Dealing with Hypochondria?

[JosephG]

Anybody got any tips for this?
In the space of two weeks I have gone from having a Brain Tumour to Schizophrenia! It's real scary stuff. At the time it is so hard to convince myself otherwise and I end up getting so worked up about it all! I am currently convinced I have predromal schizophrenia D:
I used to smoke cannabis when I was younger (around 15-16) and research says this increases the risk of psychosis! All the symptoms also match up:

Predromal Schizophrenia
"Usually people report symptoms of anxiety, social isolation, difficulty making choices, and problems with concentration and attention."

I know this is completely silly but it can be really hard to deal with at the time D:
Has anybody got any words of reassurance for me. I am feeling pretty anxious about this D:

 

[Confuseddd]

Oh yeah man, I deal with it too. To be honest I still think something or another is wrong with me every now and again....In the course of three weeks maybe? I went from bi-polar to manic depressive to paranoid schitzophrenic to autistic, to just full blown retarded... lol..
It is really scary and that was actually the very start to my anxiety. It took me a year and a half of confusion to figure myself out (sort of). I did it by myself for the most part, no shrinks or anything.
But yeah it is heart breaking when you truely convince yourself that you are seriously ill.
EDIT:
I just looked up the symptoms of prodromal schizoprenhia and caught myself in the midst of almost getting paranoid that I might go completely crazy within a year....
Is that funny? lol..

 

[Feathers]

"anxiety, social isolation, difficulty making choices, and problems with concentration and attention"

well, a lot of things can be related to that... it could also be ADD/ADHD or being bipolar-ish/depress-ish (and those can be low-key dysthimia or bigger) and those can be related to lifestyle and nutrition too... (some people may also speak of esoteric things like candida or mercury or just life under stress..)

Are you in front of computer too much? (How many hours a day? More than 5 hours can cause depression and memory/concentration problems!) Deficiency of certain minerals or vitamins can be the problem too...

Have you actually been seeing any things (that aren't there) or hearing any voices? I'd say those would be quite 'necessary' for Schizophrenia - and even in that case, it could be something else.. (like a wrong med or fatamorgana or something..) some cases of schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like conditions have been said to be related to eg B12 defficiency too...

a friend of mine and I have sometimes joked that we don't like to read about things, because we might imagine we could have'em..
some other people said that if they start reading a health book they'll think they have many symptoms of many things too..

what might help could be to write a 'worst case' scenario: okay, even if you had s. what could be the worst of it? having to go to a mental health facility & eating meds your whole life? (some people online or in books have alternative suggestions too, so you might first wanna check out those) what if you met interesting people and got good help in a hospital? and could find work in a supported program and an affordable supported living place?
There are some people with s. who are married and have good lives and families etc. (not sure if I'd recommend children, do you even want them? maybe you could adopt or meet someone who already has kids?)
Where would s. be a problem? Yeah, there's a stigma connected to it, you don't really have to tell anyone tho, right? (except closest relatives and people around you, and they'll probably still like and accept you anyway!!)
Some really great musicians had similar problems, do you think any worse of them?
Rich people are 'eccentric' not crazy - so just think of yourself as 'eccentric'? What if you'd meet a rich chick/rockstar there and would have a fab lifestyle all time afterwards?

Then a best case scenario: maybe it's just computer and nutrition/lifestyle? What can you do about those?
Can you focus on other things too? mind can usually be preoccupied or 'hyperfocused' on a limited amount of things...

 

[JosephG]

hey there feathers you always have a really long and thoughtful response which I just love and am really appreciate of as always!

I certainly do not have schizophrenia now XD I have had no delusions, no disorganised thinking or any of that!

But I am just scared of developing it. I'm scared of losing my mind essentially and by reading online medical information I am frightened that I may actually develop it because of my cannabis use in my teens! There is research suggesting that cannabis use can increase the risk of developing psychosis and I have just recently learnt this fact and am now in a panic about it all.

This is most likely my anxiety making me believe that there is something wrong with me! A week or two ago I was scared about getting a brain tumour!
I definitely think I am a hypochondriac and so do a lot of people around me?

I am also sure I read somewhere that all the symptoms I listed can manifest due to general anxiety anyway?

edit: I also do use the computer a silly amount! Often 3-4 hours a day! Just sitting here listening to music etc and browsing the internet endlessly

 

[madmike]

I misread the thread initially and thought you meant you actually had a brain tumour/schizophrenia. Phew, man!

When i was in college i also went through a phase where i was convinced i was schizophrenic. I even said so to one of my closer friends, but he just sort of laughed at me reassuringly and said he didn't think so. I think it is just paranoia to be honest, but i know how scary it is when you're in that moment- i still occasionally get obsessive and start researching random illnesses and attributing them to myself (aspergers, schizophrenia, depression, etc) The only thing you can really do is try to guide your thoughts away from it all, hope you get immersed in something else, that's what i do anyway...

I've had some really bad experience on weed by the way, i'm way too scared to smoke it anymore. I'd stay away from it, at least until you develop some stability in your life...

 

[JosephG]

I misread the thread initially and thought you meant you actually had a brain tumour/schizophrenia. Phew, man!

When i was in college i also went through a phase where i was convinced i was schizophrenic. I even said so to one of my closer friends, but he just sort of laughed at me reassuringly and said he didn't think so. I think it is just paranoia to be honest, but i know how scary it is when you're in that moment- i still occasionally get obsessive and start researching random illnesses and attributing them to myself (aspergers, schizophrenia, depression, etc) The only thing you can really do is try to guide your thoughts away from it all, hope you get immersed in something else, that's what i do anyway...

