Health Anxiety and Chronic Pain - TMS 

I've had health anxiety and there was a time where I would read symptoms on google and then next day I'll have it. I had this for so many disease that only thing that stopped it was when I stopped googling disease. Brain is very powerful we need to feed it with positive information

Dan you may realize it or you may not but you are literally saving peoples lives, including mine, the fact you offer so much help free on the internet shows you truly care. I have read and followed every TMS expert out there and yourself and Alan Gordon are true heroes. Thank you.

I worked with Dr. Sarno himself. I was living flat on my back and could do nothing from chronic pain. I couldn’t even sit in a wheelchair. 5 years. Moved to NYC and was cured. Years later I found your messages and you are incredible. You are compassionate and know your stuff. Thank you!

Thank you, I took the first breaths with you and dude, the weight it had lifted off my body, I could feel the anxiety fleeing and literally flinching out from relief. The anxiety is making me so sick that I can’t leave the house anymore, or eat, or sleep, and fall into panic attacks when I think about stuff. I’ve never been so painfully sick in my life, and it helps so much to hear someone talk about it from experience and explain stuff, 🙏 thank you.

TMS is challenging, but TMS with HA is really the pits. I've had pelvic pain symptoms (no doubt stress/TMS related) that I became convinced was prostate cancer. I 've can migraine and cluster headaches that I was convinced was a tumor. I've had leg pain and muscle twitches that I was convinced was MS etc. All of it stress and anxiety related. Moreover, once I get into that freaking out mode...it often morphs into depression...which makes things even harder. This video is great advice. Understanding TMS is helpful and in case of HA I think even just "classic" CBT approaches of seeing the behavior and changing it (especially stop googling, stop seeking reassurances, stop checking symptoms etc.) and anything you can do to calm down and tell your brain again and again that you are safe, will help. Sometimes it just runs its course but maybe once feeling better THAT is the time to really work on changing your brain i.e. the neuroplasticity work. Because fear and anxiety are habit forming. There are reasons for it...its not your fault. If you are like me you may have "learned" at an early age that being scared is useful, helps you stabilize things, is a means to an end. But its actually the exact opposite. The great news is we can change these habits of mind for the better. take care all

This one hit me right in the feels. Health anxiety and catastrophic thinking (and scaring myself) is my #1 problem. Since I was a kid, and worse than ever as an adult, and worse since the pandemic…and definitely worsening my current situation and magnifying my current TMS flare up. Thank you, Dan. Thank you for all you do.

My doctor put me on Lexapro to help with anxiety and depression over chronic back and nerve pain. The Lexapro made it worse so I didn't stay on it. I am going through the same stuff you talk about in this video so this gives me hope to help my anxiety in other ways. Thank again.

Dan, you knocked this one out of the park! Turning off news makes such a difference! For me, it ramps me up and compiles more fear and worry. Thank you!

Very powerful idea/statement: “Your brain is listening for your instructions”. ❤️ Love it!

This video just helped me over my fear of exercise, I use to play a lot of sports 2 years ago but a fatal panic attack scarred me from doing any sort of activitiy - I have just completed my first run in nearly 2 years. F*CK health anexity we can beat it!!

This is literally me now! I watched my mum dying from cancer and ever since (10years) I’ve struggled so much. My life has been put on hold or I’m there but not present! You wouldn’t wish it on anyone! I’ve worried so much I’ve made myself ill with gerd which affected my breathing and I literally thought I was taking my last breath! Then I discovered breathwork! And I’ve now found Dan! I believe in breathwork and I believe what Dan is saying!

I always try to calm down and reasure myself mentally, but i just can't believe it, because my body gives me so much symptoms. It's like I'm lying to myself

Thanks for your commitment towards helping provide others with hope Dan! You truly are making a difference, keep up the good work!

Such a great video, has really helped to get me back on track today. Its like my nervous system constantly needs something to worry about, kind of works its way back to my health. Which is crazy because I am healthy. Back on the right track, thanks Dan.

Thanks Dan. An excellent video still helping people 3 years on.

just wanted to say thank you for continuing to share this message, your videos calm me 🌞

Just what I needed this morning. Thank you so much Dan.

For me, that was just spot on! Thank you!

One of my favourite videos Dan thank you

Very helpful! My own health anxiety stems from chronic pain and POTS. I worry about not being able to exercise and that my anxiety will spike my blood pressure long term. Ironically making me more anxious of course! I try to just watch the thoughts float by and not get caught up in them.

So clear...understandable...and helpful..thank you!

I have come to believe that much of my health anxiety over the past many decades was manifested by my brain as a distraction from the extreme mental/emotional torture that I experienced for decades. I constantly created physical health issues as they seemed more "manageable" than the near constant state of mental ones. Fortunately, I came to realize that the "treatments", ie, psych drugs, were the things that were keeping me depressed. I now know that they can cause a tardive dysphoria as they chemically alter the brain. And since discovering this TMS concept, I also realize "treating" my "mental illness" with drugs and "therapy" was perpetuating messages of "I'm broken". Becoming unpsychiatrized has been the best thing for me. Thanks for sharing this topic, Dan!

