around once they stop checking body symptoms, stop googling and researching and stop seeking reassurance from doctors and others. Others need a bit of exposure treatment and we do this by listening to exposure scripts. Here is a video on how to prepare a script. Eventhough this video was for people with ocd, health anxiety is treated the same way. ua-cam.com/video/HrjM091rcXc/v-deo.html. I hope you feel better.
Thank you for this!! I was just on the verge of panicking and when I tried that my anxiety almost immediately calmed. Thank you so much, I will continue using this!!
I just started having health anxiety this February and it has been the most exhausting, physically and emotionally few months. It all started with chest pain and it needed up being I do suffer from PVC’s but I can’t get myself to stop worrying that something else is wrong or they missed something. I definitely have obsessed over checking my heart rate and now suffering from what I think are tension headaches but can’t help from thinking I have a brain tumor. I have 2 boys and really needing to get this under control. Thank you so much for the video.
I am so sorry, Christy. I have treated so many clients with exactly what you are describing. I am in the process of creating an online therapy class so that more people can get help. I will let my subscribers know when it is available. When seeking help, therapists trained in ocd will be helpful, others may not have the training. I hope you feel better soon. 🙏❤️
Iv had health anxiety for the last year or so. I thought i was having a heart attack 1 time, went to a and e and everything checked out fine. Now every few days i think im having a stroke. I hate these body sensations i have tension headaches and dizziness a lot. I just want to feel normal again so sick of this 😔
I am sorry that you are experiencing this hyper sensitivity to your body sensations. Try to notice when your brain is interpreting a sensation as “dangerous”. Say to yourself, “I am having a thought that.....”. This slows down your reaction because you are noticing a thought instead of immediately thinking the thought is true. Try to welcome the feelings and sensations and do not try to “not have them”. That just encourages the brain to think that they must be dangerous if he doesn’t want to have them. The higher your anxiety gets, the worse a sensation can feel, because our muscles tighten and our heartbeat and breathing changes with increased adrenaline and cortisol. Resisting anxiety makes anxiety worse. Accept it, observe in mindfully, label your thoughts, allow you anxiety to come and go without overreacting to the changes anxiety produces in the body. Those changes may be uncomfortable, but, they are not harmful. The more you allow the sensations and anxiety to come and go, the more the brain will not identify them as dangerous.
I’m hearing you Alan. I’ve had health anxiety for about 35 years. I have a cycle of fears that might start with a headache that’s a bit more intense than usual so I think, ok brain tumour, then heart palpitations so it’s heart attack or stroke and then bowel problems which my brain immediately tells me is colon cancer. I get each thing checked as it happens and of course nothing. Blood tests are fine, scans are fine and I’m about to have a colonoscopy to confirm a probable diverticulosis diagnosis but I can’t get away from thinking cancer every damned time. The dr says I’m making myself sick and he’s right! I’m taking more years off my life than any disease could ever take. And like you I just want to feel normal but it’s harder than just trying to have positive thoughts because the negative ones are hardwired into my brain. Get on top of your anxiety now, don’t be like me and have it so long it’s like there’s no way back. Good luck x
I have the worst health anxiety ever!!!!Everytime I feel tingling or numbness I automatically think it’s a stroke or a blocked blood vessel in the brain. I’m exhausted of thinking the worse case scenario. Then my panic attack start and I feel even worse. Been to the er plenty of times. I’m embarrassed to tell my husband to take me constantly he tells me over and over it’s stress or just to relax but it’s uncontrollable. I just had an echo of my heart and they said it’s perfect. Ok I felt great and then the neurologist called me to check up on my migraines and now wants to schedule a MRA and MRI and i’m freaking out!!! Like why is there something wrong and i’m having the worse panic attack. This is so exhausting
Thank you! I've been trying to eliminate the compulsive behaviours and the challenging part is having irrational thoughts of "but what if this time I truly have something serious?". Dealing with the unknown is what gets me. Your advice is so helpful!
Yes, this is exactly the thought that people with Health Anxiety have. I am so thankful that you left this comment. Stay with that anxious thought without doing anything to comfort yourself and no compulsive behaviors. The anxious, fearful feeling will go down on it’s own. Every time it comes up, feel the anxiety, and let the anxiety go down on it’s own. This is Exposure Therapy and your brain will eventually learn to habituate and not associate fear or anxiety with the fearful thought. You are allowing yourself to tolerate the feeling of uncertainty and doubt. This practice will relieve the anxiety. Thank you again for your comment.
How blessed and blissful you are , I have suffered from health anxiety since last 24 years I am 42 now . What you have suggested seems to be the only solution , acceptance of this fear and taking it along and letting it be is one of the best ways I guess . I pray that no one ever suffers from such a sick feeling like health Anxiety . Lots of love peace and respect for the entire human race and all that God has created .
Hi Debra. I am filming a therapy class on health anxiety treatment right now. Please send me your email through the contact page on PaigePradko.com and I will notify you when the class becomes available.
Yes, the pandemic has really exasperated health anxiety across the globe. We have to tolerate the anxiety and follow guidelines of safety. No more, no less. Do not excessively search for symptoms and updates on the virus. Your job is to accept and tolerate the anxiety without seeking reassurance. I wish you the best.
I understand that you feel. I had living with anxiety for many years Affect several aspects of my life ñike my relations with job, family and girfriend. Now i can say that i recover a litle armony
First of all thank you for leaving the link under my paranoid post on reddit :) It all does sound exactly like what I experience. And also this made me realise something. Sometimes when I'm falling asleep I feel like I um..forget to breathe...and I inhale quickly and panic. But these two videos made me realise that what I'm feeling is my breath slowing down because I'm falling asleep and my brain thinks it's wrong. Funny how realising it is kinda reassurance in a way but a healthy one if it makes sense? Thank you again, I will try all the recommendations from your video :)
You’re welcome. Thank you for your kind words. Learning how to cope with our worries and fears is a process that has it’s ups and downs. Stay with consistent strategies and overtime, your fears will diminish. 😊
I want to cry because every sensation I’m on the panic mode and I think the worst and I don’t know what triggered this on me but I had this all true years but I now finally realised I do this behaviour and is horrible feeling thinking I’m gonna die. I want to also thank you for educating us 🥲🙏❤️
This is so, so helpful. Thank you for making this video. I have been struggling with health anxiety for the past year and have been trying to find strategies to overcome on my own. But your guidance here is so valuable and insightful. I would like to try some of these strategies!
Thank you so much for this video, it really does give me hope that I’ll be able to overcome my health anxiety with the right strategies in place. Being stuck at home due to the current quarantine situation has unfortunately made it easy for my mind to wander and amplify my anxiety greatly. Already had two telehealth visits because thought I was having lung issues (which were sensations that eventually went away by themselves), and with overall anxiety and bad quality sleep I’ve been having new sensations that I’m swaying and on a boat that won’t seem to go away unless I’m distracted. Doctor had prescribed Xanax but trying my best not to use it often. Feel like I’m at wits end, but watching your videos on health anxiety has given me a better understanding of the constant loop, and I am definitely going to try some of your mentioned strategies and also to force myself to stop Googling.
I am sorry that you are experiencing this increased anxiety. This is most definitely a difficult time for those with Health Anxiety. These strategies will help you, but I want to acknowledge that this pandemic is like one long, challenging exposure for people with Health Anxiety. Hoping you feel better.
thank you for this. i recently started struggling with this, it scared the living hell out of me. i get odd sensations in my chest and i instantly freak out and assume i’m having a heart attack. i know these thoughts are irrational, i’m 23, relatively active, and don’t have too poor of a diet. i know i’m not at risk, but i can’t stop thinking it for some reason. your video helped a lot, because i don’t want to see the doctor as i’m embarrassed to go in for something that i’m making up. i will try meditation, no reassurance, and acceptance. i really appreciate this video and the fact that i am not the only one that experience this. i felt so alone and crazy because of it
Never be embarrassed to visit a doctor if you feel unsure about your health. That’s what they’re there for. And never be afraid to get a second or even a third opinion.
I’m not sure if I developed Health Anxiety before or after my issues started. So I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia January 2022, have only left my house 5 times in the last year or so, because I didn’t have a choice. Seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist, tried a bunch of medications. I really haven’t improved. Now it’s exactly as you describe, going out or even planning on going out is a 100% panic attack. Usually though, there’s not really a “reason”, it just happens. I have a few every day, not always severe but every once in a while I’m holding my phone for a half hour trying to talk myself down from calling an ambulance again. More often at night, than during the day. About a year ago, I noticed that little things that should be normal will shoot my anxiety into turbo mode. I don’t obsess over health conditions or look things up, in fact I avoid watching anything health related now. Which is ironic considering I worked as a veterinary technician for 5 years and was going to college to become a Physician’s Assistant. Obviously, I can’t do either of those things anymore. I can’t even go to the grocery store or walk my dog. So on top of the Agoraphobia and the random out of nowhere panic attacks, I’m now having panic attacks triggered by tiny insignificant or even imagined body sensations. To the point that this week I had something in my eye or something, I went from reading something to an area of my vision blurry and being unable to read letters in a specific spot. I was convinced I was having a stroke. I’m 33 years old, thin, don’t smoke or drink or anything. Yet anytime I feel dizzy or think I feel dizzy, I’m convinced there’s something catastrophic going on with my heart or brain. I had to change the color of the light bulbs in some of the rooms in my house, because the “cool” tone looked funny and would trigger a panic attack. It doesn’t help that one of my symptoms during severe panic attacks is derealization and tunnel vision. My question is, how common is it to develop health anxiety because of panic disorder and agoraphobia?
First, I am truly sorry for everything that you are going through. These are very difficult conditions to cope with and to treat. In my experience, the symptoms of health anxiety, panic disorder and agoraphobia get combined into a big stew of anxiety symptoms. And, in your case, which is not unusual, you experience dpdr symptoms as part of panic disorder. They seem to be combined in almost all cases of people with agoraphobia with panic disorder. The focus on bodily symptoms of anxiety (anxiety sensitivity) likely cause health anxiety to increase as well. I typically begin treatment on health anxiety first, because certain behavior changes are necessary. Then, move to treating panic disorder and dpdr, and as the treatment is progressing, exposures are incorporated to begin working on agoraphobia. It is a lengthy treatment process for people with severe panic disorder. The recovery time all depends on what levels of anxiety can be tolerated. I do have therapy resources at paigepradko.com and a newsletter where I cover these topics weekly. You may also want to check out my playlists for health anxiety, panic and agoraphobia as well. I am posting an instructional video on dpdr recovery in 10 days that you won’t want to miss.
Great video and wonderful lady. I’ve been to the GP hundreds of times in over 6 years, ER and cardiologist. Nothing bad was ever found. I’m still living with the fear every day that there’s something wrong with my heart. I can feel the beats, missed beats and general flip flops every day. Funny when I’m flat out busy I never feel anything. Usually after eating it’s the worse. I check my pulse and I can feel the pauses! How can I not worry in all fairness?!!!!!😬
I realize that this is not easy. I cannot tell you how many people that I have seen with exactly the same symptoms. Once they no longer are afraid of their sensations and no longer check their heart and pulse, and no longer google symptoms or visit doctors or have tests, their fear center of their brains calm down and their symptoms die down as well.
@@U2022-k9m I’m doing very well. I’d a massive nocturnal meltdown mid March but since then I’m doing better than ever! Just convincing myself that I’m okay and life has risks, people do die but I’ll take my chances. Throwing yourself into work and hobbies, fitness, reading is great. Avoid unhealthy minded people that drain you. Don’t be afraid to say no to people especially family. If you get the all clear just trust the medics and take life by the horns. Anxiety is a habit, it’s just a result of how you perceive things. You do have to experience it. But one say you’ll just realise it’s a bully. Ignore the bully and he goes away. God bless.
I think I always had some level of HA ever since I nearly died of laringitis when I was young, but ever since I had my first panic attack not one day seems to go by without me asking myself If Im breathing fine, if im shaking, if im dying. thankfully I think Im learning how to live with my anxiety before it got too strong
Thanks a lot for this video. I have had a very rough month because of just a fever which I misinterpreted (catastrophised) as Rabies, COVID, and whatnot. I will follow through your techniques to ensure a better life without fear.
I've had the EXACT same issue the past week. I've felt a bit weak and had anxiety all week and I've convinced myself it's covid or rabies, which is really hard to calm down from.
Thank you so much for all your time and effort into helping us all. I had a panick attack 15 yrs ago and was sure it was my heart. Had every test done all good but developed all the bad habits you describe , BP check's, pulse checks and hypervigilance towards my heart. I still workout and enjoy life but it still rears its ugly head. Not sure what I'm missing to get rid of it. Thanks for your time and if you do phone consults let me know.Rick
Our body’s nervous system has the ability to create the sensations of a heart attack. I understand the body sensations and the panic symptoms that ensue. It takes time and deliberate effort to refuse to act upon the panic and body sensations. Your brain still believes you are in danger and is trying it’s best to throw everything at you to convince you to get help. You have to decide ahead of time that you are not going to fall for this trick of the mind and body any longer. It is indeed Hell....but it gets better as you set your resolve to not give in to the fear and anxiety. I can tell that you are committed to getting better, or you would not be watching this video. I may do some consulting work in the future. Right now, I have a busy practice in Michigan, but have seen some people that have found me on UA-cam (which always surprises me). I will let you know if/when I decide to do consultations. 😊
Thank you so much for your reply. I go to Detroit every week ! Lol. Please do let me know if you do I have insurance or cash. Thank you again for your a time your a very caring person. Rick
Thanks for the video..I am facing health anxiety now..I have slightly elevated bp and I keep imagining things like what if I get a stroke or heart attack in future because of it..when I read many men die at heart attack in their 40's, it makes me fearful what if it happens to my husband suddenly..even if I get back pain, I worry if I may have kidney problem as I am not drinking water enough..because of this, my life is not happy and constantly overthinking..I am worried that these thoughts itself will make me sicker 😒
Hi Harini. I am so sorry that you are experiencing health anxiety. I have been working for several months on an online therapy course for people with this condition. It will be available very soon, hopefully at the end of the month. If you are interested in learning more, please email me at info@paigepradko.com
I was spiraling really bad when I found your videos. Thank you for this. I wouldn't even know how to start therapy, or if I could afford it, and I've been struggling with this for so long.
I am glad you found the videos on health anxiety, Daniel. I will be making more videos to help people with health anxiety, because I have noticed a big increase in symptoms during the pandemic.
Thank you Paige! I've been dealing with health anxiety for months on end and was constantly seeking reassurance. I had no idea that these compulsive behaviors were reinforcing my anxiety. Eliminating these from my life has made my life so much better and I can live with ease now.
Thank you for this series of videos! Most of the other things I've read on why reassurance seeking isn't good just say it "doesn't last" and don't explain why it reinforces anxious behaviors.
I am glad you liked it. I try to focus my videos on what I do in therapy and what has helped my clients. I am glad you found it helpful. Feel free to share it and thank you for your comment.
Im really struggling with my health anxiety right now 😔. It's such a burden and definitely has an affect on my day to day life. It stay with me for days, along with my heart palpitations and feelings. Even when I fight against reassurance 😔
Hi Kacey. Do your best to not look for reassurance or check your heart rate or other symptoms. We have to tolerate our symptoms and do nothing to lower our anxiety. Very tough, but effective.
