Now here’s the next thing that needs to be
written about, contemplated on, and then internalized and acted upon, because
now that the extreme anxiety has subsided, this gets to the core issue that has
plagued me my entire life and which initially started this entire episode in
the first place. In order to learn to eliminate the anxiety, I need to get rid
of the cause of the anxiety in the first place.
The anxiety I am referring to is health
anxiety. The big pink elephant in the room. While dealing with the generalized
anxiety that it caused, it went under the radar for some time, but it now needs
to be addressed. Health anxiety and hypochondria is a tough one because no one can offer or
guarantee certainty and no one is immune from health-related issues. The only
thing that can be expected for a hypochondriac is that:
·
I learn about the true statistical
possibilities (read: realistic unlikelihood) of the things I worry about
actually happening
·
I see from historical patterns that
what I worry about most never happens
·
I learn that I do not want, need, and
can and do live without certainty
·
I learn that worrying about health
will not help me prevent or cope with anything anyhow
·
I can learn to simply live in the
present and appreciate and enjoy it, since the future is unpredictable and all
we have is the present, so we’d may as well enjoy and live it
·
I can see aches and pains for what
they are and not panic about or predict the worst. Most things are minor or
temporary, and when/if in the unlikely situation something serious does ever
happen, I will know without having to wonder and even then it is usually not
that serious or is easily treatable
·
I can realize that everyone has to
deal with some type of health-related issues since we are all human and
imperfect, and the main thing is to appreciate that what I do have to deal with
occasionally is not any more serious than it is and will resolve.
·
I can internalize and learn that
reading or hearing about something does not have to result in psychosomatic,
anxiety-caused symptoms, and it does not make it any more likely that the fact
that I now know about it means that I am more likely to get it.
·
Most of all, I can learn to trust in
G-d, thank him every day for the health that I, my family and my loved ones
enjoyed until today and continue to enjoy today, and hope and pray that we will
continue to enjoy it, and that everyone will continue to be enjoy good and even
better health.
But first, we have to go over the progress so
far:
·
I am no longer looking for problems
·
I am no longer panicking about things
as much as I did
·
I am not running to specialists or
doctors
·
I am waiting things out
·
I am looking for the causes of things
·
I am trying to figure out how to
self-solve things
·
I am looking for the underlying
anxiety that caused or resulted from whatever health concern I have and
focusing on eliminating the anxiety
·
I am nor obsessing about pains or
concerns
·
I am not driving others nuts about
them
·
I am working on not letting other
people’s issues affect or be internalized by me
·
I am not jumping to medications – even
OTC meds – and instead trying relaxation and other techniques to relieve things
that I know are fundamentally not serious
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