Thank you this was much needed topic to get content on 🙏🙏💛💛

Thank you!!

It start from health anxiety in 2020, then come neck pain, arm pit pain, it recover, but then go to seratus anterior, it recover again but come again, in the right chest, recover again, now in left chest plus neck, shoulder, arm pit. I take medical check up annually and there is no real health concern, but I always anxious. I pray that everyone who have health anxiety can recover 🙏🏻

Every year on Thanksgiving and Christmas my mom would say, I won't be hear next year...this is probably my last holiday. As a kid I thought my mom would be dead soon! This went on for years and never happened. My mom died in her early eighties from COPD.

I learned my health anxiety from the media. I never realized how many diseases there were and most you can’t even pronounce , but it you have any of these symptoms you should go see your doctor. It’s crazy 😮

Hey Dan, I love your videos and you’re really helping me so thank you so much 🙏 I dont know if i have health anxiety but i definately get scared for my own health and my loved ones. I’ve lost many loved ones from health problems and everyone around me seems to be dropping like flies. The state of peoples health and chronic disease in todays society is really really bad. I dont watch the news and try to stay positive but my question is: how can we not get worried about our health when we are suffering a pandemic of chronic disease throughout the western world and is it not a good thing to study health and really take care of yourself to prevent chronic disease? Keep up the good work my friend 🙌

Hi Dan, wow this video really hit home for me.. I knew I had been a little preoccupied with being healthy and prevention since my 20’s and it came from seeing my mom suffer through cardiovascular disease and it’s complications since my teens. I figured it helped me become a health nut but never realized I was having health anxiety and I could see it clearly now 🤦🏻‍♀️ Thank you for your wisdom and sharing this knowledge with us.. extremely helpful..🙏🏼

Thank you so much for all the help you give in your videos Dan. I have a struggle with this one, though the topic is very relevant to me and my situation. I understand what you say about the constant anxiety and how that could make the worries come true but I now feel petrified about this. That Im going to make myself more ill and bring about my worst fears about my health. The thought that I'm contributing to making my health worse when I don't know how NOT to be worried is scaring me and I don't know how to deal with it. When you say 'its not here now', I'm confused. How do I stop the anxiety if my frightening symptoms ARE here now because it's these symptoms that give me the anxiety about what could be wrong. When the symptoms ease, so does the anxiety. Thanks again Dan, your dedication to helping people and your compassion is wonderful and we are lucky to have you.

Really amazing...I should have connected the dots a very long time ago. Since my teens, I was very anxious about my health watching my mother's health decline. I fought like heck worrying my whole life if I was destined to get ill like her. I went through a lot of stress throughout my life; no doubt I had TMS all along. The stress in my mind traveled to many parts of my body in pain and here I am today feeling healthy, working out and strength training and active. Learning about TMS has helped me understand why I developed health anxiety, stress and pain because of the trauma I went through. Dan, you were a big part of my recovery as well as Dr. Schubiner and Steve Ozanich. The Curable app is how I found out about TMS though; thankfully, I stumbled upon it when I was searching for answers!

Perfect!

Amazing amazing amazing👏👏👏 Right now hospitalized in India if I could have seen this before might be avoided so many unnecessary tests because of my anxiety For this pain even biopsy surgery also done But gods grace all good only post covid syndrome my autoimmune is complicated and attacked my nerves too Thanks a lot Dan Now im charged im gonna tell my brain im will be fine God bless you and love you lots 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍🙏

I have developed so many things I want to share that are so helpful for my anxiety! 1) Reframing hypervigilance as mindfulness: As a result of visual snow I thought I was seeing things (having hallucinations) I wasnt- It's just visual static dancing in my periphery. Took me ages to figure out this is visual snow and harmless. So over the months I would notice things flicker in my periphery- sometimes flies, dust, and sometimes the static as my brain is getting used to the static. But my brain continually keeps reflex thinking I'm going to have a hallucination and is picking up every movement in my periphery. I still have that reflex thinking BUT when I notice everything thing is normal perception I reframe hypervigilance as "I'm becoming more mindful and aware" and I've started really enjoying looking at details in my vision. I believe this can apply to people being hypervigilant to the state of their body too not just vision etc. E.g. a new pain, a new sensation... could just be "oh Im aware of my body" because hypervigilance can be a negative and scary word sometimes. 2)I give my body dares: I used to worry about my TMS symptoms being MS and getting motor symptoms preventing me from my sport I still have reflex intrusive thoughts about hallucinations I used to worry about going blind when I didn't realise what visual snow was ... so I say "Go on then! Brain-body! Make my leg flop to the floor and make me collapse! I dare you! I'm not afraid come on! If you're going to do it! Do it now!" (Or make me have a hallucination/go blind)... and then when nothing happens! It's just proof that I am okay! 3) Observing my mind-body-surroundings from more of a distance... ...not aligning with anything dark or distressing. Any fearful thought is "anxiety talking" and anxiety is not me... so therefore, these thoughts are not me and not true. I try and find where the fear is into my body, really examine it and breathe. I really really deeply observe and study my anxiety with an outsiders curiosity. Really helps you not drown in a waterfall if you can grab a branch, climb to a bank and just watch the beauty of the waterfall instead. 4) You are the best person to give yourself conviction and empowerment to know you are okay! Hope these help anyone who reads! Bless xxx

Best thing that stood out for me.... Its not happening RIGHT NOW

Great work man. Not once did u mention doctor. And most health anxious people dont want to go to the doctoe because they dont wwnt to get "bad news". They dont realize that hypondirachs are more healthy than they think. They are more healthy than the avg person.