Thank you so much for this two part series. I've been struggling with anxiety for several years now and it feels like a rollercoaster with many ups and downs. A few years ago, I was seeing a therapist because of my somatic symptom disorder. My therapist certainly was the wrong choice as it was a depth psychology approach, so it didn’t help me with my anxiety. Your video helped me understand for the first time how important it is to quit those compulsive behaviors. While I’m never googling any symptoms, I’m certainly looking for assurance from family and my doctors. But my biggest struggle are probably certain triggers that everyone naturally comes along in their lives. For example, if I’m watching a tv show and one of the characters is getting ill and is starting to show certain symptoms, I will remember those symptoms later as if they were burned into my mind. It’s come to a point where I know the moment I’m hearing about an illness with certain symptoms, one day later I experience all those symptoms. Of course, my anxiety skyrockets and my brain is trying to convince me I have that illness. I’ve been trying to avoid possible triggers for such a long time now, but of course it isn’t always possible. I’m not really sure how to cope with that, because there will always be people who are talking about their illnesses or symptoms or movies where some characters are experiencing an illness. Scanning every media for possible triggers is really exhausting and I also can’t tell everyone to never talk about illnesses. It always feels like a switch being flipped because of one trigger I couldn’t avoid even though I am trying so hard. Is this normal and what can I do about it? Thank you so much!
Hi Julia. What you are describing is so normal. Unfortunately, avoidance behaviors give your brain the message that being afraid of those triggers is of utmost importance. Therefore, when you are triggered, you will have an even greater anxiety response. When addressing this in therapy with a client, I recommend the client exposure themselves to their triggers with a goal of tolerating the anxiety. It is actually a form of exposure therapy. We have to teach our brains that we can tolerate the anxiety and do nothing to reassure ourselves when facing a trigger. It is difficult, but rewiring the brain through the exposure is most helpful. Thank you for your comments. 😊
Thank you. 3 years dealing with this after having a heart diagnosis of wpw, had a successful ablation but now have PAC and PVCs. every sensation instantly takes me back to my event even though i have an implanted heart monitor that reads every beat and drs say my PVC/PACs are equal to what theyd expect to see if they pulled a random person off the street, it's difficult to put those experiences in the past and trust that everything's okay. Trying though.
I often work with people with a history of cardiac problems, surgeries and traumas related to past heart attacks or heart conditions. Even though their cardiologists have given them a clean bill of health, the fear and panic remain and even feels automatic. I have recently worked with a client who went through almost word for word what you are describing. You have become so tuned into every sensation of your heart and unfortunately, your brain interprets the sensations as dangerous...therefore causing fear and anxiety. With my clients, I use a combination of skills that I teach for panic disorder. I recommend going to my playlist page and watching the 2 videos I made on Panic attacks. The skill most often helpful with what you are describing is what I call, "welcoming the panic". I even have clients create the heart sensations on purpose as a form a exposure therapy called Interaceptive Exposure Therapy. I also have a video on how to do this type of exposure. You can find this under Exposure Therapy on the Playlist page as well. I wish you the best in learning to accept and not react to your body sensations.
I have the same anxiety but it’s from a trauma that happened to another person I was close to and now I’m terrified it’s happening to me. It’s terrible but we can get through this!
I’ve had health anxiety for about 12 years now. 2 years ago I got diagnosed with breast cancer and what’s sad is that I found it myself. So can you imagine the uncertainties and fears now. Unfortunately it’s always a series of fears that keep on coming back. I’m very happy I found your channel can you please discuss health anxiety and when you do have something real how do you deal with it? Also what do you think of hypnotherapy to change the subconscious beliefs that danger is always around the corner and watching out for risks. There is neuro feedback I heard is good what do you think of it? Thank you for your great work!
I’ve had health anxiety since I was a kid along with other anxiety. I was born into domestic violence which explains it. My issue now is that I have serious health issues from years of being stuck in fight or flight. I have Advanced Osteoporosis at age 57 and have recently had fractures to my thoracic and lumbar spine. I’m high risk for fracture and am in constant alert mode because every move I make matters including coughing and sneezing. This is real and it’s very scary.
I am so sorry, Karen. That sounds terrible and painful. People often have health anxiety with and without medical symptoms and medical diagnosis. I can help you with your obsessive worries and anxiety in my course called Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety. Should you have an interest in learning more, please visit PaigePradko.com
Thank you so much for this video. I’ve struggled with health anxiety for most of my 20s I’m nearly 30 now. Its been so confusing and so scary. I’ve developed this obsession with trying to stay super healthy and to be honest I don’t enjoy it most of the time. Obsessively drinking and eating healthy, forcing myself to work out. Avoiding certain foods. Sometimes I just want to eat and pizza without thinking I’m going to have high cholesterol or miss a workout without thinking I’ll be super unfit the next day or that my body will shut down because I’m not staying active. Unfortunately, despite the healthy lifestyle I’ve actually made myself physically sick because of my health anxiety but I’m honestly still very grateful for this video. I really want to start enjoying health in a happy, natural and mindful way and not feel forced to be because of what goes on in my mind!
You are not alone. This is something that many people struggle with. But, you can make progress through exposures. What you are describing is not an eating disorder, it is more related to OCD. Some of my videos on OCD and doing ERP will help you. You can make great progress by challenging yourself daily by eating or drinking something that is outside of your normal controlled foods. Your anxiety will go up when you take a bite or a drink. But, if practiced regularly, your fear response will die down, and you will learn to allow yourself more variety. ERP ua-cam.com/video/JlVID74KTOM/v-deo.html, Strategic Exposure ua-cam.com/video/3sMpRuPi04A/v-deo.html, maximize exposure ua-cam.com/video/439l0c-P3lg/v-deo.html
Amazing information...thank you so much for all your great help!!! Please help me with my husband’s health anxiety as I am going crazy.... He doesn’t believe, he has an issue. It is all real to him. Every day there is a health issue with him. He is diagnosed with depression - hypochondriac. (Medication for + 20 years) He has health issues (diabetes, high blood pressure, Crohn’s, cholesterol) He was also diagnosed with throat cancer 5 years ago. It went away after radiation therapy. Last year 2019 his cancer came back and had laryngectomy (removed of larynx). He is fine now but constantly worries. I try to help him but I feel depressed and down. - a lot of sleepless nights and worries I am in general an optimistic enthusiastic person but I find this situation extremely miserable and very toxic for my sanity.. and the relationship. What to do?
I can understand how difficult this must be for both of you. Health anxiety acts like OCD and people can become obsessed, especially if it began with a health related trauma, which it did in your husband’s case. Reassuring him will only make it worse, and reinforce the cycle. Calmly explain to your husband that although you love him, you will not do anything to reinforce the obsessive cycle of health anxiety. You will not take him or join him going to doctor appointments, you will not reassure him that he is fine, and you will not listen to him obsess and worry about health issues. Anything else, you will be a supportive wife, but you will not support health anxiety issues. I know this sounds cruel, but, you can be loving when you explain it to him. For most everyone with health anxiety, it does feel very real to them. The symptoms die down as soon as he stops googling, body symptom checking, going to appointments, and seeking reassurance. Sometimes people do exposures of certain symptoms if necessary like a racing heart or dizziness.
I am confused. I thought you said that we should not focused on calming techniques like breathing, meditation, etc since they would send the message to our brain that we “are in trouble” and we should just act like nothing is happening. Can you please explain? Thank you for your valuable channel.
Thank you so much. I've been struggling with health anxiety almost six years. It getting severe day by day and death anxiety along. I'll definitely try those technique..
the problem that is so hard for me is the fact that i suffer from shortness of breath constantly despite doctors telling me im healthy then i start to think the worst and its just a constant cycle i cant shake or do know how
Hi Marc. I am creating on an online therapy course for people like you. It will be available this summer. I take you through step by step what to do. Feeling breathlessness is common and part of the rewiring of the brain is done through Interoceptive Exposures. I will notify my subscribers when the course is available or you can send me your email through PaigePradko.com.
I love Strategy Exposure Therapy. And, catastrophizing with friends may be a way that you are trying to seek reassurance. Seeking reassurance feels good at the moment, but actually makes our long term anxiety worse...because we are treating all of our fears as if they are truths. You may want to experiment with tolerating your anxiety until the discomfort dies down. Just a thought. Wishing you the best.
You can see how your mind creates a dangerous scenario out of a normal occurrence. Your job in this scenario is to identify your thought as an anxious thought. And then, tolerate the anxiety the thought produces...and let time pass. Do not argue with the thought or google search about your thought. Just let it be, and continue your life.
Although I catch myself obsessing about my health during the day it is unbearable at night. I will have multiple panic attacks in a single night. I get stuck in an endless loop of hoping I dont start obsessing, which triggers the obsession, having a panic attack, coming down and realizing it's just my anxiety. Then it all starts again. It's really exhausting and even worse because I dont tell anyone out of fear I will cause THEM anxiety about my health.
Hi Julia. It does sound like you have health anxiety that can be very obsessive like OCD. If you would like more help in treating it, I have an online therapy course for people suffering from health anxiety coming out at the end of the month. I take you through step by step through treatment. If you are interested in learning more, please email me at info@paigepradko.com
This video popped up as a suggestion and im sooo grateful. Ive had anxiety and ocd for years but this year after my daughter got very sick with the flu ive been in the worst health anxiety episode of my life. I got a sinus infection and took some sinus max which spiked my blood pressure and i went into full tremor panic attacks. From this point i went to the er for an ekg and they said im fine im having a panic attack. I tried to convince myself i was okay for a couple weeks but then developed some widespread twitches. Googled (NEVER GOOGLE!!) and of course diagnosed myself with ALS or MS. got to the point i was convinced my doctors (including a primary and neurologist who both ran plenty of tests) were missing something when they told me its just anxiety and stress. So ive been stuck in this cycle of keep my anxiety sky high, feel muscle twitches, obsess over those twitches and fear death, then repeat. It has been THE WORST cycle and im just finally 5-6 months later feeling like i will truly be okay and anxiety can present in a lot of different ways and health anxiety doesnt have to win and ruin our lives! Thank you for this video!!
I’m so sorry you went through that cycle. It sounds like classic health anxiety as the brain always seems to choose the worst case scenarios and convinces you they are legitimate concerns. If you need help or support for health anxiety, I have resources at paigepradko.com
I had found a lump on my body and immediately went to Dr. Google. Of course, I convinced myself I had cancer and I was a goner. I went to the doctor and he said he was 99.9% sure that it wasn’t cancer. I still left the office doubting him and thinking he must’ve missed something. I hate this anxiety. At times I will calm myself down but it always flares back up. I wish everyone luck on here for defeating this disorder. I’m trying my best to battle my own.
I'd love to hear more about how to help a partner who suffers from illness anxiety disorder. Its distressing knowing that reassuring the concerns only keeps the cycle going & it can be hard to be perceived as 'not caring' by not responding in a sympathetic way to the constant health queries.
This is an excellent idea for a video. If my partner had a form of health anxiety, I would inform them that eventhough I cared about them, I would not participate in any activities like reassurance giving or taking them to the ER, or any other activities that would reinforce the anxiety and treat their thoughts as if they were real and true.
Thank You so much Paige, I really appreciate your videos on Health Anxiety. I watched both. Can you help me with some more information. I want to conquer it once and for all.
Hi Thomas. I am sorry that you are struggling with health anxiety. I recommend stopping all behaviors like checking body symptoms, googling symptoms, excessive testing, and seeking reassurance. You can create your own scripts to listen to and target your core fears if you need additional exposures. Here is my video on how to write scripts. Health anxiety acts like OCD and is treated the same way. ua-cam.com/video/HrjM091rcXc/v-deo.html
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thank You, I appreciate your help. Can anxiety last for hours or days? I’m trying my best to deal with it. I want to just have a week straight with no anxiety. Can you suggest some ways I can feel no anxiety?
Hi Paige, thank you for both of your videos on health anxiety! I've had it for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I would check myself for appendicitis every night before going to bed.. even back then I was dead afraid of hospitals and illnesses. My anxiety dropped during my mid-twenties and mid-thirties, but with the pandemic, it came back and skyrocketed to the point of becoming unliveable. I do sometimes have body sensations that trigger my anxiety, typically I have found myself having trouble breathing these past two years, but I usually calm down by telling myself that it's just my anxiety acting up. The worst for me are the intrusive thoughts I'm having from the moment I wake up till the moment I go to bed and finally fall asleep. I've developped a crippling fear of death that I can't seem to be able to get out of my head. I'm terrified I might get sick in a year, five years or ten years. And when it's not fear of cancer, which I can sometimes manage by reassuring myself I'm already doing everything I can do by leading a healthy lifestyle, then it's fear of things that could happen to me without a warning like a brain aneurysm or a stroke. And this is exhausting.. it's like waiting for impending death. In fact, I think this sums it up: I've developped a fear of an impeding deadly stroke. And I don't know how to cope with that. I'm feeling depressed and hopeless on a daily basis and I need it to change. To add up to my anxiety, I'm actually 3 1/2 months pregnant, and believe it or not, lately every TV serie I watch or every podcast I listen to seem to contain at least one story about someone who lost their mother in their childhood.. So I guess, my question is, where do I start? What kind of therapy should I try?
Hi Sabrina. First, let me say congratulations on your pregnancy as nothing is more exciting than bringing a child into the world. And, I am so very sorry that you are suffering from health anxiety. If you are interested in help, please contact me on PaigePradko.com and leave me a message there. What you are experiencing is treatable and I want the very best for you so that you are absolutely feeling great and happy and ready to welcome your beautiful child into the world.
I honestly had to check your name to make sure I didnt write this myself. EVERYTHING you said is 100% me. I am also terrified of Drs. I just newly developed a fear of flying! Its so awful living this way. I hope your pregnancy went beautifully!
This is such an important question. I talk to every client with health anxiety about this subject. Physicians do not often speak to their patients about health anxiety. Although, they recognize when a patient is repeatedly making appointments out of fear and the need for reassurance. My clients have typically worn down pathways to their doctors, cardiologists and emergency rooms for unnecessary appointments. We discuss informing and acknowledging to their physicians that they in fact suffer from health anxiety and that they want their physician to consider their health anxiety by not encouraging unnecessary testing or reassurance. Most physicians offer reassurance because they naturally want to calm their patients. They do not realize that they are actually reinforcing their patient’s anxiety cycle. Therefore, they discuss scheduling appointments according to their doctor’s recommendation and standard of care guidelines. For example, if a cardiologist tells a patient, “I would like to see you in one year”, the patient sticks to that schedule. To summarize, I recommend disclosing to your doctors that you suffer from health anxiety and asking for their help by avoiding unnecessary testing and reassurance that may reinforce the anxiety. And follow up appointments will be scheduled according to the recommendation of their physicians. Thank you for asking such a relevant and important question.
I just came across your video seeking help for a friend. I will certainly prefer this information to her. Then she came seek a therapist who can help her.
i have been obssessed with hiv for 5 years. For the first time, i was worried abou it when having sexual relationship with others but now id like to call it as health anxiety. I have taken morenthan 30 tests for 5 years and the symptoms that i had got worse. I had maasage in a massage shop 2 weeks ago. I then jumped into hiv phobia like.. what if she was a hiv patient and what if she was bleeding on her hands.. what if i had a open sore like that. Shoul I have one more test to reassuaeance it or just let it go following your advice?
It sounds to me like your fears are exaggerated and spiked by health anxiety versus realistic risk. You will have to set boundaries for yourself and decide when to tolerate the anxiety instead of continuing to get tested. All of those tests just continue the anxiety cycle and the reassurance does not last. Your goal will be to tolerate the anxiety associated with uncertainty. We all must live with that uncertainty.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thank you so much for your advice. I fully agree with you on the fact the reassurance doesnt last.. I am trying to tolerate this uncertainty and not to have another test.. keep fighting!
You’re not alone in this fear, just seeing it or hearing it makes me feel like I have it. I get nipped at the nail salon and instantly think the worse. What if they didn’t properly sanitize the cuticle nipper? Terrifying. Only problem is, I avoid the doctor and just drive myself insane. Wishing you peace on this journey.
