Say Yes to Life, No anxieties

[IND151]

Health Anxiety

1. Find other reasons for your symptoms
The symptoms you have could be due to a serious illness, yet it is likely that they are not. Many symptoms are caused by changes in your body that are normal, not dangerous. They are not signs of any bigger problems.

Worry can produce all sorts of body symptoms which can make you feel bad or upset. They do not always mean you are ill.

Write down all the reasons why you think you are ill. Then ask "can these be caused by something else?"

Reasons that I think I have a brain tumour :

• 
  
  
  • I have a bad headache

Reasons against having a brain tumour :

• 
  
  
  • I am very stressed at the moment
  • If I lie down and the pain goes away it is unlikely to be a brain tumour
  • Brain tumours are very rare
  • I have had bad headaches for years and I'm still alive

2. How to come to terms with doubts about your health
We may all become ill at some time in our lives. This is a fact for most of us, but we can decide whether we want to spend our time worrying about this possibility or get on with our lives

Write down your answers to these questions. It may help to talk them over with someone else.

• 
  
  
  • What are my worries about my health? For example, ' I am worried that I am having a heart attack', 'I am worried that I will not be able to look after the family
  • Do I know for certain that I have this illness e.g. because the doctor has told me so
    • If yes - then follow your doctors advice
    • If no - because you are uncertain or know for sure that you do not have the illness, then ask yourself the following question
  • Is there anything I can do about my worry - for example, change my diet or lifestyle
    • If yes - then do it now
    • If no - then stop worrying

3. Things that are helpful.
Make a list of the things you have done to try and help yourself. Think about how helpful they are in stopping your worry. Give each a rating between 0 - 10 for how helpful it was for you at the time. Now as a second rating of how helpful it was to you in the long-term (with 0 being not at all helpful, while 10 is very helpful)

Ways I have tackled my worry about my healthHow helpful was it at the timeHow helpful was it in the long-term
Going to the doctor60
Having tests80
Talking about my symptoms to my husband102
Staying in bed and having a good rest51
Trying to avoid health programmes42
Stop thinking about the way my body feels all the time36
4. Stop the vicious circle of worry
A. Learn not to ask for comfort and support
When looking for comfort from others you tend to think more about your health and tend not to believe what people say. It is more helpful if you can comfort yourself.

Every time you feel very worried about your health, try not to ask for help from anyone else. For example, do not ask your partner or family about your health. If you do, ask them to help you by not 'comforting' you. They could change the subject if you start talking about the state of your health. This may make you feel worried in the short-term. Instead try and find another way of coping with the worry. One very good way is to take your mind off your worries by doing something else. Go for a walk, clean the house, do a hobby you enjoy, or read. Find something that works for you. Try to keep yourself busy with something else when you are tempted to talk and worry about your health

Sarah kept a record of how many times she asked for comfort about her headaches. She found it helpful. She found that when she was not given comfort, she felt bad in the short term. As she started to find her own ways to comfort herself she noticed that she began to feel better and asked for it less often. She also found that she worried less often.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Number of times I asked for comfort6533322
How worried I felt ( 0 - 10)109109865
B. Stop watching and checking your symptoms
It is a great idea to carry out simple checks on your health every so often e.g. checking your breasts once a month. It is not helpful to think about your health all the time. Worrying about your health can make you aware of every tiny symptom. This is like putting a spotlight on your body all the time. Checking maintains the problem. It keeps your attention focused on your body. It makes you more anxious. Poking and squeezing can increase the symptoms. You need to turn the spotlight off your body

• 
  
  
  • Decide how much checking is OK. You can find out by asking your doctor, family and friends
  • If you are tempted to check: DON'T !!!!!! Not checking is likely to make you worried in the short-term. You can cope with the worry by taking your mind off it. Try to distract yourself.
  • You may need to practice not checking: it is a bit like stopping a bad habit. Ask your family to help you to stop, or help take your mind off every symptom

C. Stop finding out about illness
Sometimes knowing too much about health can be a bad thing. It makes you very aware of every change in your body. Much of what you find out may seem very vague. Lots of things can cause a change in your body. Trying to find out if you have an illness can be very worrying and not helpful at all.

