How to stop obsessing over health problems?
September 8, 2015 12:21 PM Subscribe
I have been having health problems lately (mental illness hernia etc.) that i am obsessing over. I am spending too much time looking up how i could cure them, and not living each day to the fullest. How can I stop myself from obsessing over problems that are out of my control or will take a while to cure (if they can be cured)?
I obsess over my physical and mental problems because i get very depressed (maybe too depressed) that I am having the problems. For example i have had a hernia in my spine which i thought healed but got worse again. So i have been feeling very bad that this is a problem i might have to live with my whole life. I would make an appointment with a doctor but i have gone plenty of times and gotten physical therapy for the problem so i will probably just try that again. i wonder how much of my problem is actually the hernia and how much is in my head because i am stressed and obsessing so much.
I was taking celexa and it was working okay (i was still a little depressed) but i have no libido now, so I need to get off it. but i tried so many other medications. So I bought the book `the mood cure` and have been obsessively researching supplements i can take in place of my medications which have the side effects. i also sometimes ask to stop medications without giving them a good chance so i can try something else. i talked with my doctor a little about these problems but I don`t think she knows how much i am obsessing, lol.
There are so many other things i could be doing with my time that will probably help my depression like eat well and work on my life or hobbies, but i obsess so much over my problems that i have a hard time getting started. To be fair, the hernia hurts and makes it hard to do my work on the computer so i worry that it will get worse again (when I first got the hernia i had to quit my job. I couldnt lift my hand over my shoulder!) Also having no libido stinks, but depression stinks too so i constantly wonder what i should do and spin my wheels in the mud.
how can i learn to appreciate life and get things done when i`m too busy obsessing over my problems? is this OCD? should i try to `limit` my time spent obsessing? (haha) There are so many people living full lives with problems much worse than mine and i get pissed at myself that i am focusing so much on this stuff. i`m sick of all of the doctors appointments and obsessing but i also hate having these problems. thank you.
I obsess over my physical and mental problems because i get very depressed (maybe too depressed) that I am having the problems. For example i have had a hernia in my spine which i thought healed but got worse again. So i have been feeling very bad that this is a problem i might have to live with my whole life. I would make an appointment with a doctor but i have gone plenty of times and gotten physical therapy for the problem so i will probably just try that again. i wonder how much of my problem is actually the hernia and how much is in my head because i am stressed and obsessing so much.
I was taking celexa and it was working okay (i was still a little depressed) but i have no libido now, so I need to get off it. but i tried so many other medications. So I bought the book `the mood cure` and have been obsessively researching supplements i can take in place of my medications which have the side effects. i also sometimes ask to stop medications without giving them a good chance so i can try something else. i talked with my doctor a little about these problems but I don`t think she knows how much i am obsessing, lol.
There are so many other things i could be doing with my time that will probably help my depression like eat well and work on my life or hobbies, but i obsess so much over my problems that i have a hard time getting started. To be fair, the hernia hurts and makes it hard to do my work on the computer so i worry that it will get worse again (when I first got the hernia i had to quit my job. I couldnt lift my hand over my shoulder!) Also having no libido stinks, but depression stinks too so i constantly wonder what i should do and spin my wheels in the mud.
how can i learn to appreciate life and get things done when i`m too busy obsessing over my problems? is this OCD? should i try to `limit` my time spent obsessing? (haha) There are so many people living full lives with problems much worse than mine and i get pissed at myself that i am focusing so much on this stuff. i`m sick of all of the doctors appointments and obsessing but i also hate having these problems. thank you.
They fix hernias all the time. It is a short stay surgery, not a full day stay. Managing pain is depressing, chronic pain is depressing because the body makes its own opiates to help out, but they are tiring. Find a way to get the hernia fixed and some emotional supprt for the healing. You will need a driver to and from. If this is a work related injury and they are putting you off for the repair, get an advocate to help you get the help you need.
posted by Oyéah at 12:38 PM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 12:38 PM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was suffering with similar obsessive thinking. My mother died in May after a long illness, and I was constantly worried about sickness and death, and gooling, and feeling new symptoms. I'm taking Prozac now, and have been seeing a CBT therapist. I feel MUCH better. I can feel how and when to direct my thoughts.
posted by feste at 12:39 PM on September 8, 2015
posted by feste at 12:39 PM on September 8, 2015
Seconding Prozac. They use it to treat OCD, and if your obsession gets to the point where it is disruptive, you might want to consider it as a "tool" to get your mind where you want it to be.
Something else you might consider us a meditation technique called "mindfulness." In as few words possible, it is designed to teach you to live in the present moment, and to keep a proper perspective on what you can control and what is outside of your control. You can get the basic gist of it through a simple Google search. If it interests you, there are guided meditations you can find on YouTube.