Yes, unfortunately it is a problem. You are unintentionally responding to the health anxiety by doing something to calm yourself down. This creates a reinforcing health anxiety cycle and the meditation is taking the place of a compulsion, or a behavior that reduces the anxiety. It teaches that brain to be fearful of those health thoughts and sensations and will create an urge in you to do meditation or something else every time the thoughts come up. And this creates an OCD/health anxiety cycle that will continue to demand your attention. For more help for health anxiety here are some resources: Health anxiety assessment www.paigepradko.com/healthanxietyquiz OnLine Course: Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety
Hi Lindsey. Yes…I am still here…and working hard on helping people with Health Anxiety. I have a new video being edited now where I talk about what is actually happening in the body when you are anxious. I talk with a physician on the video. It will be out in a few days. I hope you like it. If you need more support or help with Health Anxiety, please leave me a message at PaigePradko.com 😊
What about when a new symptom comes up and you’re worried that if you ignore it it is the time that you’re right. I can’t live my life bc of health anxiety. Every pain or nuance means cancer to me. I can’t stop. It’s awful and has caused me suicidal thoughts.
If you see this as a pattern, then you recognize that you suffer from health anxiety. You have to be a little more strict with yourself about doctor visits and tests and no googling symptoms. Body sensations and symptoms will be there, and you will have to tolerate the anxiety and not avoid activities in your life. If you do that, you will see an improvement within weeks.
I’m trying very hard to do this. Every time I think I’m ok something else happens. Like I have a sore spot under breast and am convinced it’s breast cancer and can’t function. 😢
Just work on tolerating the anxiety. Of course there is always going to be the...what if....question in our mind. For people with Health Anxiety, we have to tolerate the what if. We go to the doctor on regular recommended checkups. Give yourself time to let the anxiety come down and tolerate the “what ifs”.
@@lisaesposito9046 That's exactly where I am right now too! Mine hurts a little on top of the breast and close to and in my armpit. I don't feel any lumps and have no other symptoms but I am convinced it's of course cancer. I make myself feel sick sometimes I get so upset thinking about it! But I'm also terrified to go get it checked because I'm afraid they are going to tell me that's what it is!
@@calliecastillo5372 I feel something similar, my woke up with a weird feeling on my left breast, as if someone had injected me with some hot liquid and my mind starts panicking. Heart attack? Burts cyst? I can't take this anymore. Next week my body will move on to something else
My health anxiety is through the roof recently. I’ve had it, I think since I was a child but with lockdown etc it’s becoming almost unbearable. I even bought an blood oxygen and glucose testing kit because I’ve been trying Keto. I’m literally sick of being this way. The few times I feel ok I start feeling anxious about my kids or my husband or even the family pets.
I am so sorry, Tess. This pandemic and all of this media coverage about illness has really exacerbated people’s health anxiety. Try your best to identify and accept the waves of anxiety without researching symptoms or taking health checks. Allow the anxiety to come and go without reacting to it.
It’s funny how you talk about seeking reassurance from the Internet, checking blood pressure and checking pulse as a compulsive behavior People with health anxiety use. As you had said those things and I’m listening thinking to myself yup that’s me spot on!
You are not alone, Andrew. It is difficult to give up that symptom checking, but, it is necessary to get better. My clients even have to stop using their Apple watches and other devices. It fuels their health anxiety. I am leaving a playlist of a few more videos. In the Q & A video, I share a client’s script for health Anxiety that he listened to daily and it helped him stop those behaviors. ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYonn-zlZxzTRR8V4myEHgCY.html
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thank you for the reply! I appreciate the link as well 😁 also ive stopped wearing my apple watch for just that reason,sometimes something as simple as a false feart rate during anxiety will spike wandering thoughts
Thank you for this video! I’ve only recently realized that I am suffering from health anxiety and just understanding more about this issue has helped me take control of it a little better. Your video included Helpful suggestions for possible therapeutic approaches that I think I will try.
Thankyou so much 🙏 you are explaining it in a great way,I have a question, you talked about mindfulness,we can say that it's just a thought nothing is wrong,but the mind replies that what if it's not health anxiety and really is something wrong and we misinterpreted it by saying it's just a feeling,may be iam asking a stupid question, but this happens to me..
Hi Fazio. Health Anxiety is like OCD and the fear and worries become obsessive. I have a 3 part series on Health Anxiety that begins on 10/31 that will share lots of information on what to do. I am also offering an online course for Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety at that time as well. More information to come.😊
Madam Due to the health anxiety for the last 25 days (first time in my life ) Improved 80% after watching ur videos The dizziness it’s not going completely I mean the sensation it is coming sometimes and going away ! Will do the breathing therapy every day twice .. also spending an hour in gym 5 days in a week … My doubt even if as you said understanding and accepting the fact of anxiety.. This physical sensation I mean dizziness will go away completely? How long will take for a complete recovery of this dizziness? Kindly advise
Hi Shajir. I am glad to hear that you are so much improved. Remember that we all have symptoms of anxiety that come and go. For you, this includes dizziness. Allow it to come and go without responding to it in a fearful way.
I had long Covid in 2020 . Recover ed I had resurgence in symptoms after overwork . Is it stress & anxiety as you can’t check health results as there are none for long C . Am I projecting? I’m over thinking & worrying all the time
Something I have the most trouble with is convince myself that my symptoms are not life threatening. My brain automatically jumps to all cases I know where a person was misdiagnosed and ended up dying. I think what reinforces the idea that I could be part of statistic is having family history of sudden death. Rationally I understand I'm fine, because symptoms gradually disappear when I use distractions or when I hold some valerian tincture in my mouth. How do you go around it without reinforcing the idea that something is wrong and stop your brain to jump into worst case scenario?
Thank you so much for the video. For me I started experiencing health anxiety after an ear balance problem.I was continuously experiencing dizziness and tinnitus . Because of worrying I ended up in experiencing panic attack for one year. After that my GP put me on medication as I was experiencing a lot of physical symptoms as well.I also developed a habit of googling which I completely stopped now.But I still have my symptoms on and off even though I am taking medication. I want to know about a symptom which I am experiencing is continuous yawning when getting anxious. Please advise is that normal.
Symptoms will come and go. Accept them, allow them, even the yawning. Yawning is your body trying to settle down. Eventhough it may be annoying, just allow it. The more you try to block it, the more it will persist.
Hi rajku, i am experiencing some of the same symptoms , I also have up and down hearing in one ear. Anx is a 10! Anx certainly influences tinnitus. Do you find that to be true?
I feel like this video was made specifically for me. I have been dealing with health anxiety for at least 15 years. Just recently learned that OCD plays a big role. It's difficult to ignore the compulsions. Mine are googling and checking my body over and over. Even when a Dr tells me my symptom is not harmful and not to worry, I feel calm and relieved but later I wonder if the Dr missed something. My logical brain knows everything is OK but my anxious brain keeps telling me "what if". I saw in the comments you plan on providing an online class for health anxiety. Is that still something you plan on doing?
Hi. I am so sorry that you have lived with this for 15 years. I know how it can rob a person of their peace of mind and enjoyment in life. But, I am glad you posted and saw those comments. I have been working on an online treatment course for months, because the need is so overwhelming right now. It doesn’t matter if you have been suffering for 15 years or just a few weeks, you can treat this and get peace of mind again. My course includes step by step treatment techniques that are evidenced based (proven to be most effective in research studies) to treat health anxiety. My videos are being edited right now and I had hoped to have had it available by September 1, but, it may need additional edits before I make it available to the public. If I have your email, I can send you the information to look over when it becomes available. You can contact me at PaigePradko.com by sending a message, or leaving me your email here or some have private messaged me on Instagram @Paige.Pradko.Therapy.
There is a bit of controversy in this area. I could do a whole video on just this issue. It does appear that the fastest treatment is a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy. However, the doses of antidepressants recommended for OCD and health anxiety are much higher than used in depression, and not all patients can tolerate these medications. And with health anxiety, there is often an avoidance and fear of medications. We are able to achieve the same positive, lasting treatment results with therapy without medications, but, it is a slower process. Thank you for you question.
Can this happen multiple times at day, daily???? I started feeling horrible this week. They prescribed me Anxiety medication. Went to my primary Doctor on monday, my blood pressure was little high. I keep checking my BP multiple times at day. Im scared of a Heart Attack or Strocked. Im 35. Been having other health issues like fatty liver, high cholesterol.
Hi Li Ann. I am so sorry that you are experiencing this. Yes, it can happen multiple times a day. I specialize in health anxiety and OCD. If you ever need more help, here is my course and support group for Recovering from Health Anxiety. www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety
Wow thanks so much! My health anxiety has been going haywire for the last few months because of the virus. The breathing symptoms feel like the exact same in a panic attack and in the virus.
You are not alone. So many people have had their health anxiety triggered by the virus. We have to tolerate our anxiety and eventually our symptoms will decrease. Thank you for your comment.
Oh no, viewers of this video are seeking reassurance. Crap, I can’t win. Lol Strategic Exposure Therapy, mindfulness & Acceptance seem like the right way for me. Thank you Doctor. 🌷🇨🇦👍❤️
Thanks for watching. If you are interested in more treatment help for Health Anxiety, I have developed an online therapy course for Recovery from Health Anxiety. Go to PaigePradko.com for more information.
Thank you. The biggest trouble I have is the anxiety that I will get sick and die before I finish my multi year personal projects because I had a friend that did and regretted it on their deathbed around my age. How do you deal with anxiety of falling ill before completing a life mission?
I am sorry that your friend died and possibly the experience created a fear in you. That is a normal fear and most humans have that fear if they care about something or someone. The only think you can do is to tolerate that fear and anxiety when it shows up. You continue to to what you love and value, whether or not the fearful thought is present. You do not want to try to push it away or reassure yourself that you are ok, because that can become a compulsive behavior that ends up reinforcing the thought to come more often.
my husband use to work in big company one time i had this worry about localized pain that comes and goes,went to the hospital Dr ordered right away an MRI,bamm got the amswer problem solved,sadly now its not the case,coz dr would be yeah just take this and go home,eventhough your health concern has been happening for many months..thats why people worry they don't have the answer.
I know it feels scary, but do your best to keep working on it. It will get better over time if you keep working at it and tolerate the anxiety in those moments without trying to calm yourself.
Thank you for this video- I have suffered with health anxiety for a lot of my life, going back to even being a child. I had a couple of years of being “normal” and not suffering from health anxiety so much, however always being health conscious but not to an extreme level. At the beginning of this year I had a major stressful life event happen to me, and since then I feel this stress has opened the flood gates to my health anxiety coming back. Already this year I’ve been for an MRI thinking I had throat cancer, now I’m awaiting a scan for the breast clinic, you can guess which illness I think I have now! I live in England, UK so it’s a lot easier to be sent for “scans” and “further tests” because of the NHS which fuels my anxiety so much because I think “oh my god the doctor thinks there’s definitely something wrong with me to send me for a scan” and that’s the situation I’m in right now. I drive everyone insane with it, my friends, family, my fiancé everyone gets annoyed at me because of my health anxieties. I truly wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it’s totally life ruining an controls everything you do and think. I managed to get over it a few years ago by stopping the googling and started to ignore bodily sensations and it worked! But here I am back in the health anxiety hole.
I am so sorry, Kayl. It can flare up at different times in our lives. After your scan, begin to cope with your anxiety again by not seeking reassurance or googling symptoms. Health anxiety will quiet down when we stop our behaviors of tests and scans and appointments. Wishing you the best.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC thank you- I feel like I’m loosing my mind however, constantly stuck in the grey area of ‘is this my health anxiety or am I really dying and my symptoms are real’ I can never quite work out which one is which. Such a crippling mental health illness.
It might help if you can focus on tolerating the feeling of not knowing. Feel what that feeling is to not know if you have this illness or that one. Feel what it is like to not know what that body sensation means. We have to learn to hold and tolerate those feelings because as humans, we never have certainty of anything. You are living with uncertainty in so many other areas. Learning to tolerate uncertainty in the area of you health will improve with intention and practice. It will give you your life back.
Hi. This Sabrina again i left a message on each video. I have a bad behavior googling syptoms and checking parts of my body. I really do need help I've already had a EKG it was good so now im praying my blood works comes back good. Im just scared heart racing tired of thinkingp
Unfortunately, googling and researching and checking body symptoms are making your anxiety worse. I have an online class for health anxiety coming out soon. It may be helpful for you.
I'm 61 and was diagnosed with health anxiety during lockdown; course I didn't believe it - I knew I had a sever undiagnosed heart problem ... since I was 21! I've suffered on and mostly off my whole life until Covid where is has become quite debilitating. I never understood the OCD enabling until I watch this ... OMG thank you SO much, I do ALL of those reassuring techniques. I also practice mindfulness which does help however alone its not enough during a full anxiety moment. Thank you so much X
I am truly sorry that you have suffered so much. I left you a message about my course called, Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety. Please contact me at paigepradko.com if I can be of any help.
I have a feeling of having colon cancer , as i have narrow stools for few days , i dont even know if its narrow , my fear is so high , my brains make me think its narrow , .My doubt is should i exposure myself , if so , for how .long , before seeking a doctor , which is considered reassurance . My brain says its emergency , to check a doctor , but it did like 10+ times i visited doctors previously in hospital
I am so sorry that you are experiencing health anxiety. If you have already seen a doctor for this problem in the last year, and your doctor said there is no problem, and you have a history of health anxiety, you do not need to see a doctor. That reassurance will only be temporary and will only make the health anxiety worse. If I were seeing a patient with your symptoms, I would suggest that they tolerate the anxiety without doctor appointments and stop all methods of researching, googling, and checking body symptoms. That means no inspecting their stool at all. This typically calms down their anxiety. Some clients need to go further into developing erp scripts and other exposures. Here is a playlist for help with health anxiety ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYonn-zlZxzTRR8V4myEHgCY.html If you are subscribed to my UA-cam channel, you will soon hear about more help I am offering for people with health anxiety.
My clinical psychologist diagnosed me as GAD and health anxiety is my worst, everyday having symptoms, scaning body sensation, focusing on my breathing pattern whether I'm breathing or not, multiple doctor visit, but still every day is my battles, sometimes I wanna hurt myself. I'm newly married 35 dude and my relationship is getting sucks because of my mental issues. I'm done.
I hope you are making progress, Pedro. You will have to stop all of those checking body sensations and googling and doctor appointments if you want your anxiety to calm down. I wish you the best. Health anxiety is horrible.
Does watching your videos fall into the category of seeking reassurance too? Is does for me. ( serious question!) Currently I 'm getting started on an SSRI, and having a really difficult time. I can call in "emergency / panick situations" so I don't go to the ER, and they then reassurance me it's OK and I'm doing fine. At my request they call every other day to ask how I 'm doing. They encourage me to hold on, as the first few weeks are difficult. All forms of reassurance, imo. But I need it so badly.
First, I am so sorry that you are experiencing this anxiety. Yes, you are seeking reassurance in many forms and this activity reinforces your anxiety. I try to be informative in my videos, but, I can understand that it could be reassuring to learn about having anxiety versus a health condition. Thank you for your comment.
I'm a bit confused. Because when listening to the video about strategic exposure therapy, you are saying we shouldn't really do cbt or calming exercises together. Then in this video you are trying to combine set therapy with cbt and breathing. Or you just trying to say, that we should stop seek any reassurance and internet information not to reinforce anxiety.
I am sorry if I confused you. I have a Q & A video on Health Anxiety coming out next week that may help you further. I treat Health Anxiety like OCD. I recommend identifying the obsessions and the compulsive behaviors. For some people, just eliminating the compulsive behaviors (researching, googling, checking body symptoms, tests, appointments, seeking reassurance, etc.) will reduce the obsessive worries. However, with others, we might do more exposure work like recording scripts or exercise, etc. In Strategic Exposure Therapy, Dr. Reid Wilson likes to add a positive cognitive to the exposures, “oh good, I have anxiety right now, this gives me an opportunity to tolerate the anxiety and do nothing about it.” I used to do more cognitive restructuring and relaxation, but not anymore. More recent research indicates that those types of therapy can make the exposure work less effective. Therapists update their treatment models when we learn improved methods from research. Thanks for your great question.
