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Prisoner in my own mind - need advice

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Prisoner in my own mind - need advice

Postby nano_starz03 » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:38 am

Hello, I would like to thank anyone who reads this in advance as I am at a total loss of what to do.
My story is fairly long, so please be patient with me. I am 19 years old and since I was 13, I have been battling life with agoraphobia, intermittent explosive disorder, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. I have been in and out of psychologist/social workers' offices since I was 2. When I was diagnosed in my early teens with agoraphobia, I eventually dropped out of school due to my anxieties and earned my G.E.D. I received QEEG's/Neurofeedback treatment for my disorders every week, and I was weened off of my medication, (Zoloft and Strattera for the ADHD, since the stimulants in most ADHD meds made my anxieties worse) which never helped in the first place. The doctor also discovered I had mild brain trauma, which he said could play a big role in the issues mentioned above.
Now that I am older, the intermittent explosive disorder seems to be much better, but nothing else. The agoraphobia is still in full affect, as I still am in fear to leave my home for periods at a time. And now to the reason I am in this forum, for the past 5 months, I have been utterly obsessed (if obsessed is a strong enough word) with my health. I have been to 3 different doctors in 2 months for feminine issues that I have blown to extreme proportions. I am constantly checking myself for any sign or symptom of a new oncoming illness, and if I find something on myself or experience something that can be easily overlooked, I go into full blown panic mode. My mother is sick of me obsessively talking about ailments that I know are fully exaggerated. Even with reassurance from doctors that things are fine, I am still not convinced that I am as well as they say. I constantly look up my "symptoms" online and if I find something extravagant that sounds accurate to my problems, I panic and cry hysterically. Doctor reassurance only keeps me satisfied for a week, and then I am back into panic mode, constantly checking myself and making myself sore from doing so. I feel like I am going crazy and I know that there is nothing wrong with me, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot stop checking myself numerous times a day from the moment I wake up, or looking up "symptoms" online. I am afraid I may have abscesses on one of my vital organs that may rupture without my knowledge that may cause sepsis, and I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and I can't go back to sleep for fear that one of my vital organs will fail and I will die in my sleep. I know something is seriously wrong with me, every time I think I am over it, it just comes back a few days later. I am afraid to tell my mother how serious I think this is, since I have begged her for my insurance card to visit the doctor numerous times in the past few months. She is the one who suggested hypochondriasis, but I denied it until I learned the details of the disorder online. I am afraid she will not take me seriously, so I am feeling at a total loss. I just feel so stuck and I have no idea what to do. I have not been diagnosed with hypochondriasis, but I would like to have an evaluation, but I am just too afraid to bring up another illness to my mother. Can anyone give me any advice? I feel like I seriously need help and I am desperate for it. I am just so sick of dealing with anxieties, I feel like I just can't take anything else.
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Postby jasmin » Thu Mar 27, 2008 6:17 am

Hi, nano_starz03! Welcome to the forum. Can you tell your doc that you think you might have this illness? Maybe you can try looking for a therapist on your own, but your mom might help you since she's the one who said you might have this problem. Explain to her that you think she's right, and that you need to see a therapist. Ask her to take you seriously and think about it, becouse you need her help.
You are welcome to talk here as well.
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