• 
  
  
  • Try to stop finding out so much about illness. Stop reading medical books. Stop watching every single medical programme.
  • Even if you are very tempted to read up on every single thing, try not to do so. This may make you worried in the short-term, but not in the long-term
  • Distract yourself or try other ways of coping with worries
  • Ask your family to help you not to keep on reading up about symptoms and watch less worrying programmes on TV. Continue until you are able to cope better with the worries

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Number of times I found out about illness6533322
How worried I felt ( 0 - 10)109109865
D. Stop behaving as though you are ill
Many people who are worried about their health stop doing things e.g. they stop doing things, because they are worried about hurting themselves. The trouble with stopping doing things is that you will become less fit. If you are less fit, then you may become tired, or generally unwell. You may then start to think these signs are signs of illness. Then you might slow down even more, and so on in another vicious circle.

Plan to get active

• 
  
  
  • It is important that you resume your normal level of activities slowly. If you have been inactive for a while, don't expect to be able to do as much as you used to do at once
  • Make a list of all the things you used to do, and would like to do again. Put them in order - with the one using the least amount of effort first, and finish with the one that needs most effort.
  • Each day, spend a little time, gently doing first step on your list. For example, this may be going for a walk, for 5 minutes, without pushing yourself. When you can perform this and not feel too tired, extend the length of your walk.
  • When you can do the first step well (such as walking for half an hour) move on to the next step. Be careful never to push yourself too hard.
  • Work through your list step by step.

Jim made a list of the things he used to do. He wanted to get back to golf after a back problem. Here is his list:

Do physio's exercises for 5 minutes each night
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night and go for short walk for 5 mins
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night and go for short walk for 10 mins
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night and go for short walk for 20 mins
Practice golf swing
Practice golf swing and go for walk for 20 mins
E. Stop avoiding things to do with illness
You may avoid finding out about health because it makes you very upset. When you avoid doing this it may make you feel better in the short -term, but more worries in the long-term.

Make a list of the ways in which you have been avoiding things to do with the illness you worry about. Rate each for how much you avoid them, on a scale of 0 - 10 (where 0 is least and 10 the most). Then start with the one you avoid least. Plan to spend a bit of time doing just this. You will slowly be able to tackle each in turn.

What I have avoidedHow much I avoided it
Watching TV programme on heart disease10
Listening to other people talking about their illness5
Reading about heart disease in the paper7
F. Dealing with the worries about your health
When you worry, the thoughts are of a certain type. They tend to overplay how likely it is that something bad will happen. They tend to underplay how well we can cope with it. You need to get worrying about your health into more balance.

Keeping a diary of thoughts and other possible thoughts may be helpful. Here is an example:

Step 1 - What are your worrying thoughts?

Write down your worrying thoughtsHow much do I believe it?
My headache means I have a brain tumour10
Step 2 - Challenge your worrying thoughts

Try and find a more balanced thought
It might help if you think of

• 
  
  
  • What would you say to yourself if you were not feeling so worried?
  • What might you say to someone else if they said this to you?
  • What might your partner or friend say to you about your worries?
  • What could you say to yourself that is more helpful and less worrying

Ask yourself what reasons you have for the thought
My gran had headaches and she died of a brain tumour.

Ask yourself what reasons you have against the thought
I have had tests done and I am OK.
Lots of people have headaches and don't have brain tumours.
I have a stressful job that can give people headaches.

