Hello, I'm new to this forum, but not to anxiety. I was formally diagnosed with GA several years ago, but I've been dealing with the various symptoms for as long as I can remember. For context, I'm a (I assume) generally healthy 35 year old, with no history of significant medical issues.
For about the past year my healthy anxiety has been cycling and fixating on different parts of my body or people I care about. It started around this time last year and turned into a full-blown panic about skin cancer (went to the dermatologist, everything was fine), then transitioned into the same worry about my husband, who had a persistent rash on his back (went to the dermatologist, everything was fine). Once this was cleared up, I started refocusing on moles on myself again that I was worried had changed or appeared since my own dermatologist visit in April, then I had a weird dizzy spell one day in August after driving home from work and vertigo for about 24 hours, with mild effects lasting for about 3 days afterward (I finally took sudafed and it helped). I didn't think anything else sinister at the time (assumed it was due to several external factors, including sinus pressure, drinking too much coffee/not drinking enough water/not eating enough food) and then was quickly distracted by a family emergency that turned into a very complicated legal situation and the death of a beloved family member. This lasted for about 2 months and once this calmed down I started feeling better. Not long after this though, around the beginning of November, my BC prescription got all messed up and I wound up missing pills for about a week and then had to get switched to a different medication so my hormones were all screwed up and I had headaches and nausea for about 2 weeks after this. Since then I haven't been able to shake round-robining through various problems and have felt on and off a feeling of dizziness or just swaying when walking, particularly when walking in large spaces. I know that part of this is entirely in my head, because it comes back almost immediately after I either think about feeling dizzy or think to myself that I haven't felt dizzy yet today...
Since then I've gotten fixated on that one dizzy/vertigo incident in August and went to Google (which I know was bad) and have become obsessed with worrying that I had a mini-stroke. I had no other symptoms when this dizzy spell happened, no cognitive issues, no numbness, etc...and when I say it out loud I feel like it sounds ridiculous, but in my head it just feels so real sometimes. And I worry that what if this time I'm right, even though that's how I've felt about all of the other things I've worried about in the last year, none of which were real. I've also gotten fixated on a mild whooshing sound I hear in my ear sometimes, which isn't new, but I'm worried could be related to the dizzy spell from August. In general I've cycled through about 5 specific different things I think are wrong with me, all of which are listed as "rare" and all of which are highly unlikely to exist at the same time. I had gone to the doctor back in September for an unrelated cough/respiratory illness and had my blood pressure taken, chest listened to, etc...and nothing of interest or concern was noted.
This is starting to significantly impact my daily life and my ability to be present in situations I usually enjoy. Does anyone have any suggestions to begin combating this obsessive worry? I have had success with CBT for my GA in the past, but the psychologist I was seeing no longer takes my insurance and due to the nature of my job I'm hesitant to attempt taking medication due to the possible side effects (I can't really take many days off).
For about the past year my healthy anxiety has been cycling and fixating on different parts of my body or people I care about. It started around this time last year and turned into a full-blown panic about skin cancer (went to the dermatologist, everything was fine), then transitioned into the same worry about my husband, who had a persistent rash on his back (went to the dermatologist, everything was fine). Once this was cleared up, I started refocusing on moles on myself again that I was worried had changed or appeared since my own dermatologist visit in April, then I had a weird dizzy spell one day in August after driving home from work and vertigo for about 24 hours, with mild effects lasting for about 3 days afterward (I finally took sudafed and it helped). I didn't think anything else sinister at the time (assumed it was due to several external factors, including sinus pressure, drinking too much coffee/not drinking enough water/not eating enough food) and then was quickly distracted by a family emergency that turned into a very complicated legal situation and the death of a beloved family member. This lasted for about 2 months and once this calmed down I started feeling better. Not long after this though, around the beginning of November, my BC prescription got all messed up and I wound up missing pills for about a week and then had to get switched to a different medication so my hormones were all screwed up and I had headaches and nausea for about 2 weeks after this. Since then I haven't been able to shake round-robining through various problems and have felt on and off a feeling of dizziness or just swaying when walking, particularly when walking in large spaces. I know that part of this is entirely in my head, because it comes back almost immediately after I either think about feeling dizzy or think to myself that I haven't felt dizzy yet today...
Since then I've gotten fixated on that one dizzy/vertigo incident in August and went to Google (which I know was bad) and have become obsessed with worrying that I had a mini-stroke. I had no other symptoms when this dizzy spell happened, no cognitive issues, no numbness, etc...and when I say it out loud I feel like it sounds ridiculous, but in my head it just feels so real sometimes. And I worry that what if this time I'm right, even though that's how I've felt about all of the other things I've worried about in the last year, none of which were real. I've also gotten fixated on a mild whooshing sound I hear in my ear sometimes, which isn't new, but I'm worried could be related to the dizzy spell from August. In general I've cycled through about 5 specific different things I think are wrong with me, all of which are listed as "rare" and all of which are highly unlikely to exist at the same time. I had gone to the doctor back in September for an unrelated cough/respiratory illness and had my blood pressure taken, chest listened to, etc...and nothing of interest or concern was noted.
This is starting to significantly impact my daily life and my ability to be present in situations I usually enjoy. Does anyone have any suggestions to begin combating this obsessive worry? I have had success with CBT for my GA in the past, but the psychologist I was seeing no longer takes my insurance and due to the nature of my job I'm hesitant to attempt taking medication due to the possible side effects (I can't really take many days off).