Thankyou so much for the video. It was really well explained and gave me so much hope. Health Anxiety has been overwhelming me lately and as you explained it I can see how my compulsive behaviours have been making it worse. Very grateful to have found your channel, I really appreciate it.
Have been having health anxiety since 2018.The thing is I'm not having it persistently.It's like it comes n goes.For a month or so I would be carefree and would be easy on myself.And else sometimes I would go on ruminating.It's like on both extremes.Health anxiety have been deep inside my mind while bursts out once in a while.I have missed many events at school and other family gatherings because of this.I really want to get out of this,it feels like a loop of negative thoughts.
I actually think that many people can relate to what you are describing. Health Anxiety can really pop up out of nowhere. We have to treat it like an annoying neighbor making lots of noise when we are trying to sleep. We tolerate the symptoms and anxiety without doing anything to reinforce it. Eventually, the anxiety will calm down. If we keep up checking our body symptoms and searching for reassurance or googling symptoms or going to the doctor, or avoiding activities and going places...we are actually making it worse. Wishing you the best in accepting your flare ups.
When not reinforcing the behavior when having a health anxiety attack, do you preform coping methods, or do you just ignore then anxiety until it goes away?
Great question. There are several forms of ERP treatment. But, the most important thing is to NOT do any coping behaviors like googling symptoms, checking your body symptoms, reassurance seeking, or avoidance behaviors. Those types of coping make the anxiety worse. Instead, focus on accepting the uncertainty of health, which is what we all have to do. None of us come with guarantees. We all have to tolerate health uncertainty. For further treatment, you can do ERP scripts and exposures. I am creating an online treatment class for health anxiety that I will post when it becomes available.
i think my anxiety started from chemical and hormonal imbalance,i took some tea for kidney stones ladt year for 3 4 months and i had a lot urinated,after that symptoms would just poping out,at first i had severe anxiety and panic attacks from nowhere,then i noticed digestive problems like indigestion and severe constipation that made me more nervouss and then i devolped those heart skipping beats its so scary symptom i have sometimes feeling i will pass out some of them make me breathless and that all bring my anxiety to the roof i had 5 ecgs tests chest x rey all came normal,i will check for blood hormone and endoscopy,i tried all suplements like magnesium citrate or glycinate it helps but not so much,only what helps when anxiety is on it peak is xanax it calms me down but i know it makes me dependence but when im on the edge it is better to take some medication then to cope with all that stress
The advice in your videos is spot on, it's hard when you know what you must do but still have fear pop up constantly. My problem is my anxiety symptoms mostly eye related symptoms now have been constant for a year and a half so my fear keeps popping up because it hasn't gone away. I know I will get past this I have faith in my body, it is funny how different we all are yet the same in so many ways
Hi Chris. Yes, we have differences when it comes to the specifics of our concerns, but similarities when you look at the health anxiety cycle and reinforcing, compulsive behaviors like body checking and reassurance seeking and avoiding behaviors. I have share more health anxiety resources in my weekly newsletter at paigepradko.com if you are interested.
I am so sorry that your anxiety is so high. You wrote this comment on a health anxiety video, so I am assuming you are dealing with health anxiety. You will have to change the way you are responding to your thoughts. I will leave you some videos about what to do. I suggest also incorporating daily movement and exercise into your day. Here is a video about What to not do if you have Anxiety: ua-cam.com/video/A_ND_Vwdvj8/v-deo.html Here is a video about A Brain Hack for Anxiety & OCD ua-cam.com/video/9nEC8yIgFKg/v-deo.html.
Thank you it really helpd me, i always have health issues n feel sick n serious evrytime n i always think I will die n no one could guide or teach me like u did in dis video so thank u so mch and please if u can make more videos on health anxiety.
Hi Vikato. Here is a playlist for health anxiety ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYonn-zlZxzTRR8V4myEHgCY.html. And here is a free health anxiety assessment www.paigepradko.com/healthanxietyquiz.
Yes, it is surprising how many safety behaviors and avoidances we have. Especially if we have health anxiety. If you ever need help treating health anxiety, you can find out more about my course here: www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety.
People can experience palpitations anytime and they can be completely normal and harmless. Some people are highly sensitive to palpitations and are bothered by them, others are not bothered at all. Most clients I see that complain of palpitations have had full checkups with their physicians. We try to bring on the palpitations on purpose for exposures and it is amazing how the brain can learn to accept and desensitize to them.
You know what pisses me off about health anxiety? It seems I’m the only male that has it. I’m 28 and I’ve had this since I was about 20. When I was younger. I use to wake up screaming and terrified for like 10 minutes,then fall asleep and wake up like it was almost a dream,like you remember it but the thought of it slowly goes away. That stopped maybe in my teens. Then like I said earlier it came back in my 20s. It’s ruining my life,and I honestly want to just die. Weird huh? You are so terrified you are dying from some unknown undiagnosed illness that you spin out of control in you’re head that it sends you into a panic/anxiety attack because you don’t want to die. But then it fades and all you can think about is “when is the next one?,will I be out in public when it happens?,will the next one be the real deal and I will die?” That it just makes you wish you would die. I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this before I find a more permanent solution to end it
Those nocturnal panic attacks are indeed terrible. I have experienced that before myself, but, for a different triggering event. Your brain is in fight or flight / panic mode, and it takes time to calm down. You are not the only male. About half my clients are males with health anxiety. There is a treatment course that helps. First, because of the build up of adrenaline and cortisol in your system, exercising and at least walking is needed to burn those stress hormones a few hours before bed. No reinforcing the health anxiety through body checking and symptom checking. My clients stop all monitoring of everything even sleep quality. All devices of tracking like fitbits and Apple watches must be removed. Often, I do exposures with clients where we bring on the fearful thoughts and the response to the fear changes as we increase the number of exposures per day. I truly hope you feel better.
Paige Pradko I don’t have a Apple Watch because I’m afraid it will tell me something is wrong with my heart,I can’t sleep on my left side because I can feel my heart beating and it drives me absolutely crazy. But what you said about it being OCD makes a lot of sense. When I was younger I definitely had weird ocd moments in my life well before it was “anxiety”
Paige Pradko I was taken to go see my mother on her deathbed at 9years old,my mom was 25. I remember walking in and seeing her so skinny and gasping for air from what I remember. I’m 28 now so that means I lived longer than my mother. I have resentment to my family because I don’t think it was a good idea to let me see that at a young age. Idk
Mollie Cakes one coping mechanism that I have that I know it not healthy and is risking my relationship with my girlfriend is shutting myself off to the outside world and just wanting to stay locked away in my room ,I know it’s not healthy to be like this but I’m scared to leave the house for fear I’m not safe,my girlfriend is very supportive and I love her for that but I know she won’t put up with it forever. And I understand why she wouldn’t want to. It’s just my mind is sick and broken and I don’t know how to fix it. I’m sorry for rambling. I just want to talk about it sometimes to people who understand me
So very helpful thanks! I am looking to read a book on health anxiety and how to beat this debilitating condition. Do you have any recommendations please?
Great question. I have never read a book about health anxiety, so I cannot make a recommendation. But, I am sure they are out there. I learn from working with clients and reading current research from university library searches. I am glad you found the video helpful. 😊
I just worked on a Q & A video on Health Anxiety today where I answered lots of viewer questions. I wish I had read your question before I shot the video. Maybe I will include it next time. But, avoiding exercise, exerting your body and avoiding an increase in pulse are all behaviors that contribute to making health anxiety worse. And of course doing those same things is what actually makes us healthier and live longer. Isn’t that something...that we want to avoid what would actually make us healthier. I use exercise as exposure therapy practice for clients that are avoiding it. This is extremely important in recovering from health anxiety.
Hi. I have seen the death of our neighbor. I have been having this thought that if she was sent to the hospital immediately, she could have lived. Now, I got sick and i feel like I have health anxiety and at the same time i don’t want to travel. I always think that what happened to her might happen to me. is this still part of the Health Anxiety or will it fall under PTSD?
Hi Mary. I am so sorry for the loss of your neighbor and for how that loss has affected you. To answer your question, it might be both. I have found that most people with health anxiety had some type of health trauma that preceded their anxiety. They either witnessed someone’s illness or experienced a health trauma themselves. Mary, you may be interested in a 3-part series on Health Anxiety that I will be posting to UA-cam beginning tomorrow. Be sure to subscribe to my channel so that you don’t miss it.
U r awesome ❤️! I don't know how to thank you for helping me, the temptation thing for me has been going on for the past 5 months started with a thought and ended with a thought. But ur videos really helped me
What a great question. I think that this is what most everyone experiences. We feel a real symptom and then our brain takes off with the worst case scenarios. Let’s say you have heart palpitations. Almost everyone has heart palpitations from time to time and they can be completely normal. But, it will not be interpreted as normal for a person with health anxiety. I would suggest that they be checked out by their physician if they had not been to a physician. Then, we begin the work of tolerating the symptom and the anxiety and not do any reinforcing or avoidance behaviors. Tolerating the anxiety is the main thing with health anxiety.
I’ve been getting terrible tension headaches where I keep reinforcing compulsive behaviors and I definitely see why my head keeps feeling tight. I’m going to take your advice and stop those behaviors and hopefully I can relax better!
I am so sorry about your headaches. It does take some time for our brains to calm down and learn that nothing is wrong. If you need more help on Exposure Therapy, I have a few videos coming up in a few weeks that get into more detail about how to do exposure therapy. But, by stopping the compulsive behaviors and letting your anxiety come down on it’s own will help. Thank you for your comment.
I also think learning to brush off anxiety and not making it such a big deal helps! I dont think you need to make anxiety such a big deal through exposure and treatment. If we dont have the coping skills to brush off anxiety and cope with it, our brain is going to transfer that anxiety someplace else. Don't you think? :)
Yes, I agree. As long as a person does not begin to practice avoidance when they brush things off. But, feeling anxiety and accepting it and moving through your day doing what you want to do without avoidance behavior is helpful.
Thank you so much, this is by far one of the best video about this topic, what other ways can we use exposure ? I read that one way is to write the worst possible scenario and read it few times a day until the anxiety is gone, what' are your thoughts on that ?
Writing about a worse case scenario or recording your voice and listening to it are different ways to do an exposure into your fears. Most of my clients with health anxiety see results by eliminating behaviors like googling symptoms or checking their pulse, taking off monitoring devices like Apple watches, stopping reassurance seeking like excessive testing and doctor appointments. And then, they begin to move into activities that they once avoided due to their fear. They learn to tolerate the anxiety in those fearful situations and the anxiety eventually drops. Thank you for your comment and question. 😊
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when you said " its very treatable. you dont need to live with this horrible fear " I literally bursted into tears with relief. thank you so much for this video. first piece of advice on health anxiety that I feel actually helped me. you're a life saver.
I am so happy to hear that, Taylor. I hope that you feel better. Should you ever need extra help or support, I do offer an online treatment course for health anxiety. There is more information on PaigePradko.com
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thanks so much Paige!
The one OF girl I respect
Felt the same here😢
Thanks a lot for you words❤😂❤❤❤❤❤
Yes she is a life changer
This past month I experienced health anxiety for the first time, and it was horrible. I put my body and mind through so much stress, and I kept the cycle going by constantly googling and seeking reassurance. The googling of my “symptoms” only made things so much worse, and I reached a point where I just woke up with heart palpitations cause I was so anxious. I made the decision to completely ban googling and focused on mindfulness. The first day I felt great, continued with the second day, then something made me cave on the third day and 5 minutes of catastrophizing and googling ruined my entire day and nearly gave me a panic attack. Then I made a promise to myself that I would stop googling for a week, and set a specific time I could “worry” about a body sensation, so I wouldn’t think about it constantly. It’s been 2 weeks since then and I feel so much more at peace and reassured. I find that letting the anxiety wash over me, let it be present and really sticking to the no googling rule has made it easier. I have to be strict with myself and it took a lot of time, but compared to a few weeks ago where I couldn’t even be present when I was accompanied by others cause I was constantly worried, I’ve made a lot of progress. I think I’ve reached the acceptance point, like if something is wrong - then I’ll deal with it. Until then I’m gonna live my life. This series was really informative! Thank you so much!
Wow! I hope that all of my subscribers read your comment. You describe exactly how seeking reassurance actually reinforces the anxiety. I am sure it was difficult to stop the googling, but you experienced that just mindfully feeling anxiety and letting it decrease on it’s own....over the course of a week....the thoughts and anxiety calmed. Great job! Keep up the good work!! And thank you for such an awesome comment!
How reassuring was that pardon that word i did not realise what i have been doing to myself and have really suffer i am going to work on this as it has helped already
I've been dealing with horrid health anxiety lately. It has been plaguing me for almost a month. Googling helps in the short term, but then I start catastrophizing and end up on square one.
@@stefanbernhard2710 hey, I really stand by my comment from a year ago and now I don’t deal with health anxiety anymore. It didn’t take more than a couple of weeks using the method I described in my first comment, and I’ve never felt better. I really recommend stop googling cause it reinforces the anxiety.
Those are great things. I’m going to start not googling my symptoms. Can you recommend what else you do to help with it?
I’m literally in tears... after watching both of these videos I’ve realized that I’m not alone. That this happens to many people! Also that I’m naturally doing all of these techniques before I even knew what was happening to me. I have always been aware that my fears are not based in fact and that it’s an overreaction of the mind and body. I feel like mine is trauma based as I’ve not had this my entire life. My son passed from SIDS in 2007 and then my daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer... and then I was bombarded by lots of very stress filled life experiences after that. I do feel blessed that I am aware that these thoughts are untrue and that I don’t let them stop me from living my life. But I still carry them around with me and I’m just ready and almost angry at them. If I’m aware they aren’t true then why do I obsess still?! Lol I’m so thankful for you and these videos! God bless you!
Oh my gosh, Christina, you have experienced loss and trauma. I am so sorry for the loss of your son, and your daughter’s tumor and the other traumas you have been through. Health anxiety can certainly exacerbated by health traumas in ourselves or in others. I hope that these videos help you to identify how you are reinforcing your anxiety and what you changes you need to make. Wishing you the best ❤️
I’m so sorry. Sending love and hugs. God bless you
(THE ULTIMATE CURE OF HEALTH ANXIETY) Hello I have also suffered the same problem and it has elevated a lot since lockdowns and always thinking about it ,but this video on the channel shaan Kassam titled "my symptoms were changing day by day" will definitely help you a lot and please once check the pinned comment and you ultimately find the CURE
Link:-. ua-cam.com/video/WOAm_4doxB0/v-deo.html
I just found out that I suffer from health anxiety. I went to the doctor 8 days ago and had a complete check up. My blood was checked, my heart and chest scanned and everything came back fine. I was fine for a few days then started to think what if they missed something. If there is really nothing wrong with my heart why do I sometimes feel sensations? Thanks for this video. It puts everything into perspective for me. I will try the methods you recommend and work on getting a therapist.
I've had chest pains since I was in high school. Doctors have examined me, done EKG's, and everything comes out normal. Just a few weeks ago, I experienced my first panic attack, believing I might be having a stroke. It has been difficult living with constant symptoms of nothing. Thank you for providing these tips for us. I will try them.
I understand and I am sorry that you are suffering with this. I will be making more videos to help with health anxiety. Many can turn this around once they stop checking body symptoms, stop googling and researching and stop seeking reassurance from doctors and others. Others need a bit of exposure treatment and we do this by listening to exposure scripts. Here is a video on how to prepare a script. Eventhough this video was for people with ocd, health anxiety is treated the same way. ua-cam.com/video/HrjM091rcXc/v-deo.html. I hope you feel better.
A thing that I do to get my mind off the pain and anxiety is to hold an ice cube!
Does it work?
@@alexramos799 For me, yeah
Great idea! I will try this.
Thank you for this!! I was just on the verge of panicking and when I tried that my anxiety almost immediately calmed. Thank you so much, I will continue using this!!