Step 3 - Come up with another way of looking at it

More balanced thoughtNew rating of worry (0 - 10)
Brain tumours are rare in adults. I am aware of it because it's in the news3
G. Focus on other things
Trying to focus on something else can be useful. If you worry less, your symptoms will also get less

There are 3 ways in which you can distract yourself when you notice that you are beginning to worry:

• 
  
  
  • Do something. This might include keep fit e.g. going for a walk, swim, or digging the garden. Reading a book, cooking or listening to the radio can also help
  • Pay attention to something else. Notice what is around you, in the room or outside. You could count how many red objects you can see. You could describe a picture in great detail. The more detailed the task, the more it will distract you.
  • Do a mental exercise such as sums in your head. For example, count backward in sevens from 3496. Or you could think of a holiday you have had or think of a special place. Think about the sounds, smells and textures as well as the sights

There are other ways of dealing with your health worries:

• 
  
  
  • You could tell yourself that you will worry at a certain time in the day. This means that you can tell yourself you do not need to worry now because you can do it later.
  • You can also imagine that you are putting the worries into a box. When the box is full, you can imagine throwing it away.

Fight the vicious circle of health anxiety all the way. Rule it - don't let it rule you.

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&ved=0CE4QFjAE&url=http://glasgowspcmh.org.uk/self-help/anxiety/health.php&ei=5aulUu3-D8PsrAed3oDgBA&usg=AFQjCNH_QO-9OyOUMJQTQk1oE87OamXhIQ

 

[Aamna14]

@IND151 One question have you done all that???

 

[IND151]

Worrying can be helpful when it spurs you to take action and solve a problem. But if you’re preoccupied with “what ifs” and worst-case scenarios, worry becomes a problem. Unrelenting doubts and fears can be paralyzing. They can sap your emotional energy, send your anxiety levels soaring, and interfere with your daily life. But chronic worrying is a mental habit that can be broken. You can train your brain to stay calm and look at life from a more positive perspective.



IN THIS ARTICLE:

• Why is it so hard to stop worrying?
• Create a worry period
• Ask yourself if the problem is solvable
• Accept uncertainty
• Challenge anxious thoughts
• Be aware of how others affect you
• Practice mindfulness

Why is it so hard to stop worrying?
Constant worrying takes a heavy toll. It keeps you up at night and makes you tense and edgy during the day. You hate feeling like a nervous wreck. So why is it so difficult to stop worrying?

For most chronic worriers, the anxious thoughts are fueled by the beliefs—both negative and positive—they hold about worrying.

On the negative side, you may believe that your constant worrying is harmful, that it’s going to drive you crazy or affect your physical health. Or you may worry that you’re going to lose all control over your worrying—that it will take over and never stop.

On the positive side, you may believe that your worrying helps you avoid bad things, prevents problems, prepares you for the worst, or leads to solutions.

Negative beliefs, or worrying about worrying, add to your anxiety and keep worry going. But positive beliefs about worrying can be just as damaging. It’s tough to break the worry habit if you believe that your worrying protects you. In order to stop worry and anxiety for good, you must give up your belief that worrying serves a positive purpose. Once you realize that worrying is the problem, not the solution, you can regain control of your worried mind.

Why you keep worrying
You have mixed feelings about your worries. On one hand, your worries are bothering you—you can't sleep, and you can't get these pessimistic thoughts out of your head. But there is a way that these worries make sense to you. For example, you think:

• Maybe I'll find a solution.
• I don't want to overlook anything.
• If I keep thinking a little longer, maybe I'll figure it out.
• I don't want to be surprised.
• I want to be responsible.

You have a hard time giving up on your worries because, in a sense, your worries have been working for you.

Source: The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You by Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D.

Worry and anxiety self-help tip #1: Create a worry period
It’s tough to be productive in your daily life when anxiety and worry are dominating your thoughts. But what can you do? If you’re like many chronic worriers, your anxious thoughts feel uncontrollable. You’ve tried lots of things, from distracting yourself, reasoning with your worries, and trying to think positive, but nothing seems to work.

Why trying to stop anxious thoughts doesn’t work
Telling yourself to stop worrying doesn’t work—at least not for long. You can distract yourself or suppress anxious thoughts for a moment, but you can’t banish them for good. In fact, trying to do so often makes them stronger and more persistent.

