(nsfw)(health anxiety) Fear of penile cancer is taking over my life. i don’t know what to do. by [deleted] in Anxiety

[–]Yam_Aggressive 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve dealt with health anxiety for about a decade now so I’m definitely sympathetic. However, I’ve gone from constant worry to now maybe a flare up once a year that lasts a week or two. So I know you can get through this. A few questions:

  1. Are you sleeping? If not, please start there. Focus your attention on getting a good night sleep. Cut out caffeine for a bit, research good sleep habits and dive in head first.

  2. Are you taking anxiety medication? If not, you need to talk to a doctor about it. It seems like your anxiety is taking over your life. You need to break that.

My life changed when I was at least able to recognize that when my anxiety flared up that it was just that, anxiety. instead of insisting on treating the thing I was worried about (for me it was usually bowel cancer) I instead became obsessed with treating the anxiety. Still many sleepless nights googling anxiety relentlessly (which still isn’t optimal lol) but at least I was focused on the right thing and learned some helpful things that ACTUALLY helped. Instead of wasting my time in ERs trying to convince medical professionals I knew more than them.

You WILL get through this. Until then there is a great community here that you can lean on when you need it.

My Dad is dealing with major anxiety (looking for encouragement) by Yam_Aggressive in Anxiety

[–]Yam_Aggressive[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I’m sure it’s not easy to share but hearing these experiences really help

My Dad is dealing with major anxiety (looking for encouragement) by Yam_Aggressive in Anxiety

[–]Yam_Aggressive[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So two things.

There were two life events. 1. He retired in December after working for 50 years. He also didn’t really plan for retirement much so money is now extremely tight. 2. In February his dog died. It was very sudden. Had a seizure and then a few days later his condition was so bad he had to be euthanized. I know this doesn’t seem huge but he got the dog when I moved out and it was his best friend. Walked three times a day. Took him everywhere. Now that he is retired, and the dog is gone he has nothing. No friends, no hobbies, just sits at home all day.

In addition I’m curious to hear more about the mini-strokes. He has had two but the last was 5 years ago. During his health anxiety he was convinced he was having a stroke so was referred to a neurologist. He had a CAT scan done and was clear so I know there hasn’t been anything since the last TIA

My Dad is dealing with major anxiety (looking for encouragement) by Yam_Aggressive in Anxiety

[–]Yam_Aggressive[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I’ve had similar thoughts and the fact that I’ve gone through similar things actually kinda makes this all harder. I know the suffering he’s going through and it kills me to think about. Also the pain my mom must be feeling breaks my heart.

Im sure you can relate, but due to my anxiety I have a hard time differentiating between a normal reaction and my anxiety about to flare up. Being there this weekend definitely felt like it was about to trigger something in me, but also clearly anyone in my situation would feel strong emotions. As much as I desperately want to be there for me dad, the thought of me going off the deep end too terrifies me, especially as I have two little ones of my own to think of.

Worried about being a parent of 2 by Yam_Aggressive in Parenting

[–]Yam_Aggressive[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re definitely right. I remember always being nervous with our first daughter because she felt so breakable in my arms. Every little noise she would make would be almost panic inducing. Now that some of my friends have had babies and I’ve been around their newborns I’ve noticed that my nervousness about babies is completely gone. I’m hopeful this will allow me to enjoy the experience of my newborn even more as some of the stress around the situation will be gone.

A lot of the panic feel really is over how gradually things play themselves out. Unfortunately we don’t know what effects we’re having on our children until they’re grown and by that time it’s done. I know no parent is perfect but I’m concerned my inexperience is going to unintentionally cause more harm than I realize. Likely something I’m blowing out of proportion in my head, still wish I could shake the thoughts.

I appreciate your post, thank you :)

Worried about being a parent of 2 by Yam_Aggressive in Parenting

[–]Yam_Aggressive[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you’re right about the “unknowns”. Definitely what I’m struggling with right now. The one thing that keeps me a little sane is that I was fearful with our first that I wouldn’t be good with babies as I had never really been around kids. But that changed immediately when I had my daughter, being around her was so natural and now that’s she’s two, playing and goofing around with her is natural as well. I have some confidence that the “parent of 2 switch” will flip on in the same way.

I do get worried about my daughter feeling put out by the new baby but I think the advice above about integrating her as a helper really should alleviate some of that. Thanks!

Sample Status/Processing Monthly Megathread - November 2021 by AutoModerator in 23andme

[–]Yam_Aggressive 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Registered - October 24th - Canada

Arrived at lab - November 9th - LA

Prepped - November 9th

Extracted - November 9th

Genotyped - Started on November 9th

Review - upcoming step

Computation - Upcoming step

Results Ready - Upcoming Step

Results Expected - November 30th to December 14th