# Anxiety Disorders > Hypochondria (Health Anxiety) >  >  Help! Hypochondria/OCD

## Keddy

For the past few weeks or maybe about a month, my hypochondria has been out of control. That combined with my OCD is making me a nervous wreck about anything health-related. Having two surgeries recently has made me worry more about my health, I'm constantly afraid that I'm going to contract some kind of infection related to my surgeries. Right now I have a viral respiratory infection and I'm freaking out that it's going to turn into something worse.
This is an OCD ritual but it ties into the hypochondria- I spend about a half hour every morning checking myself in the mirror. I make sure that every part of my body looks exactly the same as it did before, that nothing looks weird, and then once I've stopped I end up checking again the next time I use the bathroom. It's infuriating. It's also infuriating that I can't touch toilets, door handles, TV remotes, house telephones, payphones, condiments in restaurants, etc. without freaking out. I take hour-long showers. I'm completely paranoid. The OCD exaggerates everything that's already wrong because of the hypochondria.
The stupidest and worst thing I do is look up symptoms on Google. I know very well that "Dr. Google" is the biggest quack in medical history but I can't help it. I have a symptom, I look it up, and I panic that I'm coming down with something incurable. I've been out of control lately, this crap needs to stop.
It's even gotten to the point where my doctor will tell me I definitely, completely, 100% DO NOT have some illness and I still convince myself somehow that I have it. I feel like I'm going crazy here.
Has anyone else felt like this before?  ::(: 
Does anyone else have the hypochondria/OCD combo and if so were you able to find treatment for it ever??  ::(: 
Please help, I feel so paranoid...
Keddy

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## Kesky

I do suffer from hypochondria and low to moderate OCD. I haven't found a solution other than to completely go to the opposite extreme and ignore all but the most severe symptoms, immediately distract or cut myself off from thoughts of a supposed illness. Google can be the enemy. I've been there with Google and it wasn't good. The other thing (which I'm lucky to have) is I bounce things off Betsy and she helps by being my barometer. Otherwise I could fly off sometimes.

I know it sounds simplistic but running/exercise really helps me with that sort of thing. I'm a med hypochondriac so I haven't tried meds for my various issues with the exception of an occasional benzo.

Wish you luck Keddy. That sounds like it's tough. Talk to people about it. I found that to be my biggest help

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## Keddy

> I do suffer from hypochondria and low to moderate OCD. I haven't found a solution other than to completely go to the opposite extreme and ignore all but the most severe symptoms, immediately distract or cut myself off from thoughts of a supposed illness. Google can be the enemy. I've been there with Google and it wasn't good. The other thing (which I'm lucky to have) is I bounce things off Betsy and she helps by being my barometer. Otherwise I could fly off sometimes.
> 
> I know it sounds simplistic but running/exercise really helps me with that sort of thing. I'm a med hypochondriac so I haven't tried meds for my various issues with the exception of an occasional benzo.
> 
> Wish you luck Keddy. That sounds like it's tough. Talk to people about it. I found that to be my biggest help



Thank you, Kesky. I will continue to talk to my treatment team about it, and I hope they can find some kind of a solution at some point. It's infuriating right now.
I wish I could try benzos because I think they would solve most of my problems, but my psychiatrist says absolutely not; they're too addictive for me to be taking them to control such a chronic level of anxiety. The dosage would need to be constantly increased, as it would become less and less effective over time. Once someone's body gets used to a certain dose it doesn't work as well. This scenario would make me prone to addiction. 
I wish someone would just find a cure for all these disorders already  ::(:

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