Do you worry about your health?

I always plan for the worst and hope for the best, in almost everything, including health.

Earlier this year I had some symptoms that put into google always brought up oesephagal cancer and nothing else. I was 99% sure it wasn't that and the symptoms dated back to an incident a couple of months previous when I got a lot of food stuck in my throat, but it was scary. I planned my end just in case, it only took about 10 minutes, and then went to see the doctor. As expected, she confirmed that the problem was a combination of a still badly bruised oesophagus and acid indigestion. A months prescription of an acid inhibitor gave my throat a chance to heal and I was soon back to normal.

There is a prayer summarised as some thingss in life we can change and others we can't and that wisdom is knowing which is which. Every person alive from a newly conceived child to the oldest of us is getting older by the second at exactly the same rate. There is nothing we can do about it. All we can do is to do what we can to ensure we keep ourselves healthy as long as possible. Keep our weight down, eat sensibly and keep active.

Concentrate on the things you can do in life to support staying healthy and well and stop worrying about things you can do nothing about.

Thank you for all your posts, some of them are very humbling. I do hear what people are saying about the futility of worrying and I agree but find it impossible to control. Am doing CBT which I hope will help but in the middle of a horrid crisis over some symptoms and off work with the anxiety. Feel shameful and guilty ? Anyway I wish you all good health.

I am now mid 70s, since I hit three score years and ten bits of my body have started to wear out or degrade. My pelvic floor isn’t as efficient as when I was younger, I have seen specialist who have helped me to manage it, my eyes don’t work as well as they used to so I am working out how to go for a swim when I can’t drive. Neither of these problems are life threatening but can be life changing. We all all individuals and wear out differently. I don’t worry what might happen, I just take life as it comes and manage as best I can.

I’m 62 and have had numerous diagnoses of neuropathy and arthritis which compromises my mobility.
However since reaching 60 I have started to worry that I’m old and going to die soon.
And even though when I was younger I used to just want to see my children grow up, it now upsets me that I probably won’t see my youngest grandchildren grow up as they are only 8 & 2 years old.
I also work out finances in my head when I can’t sleep to make sure my husband is left financially ok when I’m gone .

i am 58, i was being seen by a doctor at the hospital for IBS, after getting blood test i was told my iron level was down to 3..should be 60 plus which meant i was bleeding inside, next thing it was a colonoscopy and was diagnosed with bowel cancer, family and friends asked why i was not upset about it....what would be the point, i have always used the phrase ....if it's for you it won't go by you...said it to the cancer consultant, had the tumour and half my bowel removed, the cancer is still somewhere in my body but until it shows in my blood i am not going to worry about it, when something happens in life you either give up or get on with it...next year i will have been widowed 20 years, i had to deal with turning off my husbands life support at 39, i may live for another 10, 20 or 30 years but i am not going to sit and worry about xx

I take comfort from the fact that neither of my parents accepted treatment, other than palliative in my father's case, for their final diagnosis of cancer. My mother even refused to let her doctors give her the diagnosis. She departed quite quickly and suddenly at the end. My father was active to the end - even, a couple of days before he died, went hill walking with a friend who had come hundreds of miles to see him. I have 3 stents in my heart but am reasonably fit at 70. My mother and grandmother both died in their mid 70's; my dad at 64. I have no desire to battle a lengthy illness and am 'Do Not Resuscitate' if I have a heart attack. I have an Advance Directive stating my wishes about resuscitation and other possible attempts to keep me alive at a cost I couldn't cope with. I also have a Care Plan in case I lose capacity to make decisions about my care. My family knows where these plans are and the hospital that carried out my angioplasty has a copy too. I must just remember to send a copy to my GP and write my will....

Hope you have good result after your biopsy on Wednesday guest correctly and hope your colonoscopy goes ok with negative results bright52.

As someone who has lived to a reasonably ripe age, I feel privileged to still be here!

I have had ill health all my life but have still achieved a fair bit and as I age, have found depths I didn't know I possessed. Just deal with one problem at a time. It is amazing how much we can cope with and how strong we really are.

I am not wishing anything horrible on you but if the worst happened and you did become ill, how do you know that you wouldn't cope admirably - I bet you would surprise yourself!

I have an operation later this week but have chosen to block it out for the moment and the old adage 'what will be' comes to mind. I can't change anything about the process but can have a positive attitude afterwards. Additionally, people hate moaners, so just stick a (false, if need be) smile on your face and your assumed cheerfulness may just penetrate your skin...

I hope your CBT and possibly counselling helps you - just don't underestimate what you can do!

I'm recently 66 and although mindful of my health I don't worry about it.

I try to eat well, be active and watch my weight - after that it's down to my genes!

Bijou you are indeed an inspiration to us all. Thank you for your wise words on this topic.

52bright I hope your colonoscopy test is negative.

‘9 times out of 10 our worst fears never happen’.

I too suffer from health anxiety and it is awful. People tell you how lucky you are not to have the dreaded disease you fear and that is true but it compounds the guilt you feel. You also know worrying doesn’t help or add an hour to your life! No one with this anxiety wants to be like it. I have had cbt and counselling and know that reassurance doesn’t help at all.
All I would say is try not to be too hard on yourself. You probably are already telling yourself off but it won’t help. Be compassionate. I don’t run to the doctor with every symptom but spend futile hours worrying about them. Distractions, hobbies and deep breathing can help along with medication.
I am still working hard to achieve not thinking about the future and enjoying the present moment and just hope one day I will achieve it.

