Do any of my fellow hypos ever worry about mental health rather than physical ailments?

[AaronE]

Good Afternoon!

I've had sort of a strange thing going on lately, and I wanted to see if anybody could relate. I'm a well-seasoned hypochondriac, and I've worried about having everything from testicular cancer, to AIDS, to brain tumors. I've noticed that whenever my hypochondria is at its worst, there's usually some sort of life change(s) going on. Right now, I am in the middle of becoming a first-time homeowner, I'm marrying my fiance later this year, and on top of that, I'm currently searching for another job opportunity. So needless to say, even without the help from my anxiety, my stress levels are on the higher side than normal.

I've been having issues with the thought of having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's kind of hard to explain exactly what I mean, so I will write out my thought process.

"Man... it would suck to have sensorimotor OCD and be aware of my blinking all the time"...
Oh wow... what if that actually happens to me"... *Cue panic attack, and 3 days of blinking obsession.

or this one.

"Man... it would suck to have OCD to the point where you had to perform rituals all the time"...
"Oh wow... what if that actually happens to me"... *Cue panic attack.

Just last night, I was getting ready for bed and I did the normal routine. Brushed my teeth, got a glass of water, turned all of the lights off, and glanced down the stairs to make sure that the door was locked before heading to our room. After I looked at the door to make sure it was locked, my brain automatically went to "WHAT IF I END UP OBSESSING OVER CHECKING THE LOCKS FROM NOW ON?!?!?"

The thing is that I don't actually perform rituals, or "Compulsions", I just get freaked out at the thought of being consumed by them.

I've noticed with all of this, I have the same exact feeling of existential dread that I feel whenever I worry about physical diseases, so I think it's actually just me being afraid of the idea of OCD, and not actually having it. I've also worried about having schitzophrenia in the past as well, but that has since passed.

Sorry for writing a book, I'm just curious to see if anybody else on the planet has experienced anything like this.

I hope you're all having a good day!

 

[triceps]

Good Afternoon!

I've had sort of a strange thing going on lately, and I wanted to see if anybody could relate. I'm a well-seasoned hypochondriac, and I've worried about having everything from testicular cancer, to AIDS, to brain tumors. I've noticed that whenever my hypochondria is at its worst, there's usually some sort of life change(s) going on. Right now, I am in the middle of becoming a first-time homeowner, I'm marrying my fiance later this year, and on top of that, I'm currently searching for another job opportunity. So needless to say, even without the help from my anxiety, my stress levels are on the higher side than normal.

I've been having issues with the thought of having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's kind of hard to explain exactly what I mean, so I will write out my thought process.

"Man... it would suck to have sensorimotor OCD and be aware of my blinking all the time"...
Oh wow... what if that actually happens to me"... *Cue panic attack, and 3 days of blinking obsession.

or this one.

"Man... it would suck to have OCD to the point where you had to perform rituals all the time"...
"Oh wow... what if that actually happens to me"... *Cue panic attack.

Just last night, I was getting ready for bed and I did the normal routine. Brushed my teeth, got a glass of water, turned all of the lights off, and glanced down the stairs to make sure that the door was locked before heading to our room. After I looked at the door to make sure it was locked, my brain automatically went to "WHAT IF I END UP OBSESSING OVER CHECKING THE LOCKS FROM NOW ON?!?!?"

The thing is that I don't actually perform rituals, or "Compulsions", I just get freaked out at the thought of being consumed by them.

I've noticed with all of this, I have the same exact feeling of existential dread that I feel whenever I worry about physical diseases, so I think it's actually just me being afraid of the idea of OCD, and not actually having it. I've also worried about having schitzophrenia in the past as well, but that has since passed.

Sorry for writing a book, I'm just curious to see if anybody else on the planet has experienced anything like this.

I hope you're all having a good day!

Hi and welcome AaronE. I've got GAD and agoraphobia with some OCD tendencies, but nothing more than some serious routines. Every now and then some physical symptoms (I'm 66 years old and physical symptoms are getting more common) will steer me towards some HA thinking. My mother had HA, calling me weekly with a new ailment she was positive she had. In my case, under extreme anxiety I'll have trouble with balance and walking. The first time it happened I went to the doctor, had all the blood work (came out normal for everything) but prior to that I was sure I had MS. I was able to accept the findings so I figure I don't have HA. It's kinda the opposite situation you're discussing.
I guess anxiety can skew our thinking on either physical symptoms or mental ones. I just don't see any reason why health anxiety couldn't also include mental health fears. We're always trying to get folks to treat physical diseases the same as mental ones, don't we?

 

[maryam]

Hi. OCD and Hypochrondia are very much tied together in some ways minus the compulsions. I SUFFER from both. I also have fears of having Tourettes syndrome and schizophrenia but that's OCD and Hypochrondia mixed

 

[Gws1018]

Yes. Last year I was in Air Assault school with the Army and it’s a very stressful 2 week school. I remember during this time after I cooked breakfast I became obsessive over seeing if I turned the stove off. Got to the point where I would check it 2 or 3 times and would still worry during the day.

Right now; I just got out of the Army and I’m having some of the worst physical anxiety symptoms ever, convincing me i’ll never get better. I’m having to get housing, school, GI bill pay etc set up all at the same time. Only this time instead of OCD i’ve had bouts of being really depressed and feeling dread because i’ve convinced myself i’m dying, which leads to more anxiety etc etc

 

[triceps]

Hi Gws. Are you getting any therapy or on any medications? I'm sure sorry that you're so overwhelmed.

 

[Gws1018]

Hi Gws. Are you getting any therapy or on any medications? I'm sure sorry that you're so overwhelmed.

No I’m not as of now. Since I just got out of the Army my doctor is still in Tennessee where I’m about to go back to in a week. I finally mentioned my anxiety to a PA during my last check-up because i had a panic attack when I was getting a haircut and he said to come right back if it happened again. When I get back hopefully I can get the help I need

 

[Rosy]

My husband goes to the VA and gets pretty good care there. He has some anxiety but he is on a small amt. of a benzo and it seems to do the trick. After he was discharged he was recalled and that stint did him in some. But he is okay. So many GIs suffer with this. He only got to come home once during that year and a half stint and I was in the hospital having a miscarriage. Some homecoming. lol I sure hope you get some help. You are not alone.

 

[avocado]

Oh, my guy, I only started getting prolonged anxiety/was diagnosed with GAD because I kept on worrying that I might develop schizophrenia. I was super stressed after a trip abroad (hadn't slept for almost 40 hours) and then was severely jet lagged for over a week. During that period I tried taking a nap and had this really weird experience as I was falling asleep and so I googled it and was convinced I was in the prodrome for schizophrenia. After that I basically had the equivalent of a nervous breakdown when I returned to school and its been way better since then, but the past 6 months have been on and off periods of existential anxiety and depression.

I totally get what you're saying. I remember during that period I would google stuff, and learn that people developing schizophrenia may start thinking odd and paranoid thoughts. So for example, if I was walking by a TV, and I was experiencing stress, my thoughts would immediately jump to "if I was developing schizophrenia, I would think this tv was talking to me." And then I'd start worrying about whether or not I thought the tv's were talking to me. Or sometimes I'd catch myself just talking to myself while working really hard or something and then I'd worry about that being a sign of me losing my mind (it's not).