You can test this out for yourself. Close your eyes and picture a pink elephant. Once you can see the pink elephant in your mind, stop thinking about it. Whatever you do, for the next five minutes, don’t think about pink elephants!

How did you do? Did thoughts of pink elephants keep popping in your brain?

“Thought stopping” backfires because it forces you to pay extra attention to the very thought you want to avoid. You always have to be watching for it, and this very emphasis makes it seem even more important.

But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to control your worry. You just need to try a different approach. This is where the strategy of postponing worrying comes in. Rather than trying to stop or get rid of an anxious thought, give yourself permission to have it, but put off thinking any more about it until later.

Learning to postpone worrying:

1. Create a “worry period.” Choose a set time and place for worrying. It should be the same every day (e.g. in the living room from 5:00 to 5:20 p.m.) and early enough that it won’t make you anxious right before bedtime. During your worry period, you’re allowed to worry about whatever’s on your mind. The rest of the day, however, is a worry-free zone.
2. Postpone your worry. If an anxious thought or worry comes into your head during the day, make a brief note of it on paper and postpone it to your worry period. Remind yourself that you’ll have time to think about it later, so there’s no need to worry about it right now. Save it for later and continue to go about your day.
3. Go over your “worry list” during the worry period. Reflect on the worries you wrote down during the day. If the thoughts are still bothering you, allow yourself to worry about them, but only for the amount of time you’ve specified for your worry period. If the worries don’t seem important any more, cut your worry period short and enjoy the rest of your day.

Postponing worrying is effective because it breaks the habit of dwelling on worries in the present moment. Yet there’s no struggle to suppress the thought or judge it. You simply save it for later. As you develop the ability to postpone your anxious thoughts, you’ll start to realize that you have more control over your worrying than you think.

Worry and anxiety self-help tip #2: Ask yourself if the problem is solvable
Research shows that while you’re worrying, you temporarily feel less anxious. Running over the problem in your head distracts you from your emotions and makes you feel like you’re getting something accomplished. But worrying and problem solving are two very different things.

Problem solving involves evaluating a situation, coming up with concrete steps for dealing with it, and then putting the plan into action. Worrying, on the other hand, rarely leads to solutions. No matter how much time you spend dwelling on worst-case scenarios, you’re no more prepared to deal with them should they actually happen.

Distinguish between solvable and unsolvable worries
If a worry pops into your head, start by asking yourself whether the problem is something you can actually solve. The following questions can help:

• Is the problem something you’re currently facing, rather than an imaginary what-if?
• If the problem is an imaginary what-if, how likely is it to happen? Is your concern realistic?
• Can you do something about the problem or prepare for it, or is it out of your control?

Productive, solvable worries are those you can take action on right away. For example, if you’re worried about your bills, you could call your creditors to see about flexible payment options. Unproductive, unsolvable worries are those for which there is no corresponding action. “What if I get cancer someday?” or “What if my kid gets into an accident?”

If the worry is solvable, start brainstorming. Make a list of all the possible solutions you can think of. Try not to get too hung up on finding the perfect solution. Focus on the things you have the power to change, rather than the circumstances or realities beyond your control. After you’ve evaluated your options, make a plan of action. Once you have a plan and start doing something about the problem, you’ll feel much less worried.

Dealing with unsolvable worries
But what if the worry isn’t something you can solve? If you’re a chronic worrier, the vast majority of your anxious thoughts probably fall in this camp. In such cases, it’s important to tune into your emotions.

As previously mentioned, worrying helps you avoid unpleasant emotions. Worrying keeps you in your head, thinking about how to solve problems rather than allowing yourself to feel the underlying emotions. But you can’t worry your emotions away. While you’re worrying, your feelings are temporarily suppressed, but as soon as you stop, the tension and anxiety bounces back. And then, you start worrying about your feelings, “What’s wrong with me? I shouldn’t feel this way!”