Oh that’s so hard💔 I am constantly afraid of everything.

Currently at work with the death alarm bells going off, like something is seriously wrong, waiting to drop at any second. Help me.

Hi Dan great video and me through and through with losses. The lady you refered to that had 40 plus symptoms by googling how does that happen? It's a hard concept to understand that by reading about symptoms they can actually happen. Is it because the mind is powerful ? I freak out all the time with pain fuelled by anxiety but don't Google and yet still made little progress when I know it health anxiety fuelling the pain. Feeling stuck.

Had it for a year now it’s a nightmare had so many symptoms and u r right watching videos about it people different symptoms I had about 50 different symptoms I didn’t know brain could do this. I now see a psychologist with experience headaches and dizziness r my big problem. I even hear crackling sound inside head did MRI went Neurologists said I am fine it’s d neurotransmitters so brain can create this?

The doctor says just keep your eye on it

oh wow, this sounds exactly like me! i used to have a stomach ache every single day because i FEARED them so so much. now i have sciatica and all i'm focused on lately is trying to figure out how to get rid of it and i've noticed my stomach hasn't been bothering me much at all..... i'm too busy worrying about my leg pain to have time to worry about my stomach :0

How do we help others in our lives dealing with this? It’s very hard for me to have constant empathy but I want to be encouraging to them .

I can say with 100 percent certainty that health anxiety creates whatever you think about. It's absolutely awful.

Incredible Brain and Human Body.... I am not in danger... THIS anxiety did not start with me. BODY HEAL THYSELF. Not taking my thinking so seriously!!!!!!!! :%#^€+ Healing words! .... THANK YOU SO!💥🧚‍♀️

I have a question can anxiety cause tremors where like you think you have a central tremor or Parkinson’s can you create the symptoms of Parkinson’s not have it or central tremor I’ve had health anxiety since I’ve been a kid and I’m always thinking I got this disease or that disease when I don’t pay attention to it the tremor is not there

do you have any people from poland in ur group? I need to connect with someone who have health anxiety from Poland my English no great

my healt anxiety when off when i leanr all about sarno and TMS.

Great Question! Who Taught me to be afraid of poor health! So that was just their belief/fear

Woryed me now I've permanently damaged myself as you say we make it more likely to happen.its related to OCD

Is health anxiety really TMS then Dan.my fybromyalgia got diagnosed with fybromyalgia spectrum disorders.

Omg this is meeee . I’ve had healthy anxiety since I was 5. Google is awful and I swear I didn’t have pots until I followed people who did...no joke

Why am I calm in the evening and my anxiety hits in the daytime?

Here is my question .. I have been diagnosed with gastrises. This wasn’t in my head . I have done the endoscopy and based on biopsy it shows I have this. I am in constant pain and discomfort 24/7 for the last 3 months . My health anxiety comes in “what if this pain doesn’t go away “ what if medication doesn’t work “ what if I never go back to how normal my life was “ this thoughts are always in my mind . Is this common to feel this way ? If I accept my condition with pain , I know my body will heal and sort it self out but when I am in pain day in day out I can’t seem to reach in a mental space where I accept all these .. can you pls advise me what else to do ?

Doctors and google taught us

Health anxiety causes pain and other symptoms

It's also programming from the church that something will happen to you if u listen to these.lyrics you are in danger of a Christ less eternity this causes me to be afraid of dying Ime terrified people say you don't go to churvj the damage was done 40 years ago

Who taught me?? 100 % Mom And religious upbringing thats teels you God punishes bad behaviors...good video

Drugs being allowed to be sold on TV is perhaps the worst thing ever invented .. and yes 100% Dr Google .. all the information nobody actually needs.

It's like you're in my head. My mum went to doctor with bleeding, was told it was nothing, no tests. 2years on Locum came on duty, recognised symptoms, immediately sent her for tests, advanced bowel cancer! Started legal action, notes in file said "malingerer". Before she passed age 58, told me to always get a second opinion. I know she meant well but that's when I believe my health anxiety began. Any little pain and I was in turmoil. Obviously emotionally charged too. Vicious cycle. Unfortunately I'd never heard of TMS back then (1996). You will never know how much you're helping me get my life back. I'm sharing all I'm learning with anyone who I think could benefit. Thank you again x