{"id":35082,"date":"2017-06-30T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T15:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=35082"},"modified":"2017-06-22T11:02:20","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T18:02:20","slug":"help-i-cant-stop-worrying-about-getting-sick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/dear-gt\/help-i-cant-stop-worrying-about-getting-sick","title":{"rendered":"Help! I Can’t Stop Worrying About Getting Sick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear GoodTherapy.org,<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m a 27-year-old dental student with no serious medical issues<\/a> other than sports injuries. Over the past few years, I have developed these thoughts about getting\/being sick. I am constantly paying attention to my body. Any little thing I notice, I freak out. I am frequently going to the doctor for one thing after another and can’t seem to control my brain immediately thinking the worst. And every time I go, I am perfectly healthy.<\/p>\n

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I also think that because I am believing in these fake ailments, it’s causing my brain to create symptoms! It\u2019s frustrating because I don’t know how to stop feeling like this even though I know it’s mostly in my head. At this point, my girlfriend and family are getting sick of me asking things like “This isn’t cancer<\/a>, right?” or “I’m going to be okay, right? It’s not going to kill me or anything?”<\/p>\n

My main question is why am I always thinking of the worst-case scenario with my health? Why can’t I just have a sore throat and think “I must have a cold” instead of “I must have a rare infection that’s going to eventually kill me”? Any help would be awesome because as of now I feel myself worrying<\/a> about being sick more than actually enjoying my life. Thank you. \u2014Worried Sick<\/strong><\/p>\n

Submit Your Own Question to a Therapist<\/a><\/p>\n

Dear Worried Sick,<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve asked a great question, and you are not alone in asking it: Why do you seem to always think of the worst-case scenario when it comes to your health, and what can you do differently so you are not immediately thinking the worst? The answer to this question is very much tied to understanding what may be behind this in the first place.<\/p>\n

How you describe your concerns is consistent with what is conceptualized in the DSM-5<\/em> (the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual<\/a>) as illness anxiety, as well as what prior to this would have been considered hypochondriasis<\/a> (debilitating worry about having a serious illness). Regardless, please know there are things you can do to keep the worry from getting the better of you.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth stating this about anxiety more generally: some people are more prone to either anxiety<\/a> or hypervigilance<\/a> (heightened awareness about small sensations or possible threats, in this case health-related symptoms) than others. This can happen for any number of reasons, and it\u2019s okay if you tend to be that way. What you are doing, essentially, is making sense of your experiences and protecting yourself from perceived threats of danger. While this can be adaptive\u2014as doing so can tune you in to something that is wrong\u2014it may become a problem when your interpretations are in overdrive. Furthermore, when you worry excessively, there is a negative filter operating on your thoughts which further intensifies and reinforces the worry.<\/p>\n

You can learn how to modify your thoughts through psychotherapy. By seeking help for this, you can learn and practice skills to help you reduce hypervigilance and significantly reduce the tendency to immediately think the worst.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line is thoughts are powerful. When we experience a symptom such as pain, fatigue, or bloating, many people try to better understand and make sense of the experience, and depending on our thoughts, this may work for us or it may signal our thoughts are in overdrive. Additionally, constantly paying attention to bodily symptoms\u2014and perhaps even creating symptoms, as you indicated\u2014is a pattern worth changing. When we think the worst, this sends us down a dark path leading to debilitating anxiety. Furthermore, the way we think significantly affects the way we feel. So it makes sense that if we are thinking the worst about our health, we will feel bad. We are focusing on even the slightest discomfort or sensation and then feeling distressed over the worry around what it could mean. Clearly, you have realized that health-related anxiety or worry can become extremely uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

By modifying the thoughts you have around bodily sensations, you can change your level of comfort. You will, in fact, be able to do just as you want\u2014to be able to enjoy your life. Imagine how powerful a small shift in a thought can be. Instead of \u201cThis means I have a rare infection that will kill me,\u201d try something else. Perhaps, \u201cIt is possible this is something that warrants medical attention, but it is also possible this will go away on its own.\u201d You can learn how to modify your thoughts through psychotherapy<\/a>. By seeking help<\/a> for this, you can learn and practice skills to help you reduce hypervigilance and significantly reduce the tendency to immediately think the worst.<\/p>\n

Here are some other tips that are important to consider:<\/p>\n