The only way out of this vicious cycle is by learning to embrace your feelings. This may seem scary at first because of negative beliefs you have about emotions. For example, you may believe that you should always be rational and in control, that your feelings should always make sense, or that you shouldn’t feel certain emotions, such as fear or anger.

The truth is that emotions—like life—are messy. They don’t always make sense and they’re not always pleasant. But as long as you can accept your feelings as part of being human, you’ll be able to experience them without becoming overwhelmed and learn how to use them to your advantage. The following tips will help you find a better balance between your intellect and your emotions.

Worry and anxiety self-help tip #3: Accept uncertainty
The inability to tolerate uncertainty plays a huge role in anxiety and worry. Chronic worriers can’t stand doubt or unpredictability. They need to know with 100 percent certainty what’s going to happen. Worrying is seen as a way to predict what the future has in store—a way to prevent unpleasant surprises and control the outcome. The problem is, it doesn’t work.

Thinking about all the things that could go wrong doesn’t make life any more predictable. You may feel safer when you’re worrying, but it’s just an illusion. Focusing on worst-case scenarios won’t keep bad things from happening. It will only keep you from enjoying the good things you have in the present. So if you want to stop worrying, start by tackling your need for certainty and immediate answers.

Challenging intolerance of uncertainty: The key to anxiety relief
Ask yourself the following questions and write down your responses. See if you can come to an understanding of the disadvantages and problems of being intolerant of uncertainty.

• Is it possible to be certain about everything in life?
• What are the advantages of requiring certainty, versus the disadvantages? Or, how is needing certainty in life helpful and unhelpful?
• Do you tend to predict bad things will happen just because they are uncertain? Is this a reasonable thing to do? What is the likelihood of positive or neutral outcomes?
• Is it possible to live with the small chance that something negative may happen, given its likelihood is very low?

Adapted from: Accepting Uncertainty, Centre for Clinical Interventions

Worry and anxiety self-help tip #4: Challenge anxious thoughts
If you suffer from chronic anxiety and worries, chances are you look at the world in ways that make it seem more dangerous than it really is. For example, you may overestimate the possibility that things will turn out badly, jump immediately to worst-case scenarios, or treat every negative thought as if it were fact. You may also discredit your own ability to handle life’s problems, assuming you’ll fall apart at the first sign of trouble. These irrational, pessimistic attitudes are known as cognitive distortions.

Although cognitive distortions aren’t based on reality, they’re not easy to give up. Often, they’re part of a lifelong pattern of thinking that’s become so automatic you’re not even completely aware of it. In order to break these bad thinking habits and stop the worry and anxiety they bring, you must retrain your brain.

Start by identifying the frightening thought, being as detailed as possible about what scares or worries you. Then, instead of viewing your thoughts as facts, treat them as hypotheses you’re testing out. As you examine and challenge your worries and fears, you’ll develop a more balanced perspective.

Stop worry by questioning the worried thought:

• What’s the evidence that the thought is true? That it’s not true?
• Is there a more positive, realistic way of looking at the situation?
• What’s the probability that what I’m scared of will actually happen?
• If the probability is low, what are some more likely outcomes?
• Is the thought helpful? How will worrying about it help me and how will it hurt me?
• What would I say to a friend who had this worry?

Worry and anxiety self-help tip #6: Practice mindfulness
Worrying is usually focused on the future—on what might happen and what you’ll do about it. The centuries-old practice of mindfulness can help you break free of your worries by bringing your attention back to the present. In contrast to the previous techniques of challenging your anxious thoughts or postponing them to a worry period, this strategy is based on observing and then letting them go. Together, they can help you identify where your thinking is causing problems, while helping you get in touch with your emotions.

