Severe Health Anxiety

Don't focus on the future for now. There are some easy effortless ways to help yourself right now.

I think good sleep and a good nutrition, are the basis of good physical and mental health. A good diet doesn't necessarily involve much cooking.

If you like bread eggs, milk, cheese, nuts salad and fruit, you can start a healthy diet with minimal cooking.

Try going to bed an hour earlier, with the window slightly open so you spend the whole night breathing fresh air.

You summed it up in the last sentence of your post. These things don’t bother you (or as much) when you are at work and busy.

Everybody gets aches and pains as they get older. That’s perfectly natural and can be countered by staying active, a mixture of walking, swimming, exercise classes, going to the gym. Of course, you don’t have to wait to retire to do that but once you do you will have more time to develop a routine and won’t be tired from work. You will also have more time to shop, cook and eat a better diet.

Retirement doesn't mean boredom. Why would you think it does? It just means you spend your time differently. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities and a wealth of clubs, groups and societies to join.

What do you like to do in your spare time now? If you don’t already, it sounds to me like you might benefit from engaging in a mix of gentle exercise and some hobbies you can do at home to distract you from your healthy worries. Getting lost in an arts or crafts project is great for mindfulness. Never too late to learn a new skill.

Ditto the advice butterandjam gives.

Some good advice there. You have to start with the basics of healthy diet plus a good nights sleep and exercise. Ultimately those are the core building blocks for good health.

You'll need to find a way to retrain your brain during those quiet moments when it starts wandering. Believe me, I know what it's like, a physical sense of panic which washes over you. It only seems to disappear once you focus on something else (like when you're at work). So I guess you'll just have to retrain your brain to think of something else, maybe a work related issue, plan your work day in your head or solve a work problem. Anything to keep your brain working.

If you're worrying about things that might happen, remind yourself of all the times you catastrophised about something and it turned out fine! That's what I try and do. Also, just remember that someone has been looking after you all these years, I'm sure they won't give up on you now.

Just to add, if you want to lose your mind completely then take up family history research. Once you get into that your mind will be constantly engaged. Go back just 5 generations and you have 32 direct ancestors and their families to research. You will become more and more engrossed in their lives, their homes, their children, their stories. Take up an Ancestry subscription and build a tree, it's all there. A wonderful distraction.

I absolutely hate cooking; can’t see the point of cooking a meal if I can just have a cheese sandwich. But I have improved my diet over the past year because of diet advice and recipes I find on instagram. I even enjoy food now, something I’ve never really done. I, too am a worrier, especially when it comes to my health and whatifery. But I find that if I concentrate on something like a change of diet I feel more in control. I know you work all day but have you thought of joining a gym? One of my favourite things in life is having a sauna at the gym; it’s also good for helping with aches and pains. And I know I keep banging on about it but I listen to Jason Stephenson on utube. His get back to sleep tapes stop my whatifery.

There is such a wealth of great knowledge here so please take on board each of their suggestions.
Look forward to enjoying your retirement. Relax (not easy), and try out different activities out of your comfort zone. 💐