I've had some really bad experience on weed by the way, i'm way too scared to smoke it anymore. I'd stay away from it, at least until you develop some stability in your life...

Sorry to hear that man Sounds like you've had it rough! I think the key is to try and remain blissfully ignorant. Because once you know about these things you start obsessing about them.
You can nearly always attribute symptoms to yourself with most conditions. It makes it easier to do so when there is already something wrong with you such as having socialising problems and anxiety.
I know I don't have schizophrenia and I know it's pretty damn unlikely that I'd develop it but the fear is still there.

Yeah I haven't touched the stuff in like 6-8 months which is amazing for me because for about a year I was smoking it almost once a week. I'm just scared it's done damage to me.
Just out of complete and utter curiosity and if you are okay with sharing the details: When did you start? How often did you smoke it? and how long for etc?

 

[madmike]

Sorry to hear that man Sounds like you've had it rough! I think the key is to try and remain blissfully ignorant. Because once you know about these things you start obsessing about them.
You can nearly always attribute symptoms to yourself with most conditions. It makes it easier to do so when there is already something wrong with you such as having socialising problems and anxiety.
I know I don't have schizophrenia and I know it's pretty damn unlikely that I'd develop it but the fear is still there.

Yeah I haven't touched the stuff in like 6-8 months which is amazing for me because for about a year I was smoking it almost once a week. I'm just scared it's done damage to me.
Just out of complete and utter curiosity and if you are okay with sharing the details: When did you start? How often did you smoke it? and how long for etc?

I never smoked much, i got some from a classmate when i was about 17. I smoked it once with my brother, didn't enjoy it much although all that happened was i got a bit paranoid and then didn't smoke again until i went on a trip to Amsterdam with a few friends. Again, not much happened, i enjoyed it a little bit more for some reason but still got paranoid and didn't do it again for ages. I then went through a really depressive stage and started thinking that i've got schizophrenia/etc. I went to Amsterdam again the next summer and this time when i tried it just screwed me up completely, i couldn't handle it at all anymore and even just one or two drags of the stuff made me feel ridiculously uneasy, i remember just ditching my mates on several occasions and going to bed hoping it would all end. I can't even remember what i went through properly, i think i must have repressed most of it lol, but i just remember it being pure hell.

I've tried it again once or twice since and it hasn't had any such severe effects on me, but i still don't enjoy it and don't really want to do it again any time soon. I doubt it's harmful in itself, i know people who do it all the time and don't seem to be affected, but clearly some people should stay away from it...

About the long term effects though, isn't that just if you do it really regularly? I think if you're fine now and haven't smoked it in a while you'll most likely not suffer any consequence... but i'm not an expert on it lol.

 

[madmike]

And i agree, it's easy to see a few symptoms in yourself and think you have the disease. Most of the time it's probably quite harmless, maybe related to diet, not getting enough excersice, and so on, as Feathers has already mentioned. On top of that, i don't think we really have a very good understanding of mental illness and how to treat it. I read an article recently about a woman who suffered from severe depression during most of her life, and then eventually grew out of it. And she claimed that depression is good for you and that if we respond right to it, it teaches you to become stronger and more resilient as a person. As for mental illnesses like schizophrenia, i actually still have no idea what it really is despite having researched it countless times (and i suspect not even the people who coined the term really know what it is...) I also don't understand what borderline personality disorder is supposed to be. How is it different from bipolar depression, etc...

Blissful ignorance really is the best solution!

 

[JosephG]

To blissful ignorance!

I wish I wasn't so interested in everything, especially medical conditions! Obviously that is natural as I want to become a scientist but is a bit of a bitch when you have problems with anxiety!
However stuff like this can still cause problems for people without anxiety too!
See this:

Medical students' disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I know that I don't have schizophrenia or anything else right now when I'm in a non-anxious state. But when my anxiety kicks in it can make you think all sorts!

 

[thor01]

I can really relate. Ive had the same problem in a lot of ways recently. I guess its just a matter of guiding your mind back in the right direction. Sometimes its hard though. I guess we get into the habbit of this worrying about ourseleves. I also think the answer is being emmersed in other things really. I guess we need to remember its all in our minds and we are actually fine, or at least no worse than before.

 

[madmike]

To blissful ignorance!

I wish I wasn't so interested in everything, especially medical conditions! Obviously that is natural as I want to become a scientist but is a bit of a bitch when you have problems with anxiety!
However stuff like this can still cause problems for people without anxiety too!
See this:

Medical students' disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I know that I don't have schizophrenia or anything else right now when I'm in a non-anxious state. But when my anxiety kicks in it can make you think all sorts!

Haha, i have to say i had to laugh, it sounds so ridiculous at first. All it tells me is not to take all these 'illnesses' too seriously, people themselves are just way too paranoid and are always thinking there could be something wrong with them. You just have to develop some resilience to it...

 

[scoobycrawler]

i used to when i was a kid still, well in my teens go to the nurse at school and act like i was sick even by convicing myslef that i was because i hated school so badly...

 

[silly]

Of course, there is a situation when you are indulged in something that you don't likes to. Which ultimately result in way that you find lame excuses to get yourself out of it, or just getting away from it. Which sometimes happens in quite funny way and looks like a silly act.

 

[Falkor]

Same here, I got the same fear. Of having mental conditions. I watch a lot of shows online, which are odd, and I am terribly afraid of getting Shizophrenia. But as I'm still aware of who I am and such, I don't think I have it. But I sometimes get paranoid so bad, that I am afraid and Depersonalize this world. So I am afraid that I'm more sensetive to those mental disorders. Am I just being Hypochondriac? I hope so, because than I don't have it, I just think I have it.

But I know how it feels people, I am so paranoid of everything. I feel sick of it.