• Acknowledge and observe your anxious thoughts and feelings. Don’t try to ignore, fight, or control them like you usually would. Instead, simply observe them as if from an outsider’s perspective, without reacting or judging.
• Let your worries go. Notice that when you don’t try to control the anxious thoughts that pop up, they soon pass, like clouds moving across the sky. It’s only when you engage your worries that you get stuck.
• Stay focused on the present. Pay attention to the way your body feels, the rhythm of your breathing, your ever-changing emotions, and the thoughts that drift across your mind. If you find yourself getting stuck on a particular thought, bring your attention back to the present moment.

Using mindfulness meditation to stay focused on the present is a simple concept, but it takes practice to reap the benefits. At first, you’ll probably find that your mind keeps wandering back to your worries. Try not to get frustrated. Each time you draw your focus back to the present, you’re reinforcing a new mental habit that will help you break free of the negative worry cycle.

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&r...3oDgBA&usg=AFQjCNGdaSNyJeLJipAJukT5Zdj71KS0BQ

 

[T-123456]

This is all fine but not all of us have the time to...

 

[Parul]

Health Anxiety

1. Find other reasons for your symptoms
The symptoms you have could be due to a serious illness, yet it is likely that they are not. Many symptoms are caused by changes in your body that are normal, not dangerous. They are not signs of any bigger problems.

Worry can produce all sorts of body symptoms which can make you feel bad or upset. They do not always mean you are ill.

Write down all the reasons why you think you are ill. Then ask "can these be caused by something else?"

Reasons that I think I have a brain tumour :

• 
  
  
  • I have a bad headache

Reasons against having a brain tumour :

• 
  
  
  • I am very stressed at the moment
  • If I lie down and the pain goes away it is unlikely to be a brain tumour
  • Brain tumours are very rare
  • I have had bad headaches for years and I'm still alive

2. How to come to terms with doubts about your health
We may all become ill at some time in our lives. This is a fact for most of us, but we can decide whether we want to spend our time worrying about this possibility or get on with our lives

Write down your answers to these questions. It may help to talk them over with someone else.

• 
  
  
  • What are my worries about my health? For example, ' I am worried that I am having a heart attack', 'I am worried that I will not be able to look after the family
  • Do I know for certain that I have this illness e.g. because the doctor has told me so
    • If yes - then follow your doctors advice
    • If no - because you are uncertain or know for sure that you do not have the illness, then ask yourself the following question
  • Is there anything I can do about my worry - for example, change my diet or lifestyle
    • If yes - then do it now
    • If no - then stop worrying

3. Things that are helpful.
Make a list of the things you have done to try and help yourself. Think about how helpful they are in stopping your worry. Give each a rating between 0 - 10 for how helpful it was for you at the time. Now as a second rating of how helpful it was to you in the long-term (with 0 being not at all helpful, while 10 is very helpful)

Ways I have tackled my worry about my healthHow helpful was it at the timeHow helpful was it in the long-term
Going to the doctor60
Having tests80
Talking about my symptoms to my husband102
Staying in bed and having a good rest51
Trying to avoid health programmes42
Stop thinking about the way my body feels all the time36
4. Stop the vicious circle of worry
A. Learn not to ask for comfort and support
When looking for comfort from others you tend to think more about your health and tend not to believe what people say. It is more helpful if you can comfort yourself.

Every time you feel very worried about your health, try not to ask for help from anyone else. For example, do not ask your partner or family about your health. If you do, ask them to help you by not 'comforting' you. They could change the subject if you start talking about the state of your health. This may make you feel worried in the short-term. Instead try and find another way of coping with the worry. One very good way is to take your mind off your worries by doing something else. Go for a walk, clean the house, do a hobby you enjoy, or read. Find something that works for you. Try to keep yourself busy with something else when you are tempted to talk and worry about your health

