I suffer from occasional health anxiety in instances when I feel I have been permanently damaged.
For instance, the other day I found a little mold (maybe a half inch square) in my washing machine. I wiped it down with bleach, but didnt wear a mask. Now im afraid I may have inhaled toxic mold and damaged myself. I have a sore throat and nausea, but that could be from me stressing out.
This happens a lot. I can deal with all sorts of fear, but my white whale is fear over being damaged somehow. The guilt, the feeling of lack of control, the powerless feels like too much.
Does anyone else deal with this? How do you cope?
1 Answer
Many people deal with these health-related fears. However, as is often the case, the anxiety produced by these fears may be more disruptive than the probability of being sick. Persistent anxiety in and of itself may be a trigger to sleeping and eating disturbances that can cause health problems.
The most effective approach to addressing these fears is to seek help from a professional counselor. But, in the meantime, it is always wise to weigh the evidence at hand. How likely is it that one spot of mole in a washing machine may result in serious health issues? While there may be the slight risk, the anxiety produced by worrying about it has a much higher probability of causing problems for you.