I worry a bit about Health Issues, but if I am REALLY worried, I would go and see the Doctor. For problems that tend to "go round and round" in my head - I find writing the worry down helps. Firstly, you have to organise your thoughts in order to get them on paper (or PC/Tablet/Phone etc), and having successfully "got" them written down , I find they are "out" of my head, and I can think clearly, or decide for myself what's best to do about it! my biggest problem is that I have a hubby who has much greater health problems than I do - and he would be really distressed if he knew how much I worry (often about him). I don't have others I can talk to. He would hear me talking to friends, either in person or on the phone, as we live in a rural location, and I can't get out without him driving me. Our village has no bus service and I'm partially sighted, so can't get far on my own. We go everywhere together, which is fine by me. My only sister has no patience with anyone who is ill (including her own husband and grown up children) and would simply tell anyone to just "get on with it and stop moaning"!

52bright you just hit the nail on the head for me, my parents died young, one at 50 and one at 62. Given what is now known about heritability of diseases and about epigenetic influences on our health, it's not unreasonable to worry.
I think it's if it becomes obsessive then perhaps it's worth thinking of CBT or counselling. Hope the colonoscopy is reassuring.

I hear you. I think it is a natural process to face our mortality as we age more and more, especially when we can see it, or feel it. I am 63 too and have some irrational worries, but they do not leave me totally anxious or fearful. It helps to have distractions. I love helping to homeschool my grandsons two days a week. That definitely boosts my dopamine and raises my spirits.

Five years ago I wrote this in my journal after I noticed my bare arms while enjoying a spell in the warmth of the sun.

"Skin once smooth now showing the passing of time, small wrinkles like ripples in sand"

Then the following thought came to me

"What is aging but a slow deceleration of doing, into the quiet state of being, and gently sliding toward non existence?"

Writing thoughts and fears in a journal help. It also helps to consciously see what is good in your life. To me it is that experience of joy or contentment and gratitude that helps me make peace with the fact that I am aging and will someday be gone. No need to overly worry. Go with the flow and accept the things we must accept.

Hi Maggie, if you feel well and you don’t have any major problems, live your life without putting bad thoughts about yourself into the universe, once the thought is out there it comes back to you somehow. Enjoy your life you are so lucky to be healthy.???

I’m similar age and according to my Fitbit in excellent health. Still hasn’t stopped me having two serious cancer scares (referred under 2 week rule in both instances) in past 4 months. Latest requires a biopsy on Wednesday and am presently amazingly calm. Perhaps I’m placing too much faith in the contraption on my wrist!

I think there is no point worrying I retired got diagnosed with bowel cancer month later breast cancer had treatment I think when when you have a diagnosis you have no choice but to get on with it and hope for the best we are stronger than you think .

This is very topical for me at the moment. Usually I don't give much thought to my health and rarely see a doctor from one year to the next. However I am undergoing a ct colonoscopy tomorrow because of recent bowel problems. I must admit to a bit of health anxiety at the moment because both my dad and brother died of bowel cancer at aged 59 and 60 respectively and as I am now 68 I can't help having a bit of anxiety. Thank you Bijou for your text upthread. It is enormously encouraging to me both in hearing of your successful treatment and also regarding your attitude to life. I am obviously hoping [and praying] for a negative outcome to these tests but your determination to make the best of life has strengthened my resolve to try and take the same very positive attitude.

Try CBD - There are several you can buy online or in the shops, but I've found an online one (well known, begins with H ) helps me the most. I have the drops, which are peppermint flavoured & easy to take, & they help sleep as well as pain.

Well put MissA.
It`s pointless worrying about something that is out of your controll,that in itself will make you ill.

Ps. Sorry, just read all your posts and realise you're already having counselling so my advice is redundant. Hope the CBT helps.

I'm a retired nurse, in my seventies and in reasonable health. I have known so many people who died young, not just patients but friends and relatives,I just feel privileged to have got to this age relatively unscathed. I do of course dread the thought of dementia or some neurological conditions- certainly don't think cancer is the worst diagnosis. For years I nursed patients in renal failure who required dialysis and was always amazed how they just got with it. Being on dialysis is tough and something the general public know little about unless they know someone in renal failure.
I would suggest your health anxiety is itself a health problem, although a psychological one, and maybe you should consider seeking counselling. Maybe another trip to the GP and see if a referral for counselling is possible.

Start really looking after your body. We all know the obvious things like weigh, drinking too much and smoking. Also find a class you enjoy, yoga, pilates, ty chi, or for something fun and energetic Zuma gold (when it restarts) there are u-tubes covering many subjects. Make sure you walk every day (always wear sunscreen, especially if skin is a particular worry). I'm following Sir Muir Grey's advice on Live Well For Longer (emphasis on the Well). We can't stop worrying (or getting) some illnesses but we must make our bodies as strong as possible. Positively doing something has helped me feel more relaxed about my future health and I hope this might help you. Start today, not tomorrow, good luck.

I am another health worrier. As far as I know I am fit and healthy. Walk miles every week. Have been a vegetarian for over 30 years and enjoy a small glass of gin on a Saturday night. YET every little twinge and itch has me looking it up on the internet to see if I have a life threatening disease. Up until this year I have not worried too much but my fear has grown since lockdown as I feel the sword of Damocles is hoovering over me all the time. DHs eyes glaze over every time I tell him my new health worry which is really stupid as he is the one that is the most at risk of the two of us - no wonder his eyes glaze over.

A lovely friend of mine who is 62 and who has refused to leave her house since the beginning of Covid due to crippling health anxiety, is having a course of CBT and finding it very helpful. Hope you can get some help - it's really a habit of thinking and can be changed.