Sarah kept a record of how many times she asked for comfort about her headaches. She found it helpful. She found that when she was not given comfort, she felt bad in the short term. As she started to find her own ways to comfort herself she noticed that she began to feel better and asked for it less often. She also found that she worried less often.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Number of times I asked for comfort6533322
How worried I felt ( 0 - 10)109109865
B. Stop watching and checking your symptoms
It is a great idea to carry out simple checks on your health every so often e.g. checking your breasts once a month. It is not helpful to think about your health all the time. Worrying about your health can make you aware of every tiny symptom. This is like putting a spotlight on your body all the time. Checking maintains the problem. It keeps your attention focused on your body. It makes you more anxious. Poking and squeezing can increase the symptoms. You need to turn the spotlight off your body

• 
  
  
  • Decide how much checking is OK. You can find out by asking your doctor, family and friends
  • If you are tempted to check: DON'T !!!!!! Not checking is likely to make you worried in the short-term. You can cope with the worry by taking your mind off it. Try to distract yourself.
  • You may need to practice not checking: it is a bit like stopping a bad habit. Ask your family to help you to stop, or help take your mind off every symptom

C. Stop finding out about illness
Sometimes knowing too much about health can be a bad thing. It makes you very aware of every change in your body. Much of what you find out may seem very vague. Lots of things can cause a change in your body. Trying to find out if you have an illness can be very worrying and not helpful at all.

• 
  
  
  • Try to stop finding out so much about illness. Stop reading medical books. Stop watching every single medical programme.
  • Even if you are very tempted to read up on every single thing, try not to do so. This may make you worried in the short-term, but not in the long-term
  • Distract yourself or try other ways of coping with worries
  • Ask your family to help you not to keep on reading up about symptoms and watch less worrying programmes on TV. Continue until you are able to cope better with the worries

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Number of times I found out about illness6533322
How worried I felt ( 0 - 10)109109865
D. Stop behaving as though you are ill
Many people who are worried about their health stop doing things e.g. they stop doing things, because they are worried about hurting themselves. The trouble with stopping doing things is that you will become less fit. If you are less fit, then you may become tired, or generally unwell. You may then start to think these signs are signs of illness. Then you might slow down even more, and so on in another vicious circle.

Plan to get active

• 
  
  
  • It is important that you resume your normal level of activities slowly. If you have been inactive for a while, don't expect to be able to do as much as you used to do at once
  • Make a list of all the things you used to do, and would like to do again. Put them in order - with the one using the least amount of effort first, and finish with the one that needs most effort.
  • Each day, spend a little time, gently doing first step on your list. For example, this may be going for a walk, for 5 minutes, without pushing yourself. When you can perform this and not feel too tired, extend the length of your walk.
  • When you can do the first step well (such as walking for half an hour) move on to the next step. Be careful never to push yourself too hard.
  • Work through your list step by step.

Jim made a list of the things he used to do. He wanted to get back to golf after a back problem. Here is his list:

Do physio's exercises for 5 minutes each night
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night and go for short walk for 5 mins
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night and go for short walk for 10 mins
Do physio's exercises for 10 minutes each night and go for short walk for 20 mins
Practice golf swing
Practice golf swing and go for walk for 20 mins
E. Stop avoiding things to do with illness
You may avoid finding out about health because it makes you very upset. When you avoid doing this it may make you feel better in the short -term, but more worries in the long-term.

Make a list of the ways in which you have been avoiding things to do with the illness you worry about. Rate each for how much you avoid them, on a scale of 0 - 10 (where 0 is least and 10 the most). Then start with the one you avoid least. Plan to spend a bit of time doing just this. You will slowly be able to tackle each in turn.

What I have avoidedHow much I avoided it
Watching TV programme on heart disease10
Listening to other people talking about their illness5
Reading about heart disease in the paper7
F. Dealing with the worries about your health
When you worry, the thoughts are of a certain type. They tend to overplay how likely it is that something bad will happen. They tend to underplay how well we can cope with it. You need to get worrying about your health into more balance.

Keeping a diary of thoughts and other possible thoughts may be helpful. Here is an example:

Step 1 - What are your worrying thoughts?

