If so: Youre not the first person to put something off because youre scared.
That anxiety often comes from a place of feeling helpless.
Thats the end goal.
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Not addressing whatever it is thats bothering you is not going to improve your situation.
So where do you start?
Here are some expert tips for getting over an anxiety spiraland into the doctors office.
Stepawayfrom the frantic online searches.
Not just me, right?
We engage in reassurance-seeking behaviors, and vague googling can help us feel better in the short term.
Not googling is easier said than done for many of us.
If you absolutelymustinvestigate your symptoms online, stick with credible sources.
Reconnect with your valuesthink about how important maintaining your health is to you, he says.
Connect that to the values-aligned action of makingand attendinga doctors appointment.
Make a just-the-facts list of your symptoms.
Yeah, salsa class is fun, but all that dancing around is a recipe for hip pain later!
Who needs ice waterit isnt worth the toothache!
It starts with, Sometimes I cant sleep, and sometimes I cough.
Its a frog in boiling water.
Again, anxious avoidance wont make you feel better.
It helps to say whats going on out loud to someone, she says.
Sometimes if you hear it, you realize how much youve been suppressing.
But the key thing here is wrapping your head around whats going on yourself.
Youre focusing on whats actually going on, rather than all the unknowns worrying you.
Make peace with the worst-case scenarioand with uncertainty.
So…do that.
Even if its not clear what that might be, facing that uncertainty is a step toward accepting it.
If that sounds terrifying, tap a therapist to step in and help, says Dr. MacDonald.
(In CBT, this process is called de-catastrophizing.)
That might look like working through questions like, Okay, so you do receive some form of diagnosis.
What would that look like?
What would happen next?
How would you cope effectively with it?
Picturing yourself in the situation youre dreading can also help get you in the door to see a doctor.
Bring a loved one with you when you’ve got an appointment in place.
Having someone there is emotionally supportive, she says.
They can also take notes for you, so it covers a lot of bases.
A second person can also help underscore that your symptoms go beyond the realm of mental health.
A lot of people get invalidated around health anxiety, Dr. MacDonald says.
Thank your brainseriously!
Its this idea that if were just tough enough, we’ll get through it.
The incentives are low to actually do something about our concerns.
Dr. MacDonald suggests using a technique called cognitive defusion to drain that reactions stress-inducing power.
The thought might sound like, Thank you, but thats not needed right now.
Thats just an ache; its just a pain.
Remember that itsnormalto feel anxious about an unusual thing your body is doing.
Everyone does at some point.