@@laurenrankin1 Aww that's awesome! I'm glad it worked for you, you're welcome^^
I just started having health anxiety this February and it has been the most exhausting, physically and emotionally few months. It all started with chest pain and it needed up being I do suffer from PVC’s but I can’t get myself to stop worrying that something else is wrong or they missed something. I definitely have obsessed over checking my heart rate and now suffering from what I think are tension headaches but can’t help from thinking I have a brain tumor. I have 2 boys and really needing to get this under control. Thank you so much for the video.
I am so sorry, Christy. I have treated so many clients with exactly what you are describing. I am in the process of creating an online therapy class so that more people can get help. I will let my subscribers know when it is available. When seeking help, therapists trained in ocd will be helpful, others may not have the training. I hope you feel better soon. 🙏❤️
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thank you for the response! I will keep an eye out for the video!
Iv had health anxiety for the last year or so. I thought i was having a heart attack 1 time, went to a and e and everything checked out fine. Now every few days i think im having a stroke. I hate these body sensations i have tension headaches and dizziness a lot. I just want to feel normal again so sick of this 😔
I am sorry that you are experiencing this hyper sensitivity to your body sensations. Try to notice when your brain is interpreting a sensation as “dangerous”. Say to yourself, “I am having a thought that.....”. This slows down your reaction because you are noticing a thought instead of immediately thinking the thought is true. Try to welcome the feelings and sensations and do not try to “not have them”. That just encourages the brain to think that they must be dangerous if he doesn’t want to have them. The higher your anxiety gets, the worse a sensation can feel, because our muscles tighten and our heartbeat and breathing changes with increased adrenaline and cortisol. Resisting anxiety makes anxiety worse. Accept it, observe in mindfully, label your thoughts, allow you anxiety to come and go without overreacting to the changes anxiety produces in the body. Those changes may be uncomfortable, but, they are not harmful. The more you allow the sensations and anxiety to come and go, the more the brain will not identify them as dangerous.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thank you for the reply, great channel keep up the good work
I’m hearing you Alan. I’ve had health anxiety for about 35 years. I have a cycle of fears that might start with a headache that’s a bit more intense than usual so I think, ok brain tumour, then heart palpitations so it’s heart attack or stroke and then bowel problems which my brain immediately tells me is colon cancer. I get each thing checked as it happens and of course nothing. Blood tests are fine, scans are fine and I’m about to have a colonoscopy to confirm a probable diverticulosis diagnosis but I can’t get away from thinking cancer every damned time. The dr says I’m making myself sick and he’s right! I’m taking more years off my life than any disease could ever take. And like you I just want to feel normal but it’s harder than just trying to have positive thoughts because the negative ones are hardwired into my brain. Get on top of your anxiety now, don’t be like me and have it so long it’s like there’s no way back. Good luck x
@@tessleroy5313 thanks for the message and all the best stay positive
I have the worst health anxiety ever!!!!Everytime I feel tingling or numbness I automatically think it’s a stroke or a blocked blood vessel in the brain. I’m exhausted of thinking the worse case scenario. Then my panic attack start and I feel even worse. Been to the er plenty of times. I’m embarrassed to tell my husband to take me constantly he tells me over and over it’s stress or just to relax but it’s uncontrollable. I just had an echo of my heart and they said it’s perfect. Ok I felt great and then the neurologist called me to check up on my migraines and now wants to schedule a MRA and MRI and i’m freaking out!!! Like why is there something wrong and i’m having the worse panic attack. This is so exhausting
Thank you! I've been trying to eliminate the compulsive behaviours and the challenging part is having irrational thoughts of "but what if this time I truly have something serious?". Dealing with the unknown is what gets me. Your advice is so helpful!
Yes, this is exactly the thought that people with Health Anxiety have. I am so thankful that you left this comment. Stay with that anxious thought without doing anything to comfort yourself and no compulsive behaviors. The anxious, fearful feeling will go down on it’s own. Every time it comes up, feel the anxiety, and let the anxiety go down on it’s own. This is Exposure Therapy and your brain will eventually learn to habituate and not associate fear or anxiety with the fearful thought. You are allowing yourself to tolerate the feeling of uncertainty and doubt. This practice will relieve the anxiety. Thank you again for your comment.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy this advise is much appreciated
No more avoidance and distractions
Just facing it
Thanks a lot
No more compulsive behaviours
How blessed and blissful you are , I have suffered from health anxiety since last 24 years I am 42 now .
What you have suggested seems to be the only solution , acceptance of this fear and taking it along and letting it be is one of the best ways I guess .
I pray that no one ever suffers from such a sick feeling like health Anxiety .
Lots of love peace and respect for the entire human race and all that God has created .
What a beautiful message. Thank you 🙏❤️
Try having GAD , DPDR, & health anxiety, OCD it’s hell
💗Thank you a thousand times over. I am learning much more about treating my health anxiety than I did with 2 years seeing an inexperienced therapist.
Hi Debra. I am filming a therapy class on health anxiety treatment right now. Please send me your email through the contact page on PaigePradko.com and I will notify you when the class becomes available.
Due to the current situation going on in the world, it makes my heath anxiety sky rocket.... I’m just not sure what to do anymore.....
Yes, the pandemic has really exasperated health anxiety across the globe. We have to tolerate the anxiety and follow guidelines of safety. No more, no less. Do not excessively search for symptoms and updates on the virus. Your job is to accept and tolerate the anxiety without seeking reassurance. I wish you the best.
I understand that you feel. I had living with anxiety for many years
Affect several aspects of my life ñike my relations with job, family and girfriend. Now i can say that i recover a litle armony
Leonardo Lema Glad your anxiety is better! Yes it affects everything
I feel the same way, it's ruining my life, my career, everything.
First of all thank you for leaving the link under my paranoid post on reddit :) It all does sound exactly like what I experience. And also this made me realise something. Sometimes when I'm falling asleep I feel like I um..forget to breathe...and I inhale quickly and panic. But these two videos made me realise that what I'm feeling is my breath slowing down because I'm falling asleep and my brain thinks it's wrong. Funny how realising it is kinda reassurance in a way but a healthy one if it makes sense? Thank you again, I will try all the recommendations from your video :)
You’re welcome. Thank you for your kind words. Learning how to cope with our worries and fears is a process that has it’s ups and downs. Stay with consistent strategies and overtime, your fears will diminish. 😊
I want to cry because every sensation I’m on the panic mode and I think the worst and I don’t know what triggered this on me but I had this all true years but I now finally realised I do this behaviour and is horrible feeling thinking I’m gonna die. I want to also thank you for educating us 🥲🙏❤️
Thank you for sharing your story. Recovery is possible.🙏❤️
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thank you 🙏 ❤️
This is so, so helpful. Thank you for making this video. I have been struggling with health anxiety for the past year and have been trying to find strategies to overcome on my own. But your guidance here is so valuable and insightful. I would like to try some of these strategies!
Thank you. I am glad you found the video helpful. Wishing you the best.
Thank you so much for this video, it really does give me hope that I’ll be able to overcome my health anxiety with the right strategies in place. Being stuck at home due to the current quarantine situation has unfortunately made it easy for my mind to wander and amplify my anxiety greatly. Already had two telehealth visits because thought I was having lung issues (which were sensations that eventually went away by themselves), and with overall anxiety and bad quality sleep I’ve been having new sensations that I’m swaying and on a boat that won’t seem to go away unless I’m distracted. Doctor had prescribed Xanax but trying my best not to use it often. Feel like I’m at wits end, but watching your videos on health anxiety has given me a better understanding of the constant loop, and I am definitely going to try some of your mentioned strategies and also to force myself to stop Googling.
I am sorry that you are experiencing this increased anxiety. This is most definitely a difficult time for those with Health Anxiety. These strategies will help you, but I want to acknowledge that this pandemic is like one long, challenging exposure for people with Health Anxiety. Hoping you feel better.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC Thank you for the kind words! Hoping you and your family stay safe during this time of uncertainty.
thank you for this. i recently started struggling with this, it scared the living hell out of me. i get odd sensations in my chest and i instantly freak out and assume i’m having a heart attack. i know these thoughts are irrational, i’m 23, relatively active, and don’t have too poor of a diet. i know i’m not at risk, but i can’t stop thinking it for some reason. your video helped a lot, because i don’t want to see the doctor as i’m embarrassed to go in for something that i’m making up. i will try meditation, no reassurance, and acceptance. i really appreciate this video and the fact that i am not the only one that experience this. i felt so alone and crazy because of it
Never be embarrassed to visit a doctor if you feel unsure about your health. That’s what they’re there for. And never be afraid to get a second or even a third opinion.
I’m not sure if I developed Health Anxiety before or after my issues started. So I was diagnosed with Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia January 2022, have only left my house 5 times in the last year or so, because I didn’t have a choice. Seeing a psychiatrist and psychologist, tried a bunch of medications. I really haven’t improved. Now it’s exactly as you describe, going out or even planning on going out is a 100% panic attack. Usually though, there’s not really a “reason”, it just happens. I have a few every day, not always severe but every once in a while I’m holding my phone for a half hour trying to talk myself down from calling an ambulance again. More often at night, than during the day.
About a year ago, I noticed that little things that should be normal will shoot my anxiety into turbo mode. I don’t obsess over health conditions or look things up, in fact I avoid watching anything health related now. Which is ironic considering I worked as a veterinary technician for 5 years and was going to college to become a Physician’s Assistant. Obviously, I can’t do either of those things anymore. I can’t even go to the grocery store or walk my dog.
So on top of the Agoraphobia and the random out of nowhere panic attacks, I’m now having panic attacks triggered by tiny insignificant or even imagined body sensations. To the point that this week I had something in my eye or something, I went from reading something to an area of my vision blurry and being unable to read letters in a specific spot. I was convinced I was having a stroke. I’m 33 years old, thin, don’t smoke or drink or anything. Yet anytime I feel dizzy or think I feel dizzy, I’m convinced there’s something catastrophic going on with my heart or brain. I had to change the color of the light bulbs in some of the rooms in my house, because the “cool” tone looked funny and would trigger a panic attack.
It doesn’t help that one of my symptoms during severe panic attacks is derealization and tunnel vision.
My question is, how common is it to develop health anxiety because of panic disorder and agoraphobia?
First, I am truly sorry for everything that you are going through. These are very difficult conditions to cope with and to treat. In my experience, the symptoms of health anxiety, panic disorder and agoraphobia get combined into a big stew of anxiety symptoms. And, in your case, which is not unusual, you experience dpdr symptoms as part of panic disorder. They seem to be combined in almost all cases of people with agoraphobia with panic disorder. The focus on bodily symptoms of anxiety (anxiety sensitivity) likely cause health anxiety to increase as well. I typically begin treatment on health anxiety first, because certain behavior changes are necessary. Then, move to treating panic disorder and dpdr, and as the treatment is progressing, exposures are incorporated to begin working on agoraphobia. It is a lengthy treatment process for people with severe panic disorder. The recovery time all depends on what levels of anxiety can be tolerated. I do have therapy resources at paigepradko.com and a newsletter where I cover these topics weekly. You may also want to check out my playlists for health anxiety, panic and agoraphobia as well. I am posting an instructional video on dpdr recovery in 10 days that you won’t want to miss.
YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE...get a handle on reality, create your own mythology...... reduces anxiety not drugs EVER
You are so calming and reassuring with your approach. Very helpful. Thank you so much for your videos.
You’re welcome, Barbara 🙏☺️
Great video and wonderful lady. I’ve been to the GP hundreds of times in over 6 years, ER and cardiologist. Nothing bad was ever found. I’m still living with the fear every day that there’s something wrong with my heart. I can feel the beats, missed beats and general flip flops every day. Funny when I’m flat out busy I never feel anything. Usually after eating it’s the worse. I check my pulse and I can feel the pauses! How can I not worry in all fairness?!!!!!😬
I realize that this is not easy. I cannot tell you how many people that I have seen with exactly the same symptoms. Once they no longer are afraid of their sensations and no longer check their heart and pulse, and no longer google symptoms or visit doctors or have tests, their fear center of their brains calm down and their symptoms die down as well.
Thank you for your reply!
X
I can totally relate bro
How are you now? This is me just now
@@U2022-k9m I’m doing very well. I’d a massive nocturnal meltdown mid March but since then I’m doing better than ever! Just convincing myself that I’m okay and life has risks, people do die but I’ll take my chances. Throwing yourself into work and hobbies, fitness, reading is great. Avoid unhealthy minded people that drain you. Don’t be afraid to say no to people especially family. If you get the all clear just trust the medics and take life by the horns. Anxiety is a habit, it’s just a result of how you perceive things. You do have to experience it. But one say you’ll just realise it’s a bully. Ignore the bully and he goes away. God bless.
Watch here for more information on treating Health Anxiety ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYonn-zlZxzTRR8V4myEHgCY.html
What is the differance between them?
I think I always had some level of HA ever since I nearly died of laringitis when I was young, but ever since I had my first panic attack not one day seems to go by without me asking myself If Im breathing fine, if im shaking, if im dying. thankfully I think Im learning how to live with my anxiety before it got too strong
Thanks a lot for this video. I have had a very rough month because of just a fever which I misinterpreted (catastrophised) as Rabies, COVID, and whatnot. I will follow through your techniques to ensure a better life without fear.
I am sorry that you are experiencing this. Follow the techniques and tolerate the anxiety and uncertainty without searching for reassurance.
I've had the EXACT same issue the past week. I've felt a bit weak and had anxiety all week and I've convinced myself it's covid or rabies, which is really hard to calm down from.
i am trying to follow # 3 and # 5 gradually. it works and brings tolerance. Thank u
That’s wonderful. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for all your time and effort into helping us all. I had a panick attack 15 yrs ago and was sure it was my heart. Had every test done all good but developed all the bad habits you describe , BP check's, pulse checks and hypervigilance towards my heart. I still workout and enjoy life but it still rears its ugly head. Not sure what I'm missing to get rid of it. Thanks for your time and if you do phone consults let me know.Rick
Our body’s nervous system has the ability to create the sensations of a heart attack. I understand the body sensations and the panic symptoms that ensue. It takes time and deliberate effort to refuse to act upon the panic and body sensations. Your brain still believes you are in danger and is trying it’s best to throw everything at you to convince you to get help. You have to decide ahead of time that you are not going to fall for this trick of the mind and body any longer. It is indeed Hell....but it gets better as you set your resolve to not give in to the fear and anxiety. I can tell that you are committed to getting better, or you would not be watching this video. I may do some consulting work in the future. Right now, I have a busy practice in Michigan, but have seen some people that have found me on UA-cam (which always surprises me). I will let you know if/when I decide to do consultations. 😊
Thank you so much for your reply. I go to Detroit every week ! Lol. Please do let me know if you do I have insurance or cash. Thank you again for your a time your a very caring person. Rick
Thanks Rick. I can always see you in my office if you are in Rochester, Mi. Just go to PaigePradko.com and contact me.😊
Thanks for the video..I am facing health anxiety now..I have slightly elevated bp and I keep imagining things like what if I get a stroke or heart attack in future because of it..when I read many men die at heart attack in their 40's, it makes me fearful what if it happens to my husband suddenly..even if I get back pain, I worry if I may have kidney problem as I am not drinking water enough..because of this, my life is not happy and constantly overthinking..I am worried that these thoughts itself will make me sicker 😒
Hi Harini. I am so sorry that you are experiencing health anxiety. I have been working for several months on an online therapy course for people with this condition. It will be available very soon, hopefully at the end of the month. If you are interested in learning more, please email me at info@paigepradko.com
I was spiraling really bad when I found your videos. Thank you for this. I wouldn't even know how to start therapy, or if I could afford it, and I've been struggling with this for so long.
I am glad you found the videos on health anxiety, Daniel. I will be making more videos to help people with health anxiety, because I have noticed a big increase in symptoms during the pandemic.