Write down your worrying thoughtsHow much do I believe it?
My headache means I have a brain tumour10
Step 2 - Challenge your worrying thoughts

Try and find a more balanced thought
It might help if you think of

• 
  
  
  • What would you say to yourself if you were not feeling so worried?
  • What might you say to someone else if they said this to you?
  • What might your partner or friend say to you about your worries?
  • What could you say to yourself that is more helpful and less worrying

Ask yourself what reasons you have for the thought
My gran had headaches and she died of a brain tumour.

Ask yourself what reasons you have against the thought
I have had tests done and I am OK.
Lots of people have headaches and don't have brain tumours.
I have a stressful job that can give people headaches.

Step 3 - Come up with another way of looking at it

More balanced thoughtNew rating of worry (0 - 10)
Brain tumours are rare in adults. I am aware of it because it's in the news3
G. Focus on other things
Trying to focus on something else can be useful. If you worry less, your symptoms will also get less

There are 3 ways in which you can distract yourself when you notice that you are beginning to worry:

• 
  
  
  • Do something. This might include keep fit e.g. going for a walk, swim, or digging the garden. Reading a book, cooking or listening to the radio can also help
  • Pay attention to something else. Notice what is around you, in the room or outside. You could count how many red objects you can see. You could describe a picture in great detail. The more detailed the task, the more it will distract you.
  • Do a mental exercise such as sums in your head. For example, count backward in sevens from 3496. Or you could think of a holiday you have had or think of a special place. Think about the sounds, smells and textures as well as the sights

There are other ways of dealing with your health worries:

• 
  
  
  • You could tell yourself that you will worry at a certain time in the day. This means that you can tell yourself you do not need to worry now because you can do it later.
  • You can also imagine that you are putting the worries into a box. When the box is full, you can imagine throwing it away.

Fight the vicious circle of health anxiety all the way. Rule it - don't let it rule you.

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&ved=0CE4QFjAE&url=http://glasgowspcmh.org.uk/self-help/anxiety/health.php&ei=5aulUu3-D8PsrAed3oDgBA&usg=AFQjCNH_QO-9OyOUMJQTQk1oE87OamXhIQ

Informative thread. Thanks for Info.

 

[IND151]

@IND151 One question have you done all that???

Not all.

I generally start thinking about other things like Fighter jets, movies, serials etc.

I know there must be many members who are suffering from the anxieties. It is my moral duty to help them

Important advice> avoid visiting negative threads too much and whenever possible chant name of god

 

[Aamna14]

Not all.

I generally start thinking about other things like Fighter jets, movies, serials etc.

I know there must be many members who are suffering from the anxieties. It is my moral duty to help them

Important advice> avoid visiting negative threads too much and whenever possible chant name of god

Oh okay. Thanks for the thread by the way its refreshing though i am the last person who is concerned about my health.

 

[IND151]

Informative thread. Thanks for Info.

Copyright infringement

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&r...3oDgBA&usg=AFQjCNEHqE1HQQ5V8huopyB9i9HbsbG5gA

 

[IND151]

https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&r...p30m-NIAFx9c7WmkwqxAVuw&bvm=bv.57752919,d.bmk

 

[halupridol]

health anxiety --->go to a doctor,no point wasting time
doctor says evrythngs fine...gud
if u still worried
<<-----
<<-----
<<-----do this n no worries
<<-----
<<-----

 

[IND151]

^^ achha hai

 

[halupridol]

^^ achha hai

<<<--------ofcourse ....always
gussa na karo

 

[IND151]

^^ I am not angry

 

[Aamna14]

@halupridol are you really a doc???

 

[halupridol]

@halupridol are you really a doc???

did i do somthng tht made u think otherwise????
dont want to reveal my identity here bt if u really doubt thn will give u my name so tht u can search up the MCI(medical council of india)...yes ma'am i'm a registered medical personnel.....
was appointed in Dept. of Anaesthesia of a well known govt.hospital in new delhi as a Junior Resident...