ThomasWoodMoncton
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2020
- Messages
- 9
- Reaction score
- 11
Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum, but look forward to learning from everyone and helping where I can.
I have known I have had health anxiety for approx. 15 years.
I was always an anxious person growing up, but I had an episode related to a tumor that grew on my arm. The tumor was approx 2 inches in diameter, and scared the crap out of me. It took months for me to finally seem my dr about it. For the first time in my life, the panic attacks began.
Plenty of tests later, the tumor was ruled a harmless, benign lipoma (fatty tumor)... the truth about recieving that diagnosis is that, while I was given a clean bill of health, I wasn't exactly equipped with the tools to deal with the lasting impact of a perceived illness.
Since then, there have been periods in which I have had control over anxiety, and periods in which it had control over me...
Currently, I struggle with growths on my body ( I am prone to cysts, and have a few calcified lymph nodes here and there). Everytime I find a new "thing", it adds to the narrative I have built inside my head that I am dieing and/or, I have dangerous growths that doctors haven't discovered.
Health anxiety won't beat me... I wont let it... while it's nice to know I am not alone, seeing so many people struggling tells me that more can be done... more needs to be done to help people like me.
I am fortunate enough to live in Canada - with free health care, be well employed, have a supporting family... my heart goes out to anyone who suffers with the same mental health episodes as me, but may come from a less fortunate walk of life.
If anyone needs to chat, needs someone to listen, or needs advice on the particular kind(s) of health anxiety I have lived through, I'm here.
Thomas Wood
I am new to this forum, but look forward to learning from everyone and helping where I can.
I have known I have had health anxiety for approx. 15 years.
I was always an anxious person growing up, but I had an episode related to a tumor that grew on my arm. The tumor was approx 2 inches in diameter, and scared the crap out of me. It took months for me to finally seem my dr about it. For the first time in my life, the panic attacks began.
Plenty of tests later, the tumor was ruled a harmless, benign lipoma (fatty tumor)... the truth about recieving that diagnosis is that, while I was given a clean bill of health, I wasn't exactly equipped with the tools to deal with the lasting impact of a perceived illness.
Since then, there have been periods in which I have had control over anxiety, and periods in which it had control over me...
Currently, I struggle with growths on my body ( I am prone to cysts, and have a few calcified lymph nodes here and there). Everytime I find a new "thing", it adds to the narrative I have built inside my head that I am dieing and/or, I have dangerous growths that doctors haven't discovered.
Health anxiety won't beat me... I wont let it... while it's nice to know I am not alone, seeing so many people struggling tells me that more can be done... more needs to be done to help people like me.
I am fortunate enough to live in Canada - with free health care, be well employed, have a supporting family... my heart goes out to anyone who suffers with the same mental health episodes as me, but may come from a less fortunate walk of life.
If anyone needs to chat, needs someone to listen, or needs advice on the particular kind(s) of health anxiety I have lived through, I'm here.
Thomas Wood