Thank you Paige! I've been dealing with health anxiety for months on end and was constantly seeking reassurance. I had no idea that these compulsive behaviors were reinforcing my anxiety. Eliminating these from my life has made my life so much better and I can live with ease now.
I am so glad that you discovered the link between seeking reassurance and anxiety. Thank you so much for your comment. 😊
This is something I’ve never heard! Thank you. I am going to try this. Seeking reassurance is a constant for me, and never did I link the 2 together.
Thank you for this series of videos! Most of the other things I've read on why reassurance seeking isn't good just say it "doesn't last" and don't explain why it reinforces anxious behaviors.
I am glad you liked it. I try to focus my videos on what I do in therapy and what has helped my clients. I am glad you found it helpful. Feel free to share it and thank you for your comment.
Im really struggling with my health anxiety right now 😔. It's such a burden and definitely has an affect on my day to day life. It stay with me for days, along with my heart palpitations and feelings. Even when I fight against reassurance 😔
Hi Kacey. Do your best to not look for reassurance or check your heart rate or other symptoms. We have to tolerate our symptoms and do nothing to lower our anxiety. Very tough, but effective.
Thank you so much for this two part series. I've been struggling with anxiety for several years now and it feels like a rollercoaster with many ups and downs. A few years ago, I was seeing a therapist because of my somatic symptom disorder. My therapist certainly was the wrong choice as it was a depth psychology approach, so it didn’t help me with my anxiety. Your video helped me understand for the first time how important it is to quit those compulsive behaviors. While I’m never googling any symptoms, I’m certainly looking for assurance from family and my doctors. But my biggest struggle are probably certain triggers that everyone naturally comes along in their lives. For example, if I’m watching a tv show and one of the characters is getting ill and is starting to show certain symptoms, I will remember those symptoms later as if they were burned into my mind. It’s come to a point where I know the moment I’m hearing about an illness with certain symptoms, one day later I experience all those symptoms. Of course, my anxiety skyrockets and my brain is trying to convince me I have that illness. I’ve been trying to avoid possible triggers for such a long time now, but of course it isn’t always possible. I’m not really sure how to cope with that, because there will always be people who are talking about their illnesses or symptoms or movies where some characters are experiencing an illness. Scanning every media for possible triggers is really exhausting and I also can’t tell everyone to never talk about illnesses. It always feels like a switch being flipped because of one trigger I couldn’t avoid even though I am trying so hard. Is this normal and what can I do about it? Thank you so much!
Hi Julia. What you are describing is so normal. Unfortunately, avoidance behaviors give your brain the message that being afraid of those triggers is of utmost importance. Therefore, when you are triggered, you will have an even greater anxiety response. When addressing this in therapy with a client, I recommend the client exposure themselves to their triggers with a goal of tolerating the anxiety. It is actually a form of exposure therapy. We have to teach our brains that we can tolerate the anxiety and do nothing to reassure ourselves when facing a trigger. It is difficult, but rewiring the brain through the exposure is most helpful. Thank you for your comments. 😊
Thank you. 3 years dealing with this after having a heart diagnosis of wpw, had a successful ablation but now have PAC and PVCs. every sensation instantly takes me back to my event even though i have an implanted heart monitor that reads every beat and drs say my PVC/PACs are equal to what theyd expect to see if they pulled a random person off the street, it's difficult to put those experiences in the past and trust that everything's okay. Trying though.
I often work with people with a history of cardiac problems, surgeries and traumas related to past heart attacks or heart conditions. Even though their cardiologists have given them a clean bill of health, the fear and panic remain and even feels automatic. I have recently worked with a client who went through almost word for word what you are describing. You have become so tuned into every sensation of your heart and unfortunately, your brain interprets the sensations as dangerous...therefore causing fear and anxiety. With my clients, I use a combination of skills that I teach for panic disorder. I recommend going to my playlist page and watching the 2 videos I made on Panic attacks. The skill most often helpful with what you are describing is what I call, "welcoming the panic". I even have clients create the heart sensations on purpose as a form a exposure therapy called Interaceptive Exposure Therapy. I also have a video on how to do this type of exposure. You can find this under Exposure Therapy on the Playlist page as well. I wish you the best in learning to accept and not react to your body sensations.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thanks so much, you're an awesome person :)
You are more than welcome 😊
I have the same anxiety but it’s from a trauma that happened to another person I was close to and now I’m terrified it’s happening to me. It’s terrible but we can get through this!
I’ve had health anxiety for about 12 years now. 2 years ago I got diagnosed with breast cancer and what’s sad is that I found it myself. So can you imagine the uncertainties and fears now. Unfortunately it’s always a series of fears that keep on coming back. I’m very happy I found your channel can you please discuss health anxiety and when you do have something real how do you deal with it? Also what do you think of hypnotherapy to change the subconscious beliefs that danger is always around the corner and watching out for risks. There is neuro feedback I heard is good what do you think of it? Thank you for your great work!
Hey how you doin
I’ve had health anxiety since I was a kid along with other anxiety. I was born into domestic violence which explains it. My issue now is that I have serious health issues from years of being stuck in fight or flight. I have Advanced Osteoporosis at age 57 and have recently had fractures to my thoracic and lumbar spine. I’m high risk for fracture and am in constant alert mode because every move I make matters including coughing and sneezing. This is real and it’s very scary.
I am so sorry, Karen. That sounds terrible and painful. People often have health anxiety with and without medical symptoms and medical diagnosis. I can help you with your obsessive worries and anxiety in my course called Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety. Should you have an interest in learning more, please visit PaigePradko.com
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thank you 😊
Thank you so much for this video. I’ve struggled with health anxiety for most of my 20s I’m nearly 30 now. Its been so confusing and so scary. I’ve developed this obsession with trying to stay super healthy and to be honest I don’t enjoy it most of the time. Obsessively drinking and eating healthy, forcing myself to work out. Avoiding certain foods. Sometimes I just want to eat and pizza without thinking I’m going to have high cholesterol or miss a workout without thinking I’ll be super unfit the next day or that my body will shut down because I’m not staying active.
Unfortunately, despite the healthy lifestyle I’ve actually made myself physically sick because of my health anxiety but I’m honestly still very grateful for this video. I really want to start enjoying health in a happy, natural and mindful way and not feel forced to be because of what goes on in my mind!
You are not alone. This is something that many people struggle with. But, you can make progress through exposures. What you are describing is not an eating disorder, it is more related to OCD. Some of my videos on OCD and doing ERP will help you. You can make great progress by challenging yourself daily by eating or drinking something that is outside of your normal controlled foods. Your anxiety will go up when you take a bite or a drink. But, if practiced regularly, your fear response will die down, and you will learn to allow yourself more variety. ERP ua-cam.com/video/JlVID74KTOM/v-deo.html, Strategic Exposure ua-cam.com/video/3sMpRuPi04A/v-deo.html, maximize exposure ua-cam.com/video/439l0c-P3lg/v-deo.html
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thank you so much! Please make more videos like this. They’re so helpful!
Amazing information...thank you so much for all your great help!!!
Please help me with my husband’s health anxiety as I am going crazy....
He doesn’t believe, he has an issue. It is all real to him.
Every day there is a health issue with him. He is diagnosed with depression - hypochondriac. (Medication for + 20 years)
He has health issues (diabetes, high blood pressure, Crohn’s, cholesterol)
He was also diagnosed with throat cancer 5 years ago. It went away after radiation therapy.
Last year 2019 his cancer came back and had laryngectomy (removed of larynx).
He is fine now but constantly worries.
I try to help him but I feel depressed and down. - a lot of sleepless nights and worries
I am in general an optimistic enthusiastic person but I find this situation extremely miserable and very toxic for my sanity.. and the relationship.
What to do?
I can understand how difficult this must be for both of you. Health anxiety acts like OCD and people can become obsessed, especially if it began with a health related trauma, which it did in your husband’s case. Reassuring him will only make it worse, and reinforce the cycle. Calmly explain to your husband that although you love him, you will not do anything to reinforce the obsessive cycle of health anxiety. You will not take him or join him going to doctor appointments, you will not reassure him that he is fine, and you will not listen to him obsess and worry about health issues. Anything else, you will be a supportive wife, but you will not support health anxiety issues. I know this sounds cruel, but, you can be loving when you explain it to him. For most everyone with health anxiety, it does feel very real to them. The symptoms die down as soon as he stops googling, body symptom checking, going to appointments, and seeking reassurance. Sometimes people do exposures of certain symptoms if necessary like a racing heart or dizziness.
Thank you ...for the prompt response!!!
Easy steps...but very challenging.
Thank you so much Paige you have inspired me to look for a therapist. I see now just how much control health anxiety has over me.
❤️ Wishing you the best.
I love the nature, birds intro, and your approach Paige.
Thank you. I love that sound too. 😊
I am confused. I thought you said that we should not focused on calming techniques like breathing, meditation, etc since they would send the message to our brain that we “are in trouble” and we should just act like nothing is happening. Can you please explain? Thank you for your valuable channel.
Thank you so much. I've been struggling with health anxiety almost six years. It getting severe day by day and death anxiety along. I'll definitely try those technique..
Hope you feel better
the problem that is so hard for me is the fact that i suffer from shortness of breath constantly despite doctors telling me im healthy then i start to think the worst and its just a constant cycle i cant shake or do know how
Hi Marc. I am creating on an online therapy course for people like you. It will be available this summer. I take you through step by step what to do. Feeling breathlessness is common and part of the rewiring of the brain is done through Interoceptive Exposures. I will notify my subscribers when the course is available or you can send me your email through PaigePradko.com.
Strategic exposure therapy sounds interesting. I always bug the heck out of my friends catastrophizing.
I love Strategy Exposure Therapy. And, catastrophizing with friends may be a way that you are trying to seek reassurance. Seeking reassurance feels good at the moment, but actually makes our long term anxiety worse...because we are treating all of our fears as if they are truths. You may want to experiment with tolerating your anxiety until the discomfort dies down. Just a thought. Wishing you the best.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC It actually works but is pretty challenging.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC I saw a couple of raccoons on our surveillance cameras. Might have given my cats and me rabies.
You can see how your mind creates a dangerous scenario out of a normal occurrence. Your job in this scenario is to identify your thought as an anxious thought. And then, tolerate the anxiety the thought produces...and let time pass. Do not argue with the thought or google search about your thought. Just let it be, and continue your life.
Although I catch myself obsessing about my health during the day it is unbearable at night. I will have multiple panic attacks in a single night. I get stuck in an endless loop of hoping I dont start obsessing, which triggers the obsession, having a panic attack, coming down and realizing it's just my anxiety. Then it all starts again. It's really exhausting and even worse because I dont tell anyone out of fear I will cause THEM anxiety about my health.
Hi Julia. It does sound like you have health anxiety that can be very obsessive like OCD. If you would like more help in treating it, I have an online therapy course for people suffering from health anxiety coming out at the end of the month. I take you through step by step through treatment. If you are interested in learning more, please email me at info@paigepradko.com
This video popped up as a suggestion and im sooo grateful. Ive had anxiety and ocd for years but this year after my daughter got very sick with the flu ive been in the worst health anxiety episode of my life. I got a sinus infection and took some sinus max which spiked my blood pressure and i went into full tremor panic attacks. From this point i went to the er for an ekg and they said im fine im having a panic attack. I tried to convince myself i was okay for a couple weeks but then developed some widespread twitches. Googled (NEVER GOOGLE!!) and of course diagnosed myself with ALS or MS. got to the point i was convinced my doctors (including a primary and neurologist who both ran plenty of tests) were missing something when they told me its just anxiety and stress. So ive been stuck in this cycle of keep my anxiety sky high, feel muscle twitches, obsess over those twitches and fear death, then repeat. It has been THE WORST cycle and im just finally 5-6 months later feeling like i will truly be okay and anxiety can present in a lot of different ways and health anxiety doesnt have to win and ruin our lives! Thank you for this video!!
I’m so sorry you went through that cycle. It sounds like classic health anxiety as the brain always seems to choose the worst case scenarios and convinces you they are legitimate concerns. If you need help or support for health anxiety, I have resources at paigepradko.com
I had found a lump on my body and immediately went to Dr. Google. Of course, I convinced myself I had cancer and I was a goner. I went to the doctor and he said he was 99.9% sure that it wasn’t cancer. I still left the office doubting him and thinking he must’ve missed something. I hate this anxiety. At times I will calm myself down but it always flares back up. I wish everyone luck on here for defeating this disorder. I’m trying my best to battle my own.
So many can relate to you. We have to live with and tolerate our uncertainty. ❤️
how do you feel now? and where did you find the lump?
I'd love to hear more about how to help a partner who suffers from illness anxiety disorder. Its distressing knowing that reassuring the concerns only keeps the cycle going & it can be hard to be perceived as 'not caring' by not responding in a sympathetic way to the constant health queries.
This is an excellent idea for a video. If my partner had a form of health anxiety, I would inform them that eventhough I cared about them, I would not participate in any activities like reassurance giving or taking them to the ER, or any other activities that would reinforce the anxiety and treat their thoughts as if they were real and true.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thank you. That really helps to hear :)
Thank You so much Paige, I really appreciate your videos on Health Anxiety. I watched both. Can you help me with some more information. I want to conquer it once and for all.
Hi Thomas.
I am sorry that you are struggling with health anxiety. I recommend stopping all behaviors like checking body symptoms, googling symptoms, excessive testing, and seeking reassurance. You can create your own scripts to listen to and target your core fears if you need additional exposures. Here is my video on how to write scripts. Health anxiety acts like OCD and is treated the same way. ua-cam.com/video/HrjM091rcXc/v-deo.html
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thank You, I appreciate your help. Can anxiety last for hours or days? I’m trying my best to deal with it. I want to just have a week straight with no anxiety. Can you suggest some ways I can feel no anxiety?
Hi Paige, thank you for both of your videos on health anxiety! I've had it for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I would check myself for appendicitis every night before going to bed.. even back then I was dead afraid of hospitals and illnesses. My anxiety dropped during my mid-twenties and mid-thirties, but with the pandemic, it came back and skyrocketed to the point of becoming unliveable. I do sometimes have body sensations that trigger my anxiety, typically I have found myself having trouble breathing these past two years, but I usually calm down by telling myself that it's just my anxiety acting up. The worst for me are the intrusive thoughts I'm having from the moment I wake up till the moment I go to bed and finally fall asleep. I've developped a crippling fear of death that I can't seem to be able to get out of my head. I'm terrified I might get sick in a year, five years or ten years. And when it's not fear of cancer, which I can sometimes manage by reassuring myself I'm already doing everything I can do by leading a healthy lifestyle, then it's fear of things that could happen to me without a warning like a brain aneurysm or a stroke. And this is exhausting.. it's like waiting for impending death. In fact, I think this sums it up: I've developped a fear of an impeding deadly stroke. And I don't know how to cope with that. I'm feeling depressed and hopeless on a daily basis and I need it to change. To add up to my anxiety, I'm actually 3 1/2 months pregnant, and believe it or not, lately every TV serie I watch or every podcast I listen to seem to contain at least one story about someone who lost their mother in their childhood.. So I guess, my question is, where do I start? What kind of therapy should I try?
Hi Sabrina. First, let me say congratulations on your pregnancy as nothing is more exciting than bringing a child into the world. And, I am so very sorry that you are suffering from health anxiety. If you are interested in help, please contact me on PaigePradko.com and leave me a message there. What you are experiencing is treatable and I want the very best for you so that you are absolutely feeling great and happy and ready to welcome your beautiful child into the world.
I honestly had to check your name to make sure I didnt write this myself. EVERYTHING you said is 100% me. I am also terrified of Drs. I just newly developed a fear of flying! Its so awful living this way. I hope your pregnancy went beautifully!
How do I gauge when is a reasonable time to see a Dr so I'm not just seeking reassurance that keeps my anxiety going?