Lastly, here is something that you do not want to do: when you have these thoughts, don't suppress them. Just acknowledges them and move on. I had a rib injury recently that caused pain so severe that it would wake me up from sleep. It caused me a lot of anxiety and kept me from getting the rest I needed. Then one day, I just decided to let my body feel the pain that I was experiencing without thinking about it. Every time I woke up after that, I was able to get back to sleep almost immediately. I know this doesn't line up with your situation exactly, but if you can do something similar, I hope it works for you. Good luck!
posted by Mr. Fig at 1:27 PM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Something else you might consider us a meditation technique called "mindfulness." In as few words possible, it is designed to teach you to live in the present moment, and to keep a proper perspective on what you can control and what is outside of your control. You can get the basic gist of it through a simple Google search. If it interests you, there are guided meditations you can find on YouTube.
Lastly, here is something that you do not want to do: when you have these thoughts, don't suppress them. Just acknowledges them and move on. I had a rib injury recently that caused pain so severe that it would wake me up from sleep. It caused me a lot of anxiety and kept me from getting the rest I needed. Then one day, I just decided to let my body feel the pain that I was experiencing without thinking about it. Every time I woke up after that, I was able to get back to sleep almost immediately. I know this doesn't line up with your situation exactly, but if you can do something similar, I hope it works for you. Good luck!
posted by Mr. Fig at 1:27 PM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
I came in to suggest mindfulness too. I've had chronic depression forever, but now I deal with chronic physical health stuff as well, and there aren't always medication options. Mindfulness has been a lifesaver. I don't need money or props or pills to do it. It makes me feel less passive. I interact with my pain and other symptoms mindfully by approaching with an attitude of curiosity. Where does it hurt most? Least? Is the pain fast or slow or still? What color is it? Stuff like that. It's very simple but it helps so much.
posted by mermaidcafe at 1:46 PM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mermaidcafe at 1:46 PM on September 8, 2015 [1 favorite]
Outsource your worries.
Let the professionals do the worrying for you.
You have doctors. If you don't have one, get a therapist. (I assume you have health insurance, or you would've mentioned it.) Try out their suggestions, and give feedback: "My libido vanished, so please fix that". But don't bother doing research -- let the specialists come up with the fixes.
We have a DIVISION OF LABOR in society! Take advantage of it! Be lazy, and live your life!
posted by feral_goldfish at 3:00 PM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Let the professionals do the worrying for you.
You have doctors. If you don't have one, get a therapist. (I assume you have health insurance, or you would've mentioned it.) Try out their suggestions, and give feedback: "My libido vanished, so please fix that". But don't bother doing research -- let the specialists come up with the fixes.
We have a DIVISION OF LABOR in society! Take advantage of it! Be lazy, and live your life!
posted by feral_goldfish at 3:00 PM on September 8, 2015 [2 favorites]
Hello!
I have some of these problems as well - I've had some run-ins with health anxiety, which is what it sounds like you're dealing with. It's sometimes classified as OCD, sometimes as anxiety. It doesn't really matter, because either way it can often be comorbid with depression, so it makes sense that you'd have it on top of everything else.
For me, specifically, Prozac has worked wonders. But that's just me. I got the Prozac by going to a psychiatrist. I can't tell from your question whether or not you're seeing a psychiatrist - it seems that it's possible you're seeing a GP who prescribed you celexa for your depression. If that's true, I really encourage you to go see a psychiatrist, both about your depression and about the attendant health anxiety. If you already are, great! Please tell your psychiatrist about these symptoms (and that's what they are).
I was taking celexa and it was working okay (i was still a little depressed) but i have no libido now, so I need to get off it. but i tried so many other medications. So I bought the book `the mood cure` and have been obsessively researching supplements i can take in place of my medications which have the side effects. i also sometimes ask to stop medications without giving them a good chance so i can try something else.
From just this little bit, it sounds to me like control is a big thing for you. That the medications you take work too slowly, or imperfectly, or you have to try a bunch of them, and that's frustrating, so you're looking for ways to take control of your own health. That's natural, and I get that way too (god, ask me about the time I was constantly eating garlic cloves because I thought some antibiotics weren't working fast enough). The supplement industry in the united states is based on this perfectly natural desire for control over ones own health, just like the patent medicine industry before it. Unfortunately, the supplements are just as much snake oil as the actual snake oil was. Once again, I strongly encourage psychiatry - you might even find that your side effects decrease when you aren't paying so much attention to your body anymore.
posted by Ragged Richard at 5:20 PM on September 8, 2015
I have some of these problems as well - I've had some run-ins with health anxiety, which is what it sounds like you're dealing with. It's sometimes classified as OCD, sometimes as anxiety. It doesn't really matter, because either way it can often be comorbid with depression, so it makes sense that you'd have it on top of everything else.
For me, specifically, Prozac has worked wonders. But that's just me. I got the Prozac by going to a psychiatrist. I can't tell from your question whether or not you're seeing a psychiatrist - it seems that it's possible you're seeing a GP who prescribed you celexa for your depression. If that's true, I really encourage you to go see a psychiatrist, both about your depression and about the attendant health anxiety. If you already are, great! Please tell your psychiatrist about these symptoms (and that's what they are).