This is such an important question. I talk to every client with health anxiety about this subject. Physicians do not often speak to their patients about health anxiety. Although, they recognize when a patient is repeatedly making appointments out of fear and the need for reassurance. My clients have typically worn down pathways to their doctors, cardiologists and emergency rooms for unnecessary appointments. We discuss informing and acknowledging to their physicians that they in fact suffer from health anxiety and that they want their physician to consider their health anxiety by not encouraging unnecessary testing or reassurance. Most physicians offer reassurance because they naturally want to calm their patients. They do not realize that they are actually reinforcing their patient’s anxiety cycle. Therefore, they discuss scheduling appointments according to their doctor’s recommendation and standard of care guidelines. For example, if a cardiologist tells a patient, “I would like to see you in one year”, the patient sticks to that schedule. To summarize, I recommend disclosing to your doctors that you suffer from health anxiety and asking for their help by avoiding unnecessary testing and reassurance that may reinforce the anxiety. And follow up appointments will be scheduled according to the recommendation of their physicians. Thank you for asking such a relevant and important question.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy ]
I just came across your video seeking help for a friend. I will certainly prefer this information to her. Then she came seek a therapist who can help her.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC yess
i have been obssessed with hiv for 5 years. For the first time, i was worried abou it when having sexual relationship with others but now id like to call it as health anxiety. I have taken morenthan 30 tests for 5 years and the symptoms that i had got worse. I had maasage in a massage shop 2 weeks ago. I then jumped into hiv phobia like.. what if she was a hiv patient and what if she was bleeding on her hands.. what if i had a open sore like that. Shoul I have one more test to reassuaeance it or just let it go following your advice?
It sounds to me like your fears are exaggerated and spiked by health anxiety versus realistic risk. You will have to set boundaries for yourself and decide when to tolerate the anxiety instead of continuing to get tested. All of those tests just continue the anxiety cycle and the reassurance does not last. Your goal will be to tolerate the anxiety associated with uncertainty. We all must live with that uncertainty.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thank you so much for your advice. I fully agree with you on the fact the reassurance doesnt last.. I am trying to tolerate this uncertainty and not to have another test.. keep fighting!
You’re not alone in this fear, just seeing it or hearing it makes me feel like I have it. I get nipped at the nail salon and instantly think the worse. What if they didn’t properly sanitize the cuticle nipper? Terrifying. Only problem is, I avoid the doctor and just drive myself insane. Wishing you peace on this journey.
Is regular thinking of doing meditation each time stress about health arises a problem?
Yes, unfortunately it is a problem. You are unintentionally responding to the health anxiety by doing something to calm yourself down. This creates a reinforcing health anxiety cycle and the meditation is taking the place of a compulsion, or a behavior that reduces the anxiety. It teaches that brain to be fearful of those health thoughts and sensations and will create an urge in you to do meditation or something else every time the thoughts come up. And this creates an OCD/health anxiety cycle that will continue to demand your attention. For more help for health anxiety here are some resources:
Health anxiety assessment
www.paigepradko.com/healthanxietyquiz
OnLine Course: Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety
www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety
Hi. Are you still around?
Hi Lindsey. Yes…I am still here…and working hard on helping people with Health Anxiety. I have a new video being edited now where I talk about what is actually happening in the body when you are anxious. I talk with a physician on the video. It will be out in a few days. I hope you like it. If you need more support or help with Health Anxiety, please leave me a message at PaigePradko.com 😊
What about when a new symptom comes up and you’re worried that if you ignore it it is the time that you’re right. I can’t live my life bc of health anxiety. Every pain or nuance means cancer to me. I can’t stop. It’s awful and has caused me suicidal thoughts.
If you see this as a pattern, then you recognize that you suffer from health anxiety. You have to be a little more strict with yourself about doctor visits and tests and no googling symptoms. Body sensations and symptoms will be there, and you will have to tolerate the anxiety and not avoid activities in your life. If you do that, you will see an improvement within weeks.
I’m trying very hard to do this. Every time I think I’m ok something else happens. Like I have a sore spot under breast and am convinced it’s breast cancer and can’t function. 😢
Just work on tolerating the anxiety. Of course there is always going to be the...what if....question in our mind. For people with Health Anxiety, we have to tolerate the what if. We go to the doctor on regular recommended checkups. Give yourself time to let the anxiety come down and tolerate the “what ifs”.
@@lisaesposito9046 That's exactly where I am right now too! Mine hurts a little on top of the breast and close to and in my armpit. I don't feel any lumps and have no other symptoms but I am convinced it's of course cancer. I make myself feel sick sometimes I get so upset thinking about it! But I'm also terrified to go get it checked because I'm afraid they are going to tell me that's what it is!
@@calliecastillo5372 I feel something similar, my woke up with a weird feeling on my left breast, as if someone had injected me with some hot liquid and my mind starts panicking. Heart attack? Burts cyst? I can't take this anymore. Next week my body will move on to something else
Great video, thank you!
You’re welcome. Glad you liked it. Watch for my online class for people with health anxiety, coming soon. I will post about it on my UA-cam channel. 😊
My health anxiety is through the roof recently. I’ve had it, I think since I was a child but with lockdown etc it’s becoming almost unbearable. I even bought an blood oxygen and glucose testing kit because I’ve been trying Keto. I’m literally sick of being this way. The few times I feel ok I start feeling anxious about my kids or my husband or even the family pets.
I am so sorry, Tess. This pandemic and all of this media coverage about illness has really exacerbated people’s health anxiety. Try your best to identify and accept the waves of anxiety without researching symptoms or taking health checks. Allow the anxiety to come and go without reacting to it.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thank you Paige. I felt really much better after listening to you 😊
It’s funny how you talk about seeking reassurance from the Internet, checking blood pressure and checking pulse as a compulsive behavior People with health anxiety use. As you had said those things and I’m listening thinking to myself yup that’s me spot on!
You are not alone, Andrew. It is difficult to give up that symptom checking, but, it is necessary to get better. My clients even have to stop using their Apple watches and other devices. It fuels their health anxiety. I am leaving a playlist of a few more videos. In the Q & A video, I share a client’s script for health Anxiety that he listened to daily and it helped him stop those behaviors.
ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYonn-zlZxzTRR8V4myEHgCY.html
@@PaigePradkoTherapy Thank you for the reply! I appreciate the link as well 😁 also ive stopped wearing my apple watch for just that reason,sometimes something as simple as a false feart rate during anxiety will spike wandering thoughts
Yes...so true. We have to explain this to Apple.😊
Thank you for this video! I’ve only recently realized that I am suffering from health anxiety and just understanding more about this issue has helped me take control of it a little better. Your video included Helpful suggestions for possible therapeutic approaches that I think I will try.
Thankyou so much 🙏 you are explaining it in a great way,I have a question, you talked about mindfulness,we can say that it's just a thought nothing is wrong,but the mind replies that what if it's not health anxiety and really is something wrong and we misinterpreted it by saying it's just a feeling,may be iam asking a stupid question, but this happens to me..
Hi Fazio. Health Anxiety is like OCD and the fear and worries become obsessive. I have a 3 part series on Health Anxiety that begins on 10/31 that will share lots of information on what to do. I am also offering an online course for Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety at that time as well. More information to come.😊
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thanks alot 🙏thanks for making videos like this,they helped so much..
Madam
Due to the health anxiety for the last 25 days (first time in my life )
Improved 80% after watching ur videos
The dizziness it’s not going completely I mean the sensation it is coming sometimes and going away !
Will do the breathing therapy every day twice .. also spending an hour in gym 5 days in a week …
My doubt even if as you said understanding and accepting the fact of anxiety..
This physical sensation I mean dizziness will go away completely? How long will take for a complete recovery of this dizziness?
Kindly advise
Hi Shajir.
I am glad to hear that you are so much improved. Remember that we all have symptoms of anxiety that come and go. For you, this includes dizziness. Allow it to come and go without responding to it in a fearful way.
I had long Covid in 2020 . Recover ed
I had resurgence in symptoms after overwork .
Is it stress & anxiety as you can’t check health results as there are none for long C . Am I projecting?
I’m over thinking & worrying all the time
Something I have the most trouble with is convince myself that my symptoms are not life threatening. My brain automatically jumps to all cases I know where a person was misdiagnosed and ended up dying. I think what reinforces the idea that I could be part of statistic is having family history of sudden death. Rationally I understand I'm fine, because symptoms gradually disappear when I use distractions or when I hold some valerian tincture in my mouth. How do you go around it without reinforcing the idea that something is wrong and stop your brain to jump into worst case scenario?
Thank you so much for the video. For me I started experiencing health anxiety after an ear balance problem.I was continuously experiencing dizziness and tinnitus . Because of worrying I ended up in experiencing panic attack for one year. After that my GP put me on medication as I was experiencing a lot of physical symptoms as well.I also developed a habit of googling which I completely stopped now.But I still have my symptoms on and off even though I am taking medication. I want to know about a symptom which I am experiencing is continuous yawning when getting anxious. Please advise is that normal.
Symptoms will come and go. Accept them, allow them, even the yawning. Yawning is your body trying to settle down. Eventhough it may be annoying, just allow it. The more you try to block it, the more it will persist.
Hi rajku, i am experiencing some of the same symptoms , I also have up and down hearing in one ear. Anx is a 10! Anx certainly influences tinnitus. Do you find that to be true?
I feel like this video was made specifically for me. I have been dealing with health anxiety for at least 15 years. Just recently learned that OCD plays a big role. It's difficult to ignore the compulsions. Mine are googling and checking my body over and over. Even when a Dr tells me my symptom is not harmful and not to worry, I feel calm and relieved but later I wonder if the Dr missed something. My logical brain knows everything is OK but my anxious brain keeps telling me "what if".
I saw in the comments you plan on providing an online class for health anxiety. Is that still something you plan on doing?
Hi. I am so sorry that you have lived with this for 15 years. I know how it can rob a person of their peace of mind and enjoyment in life. But, I am glad you posted and saw those comments. I have been working on an online treatment course for months, because the need is so overwhelming right now. It doesn’t matter if you have been suffering for 15 years or just a few weeks, you can treat this and get peace of mind again. My course includes step by step treatment techniques that are evidenced based (proven to be most effective in research studies) to treat health anxiety. My videos are being edited right now and I had hoped to have had it available by September 1, but, it may need additional edits before I make it available to the public. If I have your email, I can send you the information to look over when it becomes available. You can contact me at PaigePradko.com by sending a message, or leaving me your email here or some have private messaged me on Instagram @Paige.Pradko.Therapy.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy thank you so much. I will send an email.
How can I contact you? I have seen several therapists and none of them understand my situation! You summed up everything I feel.
You may send me a message on paigepradko.com. I have an online therapy course for people with health anxiety coming out in 1-2 weeks.
❓I wonder if Zofoft helps these conditions ...
There is a bit of controversy in this area. I could do a whole video on just this issue. It does appear that the fastest treatment is a combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy. However, the doses of antidepressants recommended for OCD and health anxiety are much higher than used in depression, and not all patients can tolerate these medications. And with health anxiety, there is often an avoidance and fear of medications. We are able to achieve the same positive, lasting treatment results with therapy without medications, but, it is a slower process. Thank you for you question.
Can this happen multiple times at day, daily???? I started feeling horrible this week. They prescribed me Anxiety medication. Went to my primary Doctor on monday, my blood pressure was little high. I keep checking my BP multiple times at day. Im scared of a Heart Attack or Strocked. Im 35. Been having other health issues like fatty liver, high cholesterol.
Hi Li Ann. I am so sorry that you are experiencing this. Yes, it can happen multiple times a day. I specialize in health anxiety and OCD. If you ever need more help, here is my course and support group for Recovering from Health Anxiety. www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety
Hi Li Ann, how are you?
@@brokerricardocarrillo3603 Doing much better, find out I have deficiency Vitamin D and Ferritin, plus asthma.
@@liann8416 I’m glad. I been struggling with Health anxiety for months now. Hearth palpitation, blood pressure, etc. It’s horrible
Wow thanks so much! My health anxiety has been going haywire for the last few months because of the virus. The breathing symptoms feel like the exact same in a panic attack and in the virus.
You are not alone. So many people have had their health anxiety triggered by the virus. We have to tolerate our anxiety and eventually our symptoms will decrease. Thank you for your comment.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC 😊
Facing same thing
Oh no, viewers of this video are seeking reassurance. Crap, I can’t win. Lol
Strategic Exposure Therapy, mindfulness & Acceptance seem like the right way for me. Thank you Doctor. 🌷🇨🇦👍❤️
Thanks for watching. If you are interested in more treatment help for Health Anxiety, I have developed an online therapy course for Recovery from Health Anxiety. Go to PaigePradko.com for more information.
Im just so scared not to go to the doctors
I have had pins and needles for 5 months i cant win 😢😢😢
Thank you. The biggest trouble I have is the anxiety that I will get sick and die before I finish my multi year personal projects because I had a friend that did and regretted it on their deathbed around my age. How do you deal with anxiety of falling ill before completing a life mission?
I am sorry that your friend died and possibly the experience created a fear in you. That is a normal fear and most humans have that fear if they care about something or someone. The only think you can do is to tolerate that fear and anxiety when it shows up. You continue to to what you love and value, whether or not the fearful thought is present. You do not want to try to push it away or reassure yourself that you are ok, because that can become a compulsive behavior that ends up reinforcing the thought to come more often.
my husband use to work in big company one time i had this worry about localized pain that comes and goes,went to the hospital Dr ordered right away an MRI,bamm got the amswer problem solved,sadly now its not the case,coz dr would be yeah just take this and go home,eventhough your health concern has been happening for many months..thats why people worry they don't have the answer.
Yes. People do need to rule out real concerns with appropriate testing. But, once it is checked out, we need to tolerate our anxiety.
Sometimes I be scared stay home by myself ride in car by myself.. I be work same way
I know it feels scary, but do your best to keep working on it. It will get better over time if you keep working at it and tolerate the anxiety in those moments without trying to calm yourself.
Thank you for this video- I have suffered with health anxiety for a lot of my life, going back to even being a child. I had a couple of years of being “normal” and not suffering from health anxiety so much, however always being health conscious but not to an extreme level. At the beginning of this year I had a major stressful life event happen to me, and since then I feel this stress has opened the flood gates to my health anxiety coming back. Already this year I’ve been for an MRI thinking I had throat cancer, now I’m awaiting a scan for the breast clinic, you can guess which illness I think I have now! I live in England, UK so it’s a lot easier to be sent for “scans” and “further tests” because of the NHS which fuels my anxiety so much because I think “oh my god the doctor thinks there’s definitely something wrong with me to send me for a scan” and that’s the situation I’m in right now. I drive everyone insane with it, my friends, family, my fiancé everyone gets annoyed at me because of my health anxieties. I truly wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it’s totally life ruining an controls everything you do and think. I managed to get over it a few years ago by stopping the googling and started to ignore bodily sensations and it worked! But here I am back in the health anxiety hole.
I am so sorry, Kayl. It can flare up at different times in our lives. After your scan, begin to cope with your anxiety again by not seeking reassurance or googling symptoms. Health anxiety will quiet down when we stop our behaviors of tests and scans and appointments. Wishing you the best.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC thank you- I feel like I’m loosing my mind however, constantly stuck in the grey area of ‘is this my health anxiety or am I really dying and my symptoms are real’ I can never quite work out which one is which. Such a crippling mental health illness.
It might help if you can focus on tolerating the feeling of not knowing. Feel what that feeling is to not know if you have this illness or that one. Feel what it is like to not know what that body sensation means. We have to learn to hold and tolerate those feelings because as humans, we never have certainty of anything. You are living with uncertainty in so many other areas. Learning to tolerate uncertainty in the area of you health will improve with intention and practice. It will give you your life back.
Hi. This Sabrina again i left a message on each video. I have a bad behavior googling syptoms and checking parts of my body. I really do need help I've already had a EKG it was good so now im praying my blood works comes back good. Im just scared heart racing tired of thinkingp
Unfortunately, googling and researching and checking body symptoms are making your anxiety worse. I have an online class for health anxiety coming out soon. It may be helpful for you.
I'm 61 and was diagnosed with health anxiety during lockdown; course I didn't believe it - I knew I had a sever undiagnosed heart problem ... since I was 21!
I've suffered on and mostly off my whole life until Covid where is has become quite debilitating. I never understood the OCD enabling until I watch this ... OMG thank you SO much, I do ALL of those reassuring techniques. I also practice mindfulness which does help however alone its not enough during a full anxiety moment. Thank you so much X
I am truly sorry that you have suffered so much. I left you a message about my course called, Rapid Recovery from Health Anxiety. Please contact me at paigepradko.com if I can be of any help.
I have a feeling of having colon cancer , as i have narrow stools for few days , i dont even know if its narrow , my fear is so high , my brains make me think its narrow , .My doubt is should i exposure myself , if so , for how .long , before seeking a doctor , which is considered reassurance . My brain says its emergency , to check a doctor , but it did like 10+ times i visited doctors previously in hospital
I am so sorry that you are experiencing health anxiety. If you have already seen a doctor for this problem in the last year, and your doctor said there is no problem, and you have a history of health anxiety, you do not need to see a doctor. That reassurance will only be temporary and will only make the health anxiety worse. If I were seeing a patient with your symptoms, I would suggest that they tolerate the anxiety without doctor appointments and stop all methods of researching, googling, and checking body symptoms. That means no inspecting their stool at all. This typically calms down their anxiety. Some clients need to go further into developing erp scripts and other exposures. Here is a playlist for help with health anxiety ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYonn-zlZxzTRR8V4myEHgCY.html
If you are subscribed to my UA-cam channel, you will soon hear about more help I am offering for people with health anxiety.
My clinical psychologist diagnosed me as GAD and health anxiety is my worst, everyday having symptoms, scaning body sensation, focusing on my breathing pattern whether I'm breathing or not, multiple doctor visit, but still every day is my battles, sometimes I wanna hurt myself. I'm newly married 35 dude and my relationship is getting sucks because of my mental issues. I'm done.
I hope you are making progress, Pedro. You will have to stop all of those checking body sensations and googling and doctor appointments if you want your anxiety to calm down. I wish you the best. Health anxiety is horrible.
Does watching your videos fall into the category of seeking reassurance too? Is does for me. ( serious question!) Currently I 'm getting started on an SSRI, and having a really difficult time. I can call in "emergency / panick situations" so I don't go to the ER, and they then reassurance me it's OK and I'm doing fine. At my request they call every other day to ask how I 'm doing. They encourage me to hold on, as the first few weeks are difficult. All forms of reassurance, imo. But I need it so badly.
First, I am so sorry that you are experiencing this anxiety. Yes, you are seeking reassurance in many forms and this activity reinforces your anxiety. I try to be informative in my videos, but, I can understand that it could be reassuring to learn about having anxiety versus a health condition. Thank you for your comment.
I'm a bit confused. Because when listening to the video about strategic exposure therapy, you are saying we shouldn't really do cbt or calming exercises together.
Then in this video you are trying to combine set therapy with cbt and breathing.
Or you just trying to say, that we should stop seek any reassurance and internet information not to reinforce anxiety.
I am sorry if I confused you. I have a Q & A video on Health Anxiety coming out next week that may help you further. I treat Health Anxiety like OCD. I recommend identifying the obsessions and the compulsive behaviors. For some people, just eliminating the compulsive behaviors (researching, googling, checking body symptoms, tests, appointments, seeking reassurance, etc.) will reduce the obsessive worries. However, with others, we might do more exposure work like recording scripts or exercise, etc. In Strategic Exposure Therapy, Dr. Reid Wilson likes to add a positive cognitive to the exposures, “oh good, I have anxiety right now, this gives me an opportunity to tolerate the anxiety and do nothing about it.” I used to do more cognitive restructuring and relaxation, but not anymore. More recent research indicates that those types of therapy can make the exposure work less effective. Therapists update their treatment models when we learn improved methods from research. Thanks for your great question.
Thankyou so much for the video. It was really well explained and gave me so much hope. Health Anxiety has been overwhelming me lately and as you explained it I can see how my compulsive behaviours have been making it worse. Very grateful to have found your channel, I really appreciate it.
Thank you Brendan. If you need help recovering from health anxiety, please visit www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety.
Have been having health anxiety since 2018.The thing is I'm not having it persistently.It's like it comes n goes.For a month or so I would be carefree and would be easy on myself.And else sometimes I would go on ruminating.It's like on both extremes.Health anxiety have been deep inside my mind while bursts out once in a while.I have missed many events at school and other family gatherings because of this.I really want to get out of this,it feels like a loop of negative thoughts.
I actually think that many people can relate to what you are describing. Health Anxiety can really pop up out of nowhere. We have to treat it like an annoying neighbor making lots of noise when we are trying to sleep. We tolerate the symptoms and anxiety without doing anything to reinforce it. Eventually, the anxiety will calm down. If we keep up checking our body symptoms and searching for reassurance or googling symptoms or going to the doctor, or avoiding activities and going places...we are actually making it worse. Wishing you the best in accepting your flare ups.
When not reinforcing the behavior when having a health anxiety attack, do you preform coping methods, or do you just ignore then anxiety until it goes away?
Great question. There are several forms of ERP treatment. But, the most important thing is to NOT do any coping behaviors like googling symptoms, checking your body symptoms, reassurance seeking, or avoidance behaviors. Those types of coping make the anxiety worse. Instead, focus on accepting the uncertainty of health, which is what we all have to do. None of us come with guarantees. We all have to tolerate health uncertainty. For further treatment, you can do ERP scripts and exposures. I am creating an online treatment class for health anxiety that I will post when it becomes available.
i think my anxiety started from chemical and hormonal imbalance,i took some tea for kidney stones ladt year for 3 4 months and i had a lot urinated,after that symptoms would just poping out,at first i had severe anxiety and panic attacks from nowhere,then i noticed digestive problems like indigestion and severe constipation that made me more nervouss and then i devolped those heart skipping beats its so scary symptom i have sometimes feeling i will pass out some of them make me breathless and that all bring my anxiety to the roof i had 5 ecgs tests chest x rey all came normal,i will check for blood hormone and endoscopy,i tried all suplements like magnesium citrate or glycinate it helps but not so much,only what helps when anxiety is on it peak is xanax it calms me down but i know it makes me dependence but when im on the edge it is better to take some medication then to cope with all that stress
I am so sorry that you are going through all of that. 🙏❤️
The advice in your videos is spot on, it's hard when you know what you must do but still have fear pop up constantly. My problem is my anxiety symptoms mostly eye related symptoms now have been constant for a year and a half so my fear keeps popping up because it hasn't gone away. I know I will get past this I have faith in my body, it is funny how different we all are yet the same in so many ways
Hi Chris. Yes, we have differences when it comes to the specifics of our concerns, but similarities when you look at the health anxiety cycle and reinforcing, compulsive behaviors like body checking and reassurance seeking and avoiding behaviors. I have share more health anxiety resources in my weekly newsletter at paigepradko.com if you are interested.
Do u take online patients?
Hi Jacob. Please send me a message on PaigePradko.com and I can share treatment options.
Hello...
My anxiety label is High...
I want to know how i Act 24hours in a day,,,
I mean i need a 24hours routine for my behaviour...
Thank you
I am so sorry that your anxiety is so high. You wrote this comment on a health anxiety video, so I am assuming you are dealing with health anxiety. You will have to change the way you are responding to your thoughts. I will leave you some videos about what to do. I suggest also incorporating daily movement and exercise into your day. Here is a video about What to not do if you have Anxiety: ua-cam.com/video/A_ND_Vwdvj8/v-deo.html
Here is a video about A Brain Hack for Anxiety & OCD ua-cam.com/video/9nEC8yIgFKg/v-deo.html.
Thank you so much for your response...now i am trying to follow your therapy 🙂
I hope one day i feel anxiety free🙂
Thank you it really helpd me, i always have health issues n feel sick n serious evrytime n i always think I will die n no one could guide or teach me like u did in dis video so thank u so mch and please if u can make more videos on health anxiety.
Hi Vikato. Here is a playlist for health anxiety ua-cam.com/play/PL1lUhuKpYUYonn-zlZxzTRR8V4myEHgCY.html.
And here is a free health anxiety assessment www.paigepradko.com/healthanxietyquiz.
I have to laugh at myself for the panic I feel at the thought of eliminating safety behaviors. "Then how will I be safe?" lol
Yes, it is surprising how many safety behaviors and avoidances we have. Especially if we have health anxiety. If you ever need help treating health anxiety, you can find out more about my course here: www.paigepradko.com/healthanxiety.
Can you have anxiety palpitations after or before anxiety attacks... continuous palpitations?
People can experience palpitations anytime and they can be completely normal and harmless. Some people are highly sensitive to palpitations and are bothered by them, others are not bothered at all. Most clients I see that complain of palpitations have had full checkups with their physicians. We try to bring on the palpitations on purpose for exposures and it is amazing how the brain can learn to accept and desensitize to them.
I’m using these techniques to help get over my retroactive jealousy OCD have you ever made a video on this. If not could you thanks.
That is a great suggestion, Steve. I know that it causes suffering in many.
You know what pisses me off about health anxiety? It seems I’m the only male that has it. I’m 28 and I’ve had this since I was about 20. When I was younger. I use to wake up screaming and terrified for like 10 minutes,then fall asleep and wake up like it was almost a dream,like you remember it but the thought of it slowly goes away. That stopped maybe in my teens. Then like I said earlier it came back in my 20s. It’s ruining my life,and I honestly want to just die. Weird huh? You are so terrified you are dying from some unknown undiagnosed illness that you spin out of control in you’re head that it sends you into a panic/anxiety attack because you don’t want to die. But then it fades and all you can think about is “when is the next one?,will I be out in public when it happens?,will the next one be the real deal and I will die?” That it just makes you wish you would die. I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this before I find a more permanent solution to end it
Those nocturnal panic attacks are indeed terrible. I have experienced that before myself, but, for a different triggering event. Your brain is in fight or flight / panic mode, and it takes time to calm down. You are not the only male. About half my clients are males with health anxiety. There is a treatment course that helps. First, because of the build up of adrenaline and cortisol in your system, exercising and at least walking is needed to burn those stress hormones a few hours before bed. No reinforcing the health anxiety through body checking and symptom checking. My clients stop all monitoring of everything even sleep quality. All devices of tracking like fitbits and Apple watches must be removed. Often, I do exposures with clients where we bring on the fearful thoughts and the response to the fear changes as we increase the number of exposures per day. I truly hope you feel better.
Paige Pradko I don’t have a Apple Watch because I’m afraid it will tell me something is wrong with my heart,I can’t sleep on my left side because I can feel my heart beating and it drives me absolutely crazy. But what you said about it being OCD makes a lot of sense. When I was younger I definitely had weird ocd moments in my life well before it was “anxiety”
Paige Pradko I was taken to go see my mother on her deathbed at 9years old,my mom was 25. I remember walking in and seeing her so skinny and gasping for air from what I remember. I’m 28 now so that means I lived longer than my mother. I have resentment to my family because I don’t think it was a good idea to let me see that at a young age. Idk
Mollie Cakes no I’m not,I don’t have money to do that,I just try and find coping mechanisms to help me get through the day
Mollie Cakes one coping mechanism that I have that I know it not healthy and is risking my relationship with my girlfriend is shutting myself off to the outside world and just wanting to stay locked away in my room ,I know it’s not healthy to be like this but I’m scared to leave the house for fear I’m not safe,my girlfriend is very supportive and I love her for that but I know she won’t put up with it forever. And I understand why she wouldn’t want to. It’s just my mind is sick and broken and I don’t know how to fix it. I’m sorry for rambling. I just want to talk about it sometimes to people who understand me
So very helpful thanks! I am looking to read a book on health anxiety and how to beat this debilitating condition. Do you have any recommendations please?
Great question. I have never read a book about health anxiety, so I cannot make a recommendation. But, I am sure they are out there. I learn from working with clients and reading current research from university library searches. I am glad you found the video helpful. 😊
Any CBT tips for working out and exercising? Specifically when your heart rate gets up
I just worked on a Q & A video on Health Anxiety today where I answered lots of viewer questions. I wish I had read your question before I shot the video. Maybe I will include it next time. But, avoiding exercise, exerting your body and avoiding an increase in pulse are all behaviors that contribute to making health anxiety worse. And of course doing those same things is what actually makes us healthier and live longer. Isn’t that something...that we want to avoid what would actually make us healthier. I use exercise as exposure therapy practice for clients that are avoiding it. This is extremely important in recovering from health anxiety.
Hi. I have seen the death of our neighbor. I have been having this thought that if she was sent to the hospital immediately, she could have lived. Now, I got sick and i feel like I have health anxiety and at the same time i don’t want to travel. I always think that what happened to her might happen to me. is this still part of the Health Anxiety or will it fall under PTSD?
Hi Mary. I am so sorry for the loss of your neighbor and for how that loss has affected you. To answer your question, it might be both. I have found that most people with health anxiety had some type of health trauma that preceded their anxiety. They either witnessed someone’s illness or experienced a health trauma themselves. Mary, you may be interested in a 3-part series on Health Anxiety that I will be posting to UA-cam beginning tomorrow. Be sure to subscribe to my channel so that you don’t miss it.
@@PaigePradkoTherapy i will subscribe an wait for your new series. Thank you.
U r awesome ❤️! I don't know how to thank you for helping me, the temptation thing for me has been going on for the past 5 months started with a thought and ended with a thought. But ur videos really helped me
I am so happy to hear that, Srinhath. Thank you for your comment. 🙏😊
What if you know the sensations aren't normal, but are probably exaggerating the seriousness?
What a great question. I think that this is what most everyone experiences. We feel a real symptom and then our brain takes off with the worst case scenarios. Let’s say you have heart palpitations. Almost everyone has heart palpitations from time to time and they can be completely normal. But, it will not be interpreted as normal for a person with health anxiety. I would suggest that they be checked out by their physician if they had not been to a physician. Then, we begin the work of tolerating the symptom and the anxiety and not do any reinforcing or avoidance behaviors. Tolerating the anxiety is the main thing with health anxiety.
I’ve been getting terrible tension headaches where I keep reinforcing compulsive behaviors and I definitely see why my head keeps feeling tight. I’m going to take your advice and stop those behaviors and hopefully I can relax better!
I am so sorry about your headaches. It does take some time for our brains to calm down and learn that nothing is wrong. If you need more help on Exposure Therapy, I have a few videos coming up in a few weeks that get into more detail about how to do exposure therapy. But, by stopping the compulsive behaviors and letting your anxiety come down on it’s own will help. Thank you for your comment.
I also think learning to brush off anxiety and not making it such a big deal helps! I dont think you need to make anxiety such a big deal through exposure and treatment. If we dont have the coping skills to brush off anxiety and cope with it, our brain is going to transfer that anxiety someplace else. Don't you think? :)
Yes, I agree. As long as a person does not begin to practice avoidance when they brush things off. But, feeling anxiety and accepting it and moving through your day doing what you want to do without avoidance behavior is helpful.
Paige Pradko LPC NCC Thank you for answering!
Thank you so much, this is by far one of the best video about this topic, what other ways can we use exposure ? I read that one way is to write the worst possible scenario and read it few times a day until the anxiety is gone, what' are your thoughts on that ?
Writing about a worse case scenario or recording your voice and listening to it are different ways to do an exposure into your fears. Most of my clients with health anxiety see results by eliminating behaviors like googling symptoms or checking their pulse, taking off monitoring devices like Apple watches, stopping reassurance seeking like excessive testing and doctor appointments. And then, they begin to move into activities that they once avoided due to their fear. They learn to tolerate the anxiety in those fearful situations and the anxiety eventually drops. Thank you for your comment and question. 😊