I was taking celexa and it was working okay (i was still a little depressed) but i have no libido now, so I need to get off it. but i tried so many other medications. So I bought the book `the mood cure` and have been obsessively researching supplements i can take in place of my medications which have the side effects. i also sometimes ask to stop medications without giving them a good chance so i can try something else.
From just this little bit, it sounds to me like control is a big thing for you. That the medications you take work too slowly, or imperfectly, or you have to try a bunch of them, and that's frustrating, so you're looking for ways to take control of your own health. That's natural, and I get that way too (god, ask me about the time I was constantly eating garlic cloves because I thought some antibiotics weren't working fast enough). The supplement industry in the united states is based on this perfectly natural desire for control over ones own health, just like the patent medicine industry before it. Unfortunately, the supplements are just as much snake oil as the actual snake oil was. Once again, I strongly encourage psychiatry - you might even find that your side effects decrease when you aren't paying so much attention to your body anymore.
posted by Ragged Richard at 5:20 PM on September 8, 2015
2nd feral_goldfish & Oyéah - find providers you trust, who will help you get your pain and function to an acceptable level. Basically, find people who can help you. I think you might be a little anxious (I'm the same), but I also think the problem is that you're living with constant and unaddressed pain (and probably can't sleep very well, and not sleeping makes both pain and mental health issues worse).
It took me two years to find a psychiatrist. It took me several years to find the person who could accurately diagnose and treat my ankle (a PT). (Some of that was because my ankle problem was hard to identify; some of it was because - especially for MSK stuff - there is usually a range of approaches to treatments, and they vary in efficacy for given problems. The psychiatrist thing was a question of access to care.) All that depends on your system and resources, obviously. Hopefully, you're lucky, and your system is such that persistence (and time and patience) can make up for lack of resources, if that's an issue.
I'm happy with these providers because: I think they know their stuff (based on my previous obsessive reading :/ ); they suit me in terms of communication style (i.e. they explain things and let me ask questions); and, both have helped to actually *resolve* the problem, or part of the problem, or are proactive in moving towards resolution. (That's important to me with stuff that involves an ongoing relationship - PT, psychiatrist, therapist, GP. If what you need is surgery - personally, I wouldn't care if the best surgeon for problem Y were Dr Octopus, as long as s/he could fix it.)
I know that I read way too much, and I don't think it's particularly healthy. But the reading I did helped me recognize when treatments weren't working at all, and which of my expectations were realistic. For things like pain and psych stuff, it just takes trial and error to get the right help, and that sucks, I'm sorry. Get recommendations if you can. I found my psychiatrist through research and word of mouth, and my physio through dumb luck (after seeing many, many different specialists. Looking for a new GP.) But, like, I am no longer poking around Am J Sport Med every other day, because I trust that my PT has things under control and will tell me if/when I need help from another kind of provider (I mostly have soft tissue problems).
The search, and the pain, are inherently frustrating. Support from friends and family helped me a lot when I found myself discouraged. (I think you're right though, that if you're in mach 4 google mode, a timer would help.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:55 PM on September 8, 2015
It took me two years to find a psychiatrist. It took me several years to find the person who could accurately diagnose and treat my ankle (a PT). (Some of that was because my ankle problem was hard to identify; some of it was because - especially for MSK stuff - there is usually a range of approaches to treatments, and they vary in efficacy for given problems. The psychiatrist thing was a question of access to care.) All that depends on your system and resources, obviously. Hopefully, you're lucky, and your system is such that persistence (and time and patience) can make up for lack of resources, if that's an issue.
I'm happy with these providers because: I think they know their stuff (based on my previous obsessive reading :/ ); they suit me in terms of communication style (i.e. they explain things and let me ask questions); and, both have helped to actually *resolve* the problem, or part of the problem, or are proactive in moving towards resolution. (That's important to me with stuff that involves an ongoing relationship - PT, psychiatrist, therapist, GP. If what you need is surgery - personally, I wouldn't care if the best surgeon for problem Y were Dr Octopus, as long as s/he could fix it.)
I know that I read way too much, and I don't think it's particularly healthy. But the reading I did helped me recognize when treatments weren't working at all, and which of my expectations were realistic. For things like pain and psych stuff, it just takes trial and error to get the right help, and that sucks, I'm sorry. Get recommendations if you can. I found my psychiatrist through research and word of mouth, and my physio through dumb luck (after seeing many, many different specialists. Looking for a new GP.) But, like, I am no longer poking around Am J Sport Med every other day, because I trust that my PT has things under control and will tell me if/when I need help from another kind of provider (I mostly have soft tissue problems).
The search, and the pain, are inherently frustrating. Support from friends and family helped me a lot when I found myself discouraged. (I think you're right though, that if you're in mach 4 google mode, a timer would help.)
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:55 PM on September 8, 2015
« Older What is a good video about the founding fathers... | Bonnie & Clyde Costume and Boston props Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Thanquol180 at 12:24 PM on September 8, 2015