my health anxiety & how it's affecting me rn

TW: mental illness, anxiety, illness anxiety
i worked through my anxiety on camera with you and this is how it went... i hope this helps or at least provides some representation to those struggling with this type of anxiety disorder! please feel free to share your stories with me because i'd really appreciate knowing i'm not alone in this! i love y'all xo
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[@cassieneo]

remember your not alone with this and there's so many people that feel the same as you! Love you

[@thequoter1704]

can totally relate to health anxiety - had it for most of my life, as long as I can remember, it doesn't help that having intense anxiety causes symtoms of a tight throat/chest pains/nauseous stomach, which makes me more anxious.

[@RedVine6]

A few years ago I went to the hospital about breathing problems, turned out to be anxiety. Fun times. Now whenever I feel tightness in my chest or pain I do my best to tell my brain "It's just anxiety, you're gonna be fine".

[@KearaGraves]

i knowwww it’s so difficult differentiating whether it’s a real physical problem or just anxiety symptoms 😢

[@grace7705]

I have a different "flavor" of anxiety atm that revolves around feeling like I'm being watched all the time Hearing someone describe their own struggle with their own anxious irrational pattern of thought made me feel less bad about mine. Thanks :)

[@anaisabelsauramartinez8421]

We are a lot of people. You're not alone ;)

[@debbie7989]

i feel you so much bc i too experience that constantly (i had no idea it had a name?😭) and not only with chest pains. once i actually went to the doctor and it turned out it was nothing! as u said it's good to try and do things that make u happy and not overthink about it too much. sending you all the love

[@KearaGraves]

thank you for sharing 🥺🥺🥺

[@debbie7989]

@@KearaGraves thank U for sharing. your channel is such a safe space♥️

[@joylaw237]

I go through the exact same thing. I have emetophobia and health anxiety, and it's so exhausting to always be hyper-fixating on your body. It makes me feel trapped inside my own body, which is the worst feeling because you can't escape it. Just know you're not alone and we'll all get through this together :)

[@FleurDeCersier]

I also have illness anxiety. Ironically this leads me to neglect any actual health concerns because I suppress the fact they exist. I do that because if I don't I completely freak out to the point that I can't deal with it which is why my knee-jerk reaction is to suppress those concerns.

[@HeyItsKatelyn4]

I totally feel you. You are not alone. When I was around that same age I got diagnosed with OCD and anxiety around germs, and it's made a really negative impact on my life. But I've learned so much about myself even though everyday can be a constant struggle. I kept it hidden for years until I finally couldn't take it anymore and since then going to therapy and trying medication has been the most helpful thing, instead of keeping it bottled up inside. PS - Love you and your content!

[@anniewindholz3104]

Thanks for sharing this! I've also had germ/ contamination OCD since I was a kid, and only now at 30 being open about it. Ive found it makes things easier to tell people and talk about it openly, and find all the other ppl who have the same thing as you

[@princessthyemis]

I think i have general anxiety but hearing you talk about yours was SUUUUPER helpful!! I love what you said at the end about not going on your phone immediately after waking up. That gives me an idea that maybe I should write 1 or 2 sentences of my story in the morning to get back into writing. Thanks so much and I hope you continue to feel better!

[@loupelizzo2399]

You’re not alone here and there’s so many people that are here to listen to you anytime and again just relate so much with you in this video about COVID. The last 2 years or more has been like hell and it’s affected the whole world so it’s now endemic so that’s made me more stressful also. Love you so much and enjoyed this video a lot

[@elio3442]

Thank you Keara for talking about anxiety and your experiences and how to approach it without becoming more anxious. This video helped a lot because I struggle with anxiety every day and it really just brings my mood to an absolute negative space! I love you and your videos they always help! Hope you have a great day/night! :D

[@rhea0605]

thanks for being open about this. i’ve struggled with ocd all my life and it can be really debilitating to the point where it affects literally every aspect of my life, and nobody seems to understand

[@theab7150]

Hi Keara! I just wanted to share that I also have illness anxiety right now (very severe especially when I’m in a dark place) so I really appreciate you talking about it bc it makes me feel less weird that I experience this. You’re not alone, and we’re really strong❤️ lots of love!

[@avocadoll7285]

another thing that can help wake you up is reading a few pages from a book that you enjoy! whenever i want to stay in bed to wake up, but i don’t want to look at my phone, i just turn on my kindle and read until my body feels more awake :-)

[@tispetty]

Thank you for talking about this type of anxiety. Because I struggle with the same anxieties. And you brought up so many good points. Thank you!

[@KearaGraves]

i’m glad it helped ❤️❤️❤️

[@danidavis1369]

Thanks for sharing about this. I've had the same health anxiety my entire life and I'd explain it exactly as you did. I was never able to get help because no one saw it on the outside. Now that I've been in therapy for two years working on other aspects of my life, the health anxiety seems to go away more and more. I experienced lots of childhood trauma so I assume its related to that for myself. My aunt tells me I have cousins who've also experienced the same thing. You are not alone! Lots of love.

[@charlotteosborn9396]

Thank you so much for making this video! I also have illness anxiety, for me it's mostly about stomach viruses, and I hyper fixate and feel things that aren't there. This was very reassuring ❤❤

[@annemadison7258]

I have anxiety and paranoia and when they get bed they send me to a bad place but I find listening to my favourite music helps to calm me down. Your artwork is brilliant.

[@user-of5mj5nl6r]

I also had a phase where I was so anxious about getting cancer! But I also have periods where I don’t really think about it, so there will be easier times again!😊 I struggle with anxiety about getting anxiety😅 especially on vacations it’s really hard for me, because I want the vacation to be nice and I want to relax and not having anxious thoughts 🙈 I think a lot has to do with self worth too because I kinda talk to myself really negativ sometimes and then thoughts like “I’m soo crazy” “I might get depression, but I want to be happy..” and that makes the anxiety worse🙂 So I really really feel your struggle! I think the key point is probably to accept it (I know it’s way easier said than done) and to not beat yourself up about having a problem with anxiety😊 We are not alone!

[@hannahpetzinger9309]

GURRLL I totally was just like that in middle school! Germs and being sick was my fear. And then the fears manifested different as I’ve grown. Thanks for sharing my friend :)

[@steevoridgeline]

yep exactly, my trick was to focus on the pre anxiety signs ... so more i was training myself on how anxiety was creeping in i was able to act prior to keep it at bay... it takes a while but worked effectively years later still under control and virtually inexistant. Welcoming it too was helpful indeed. 💚💚

[@leolovsen1448]

I can really vouch for the not checking the phone first thing in the morning-thing!! For my master thesis in classical music I wrote about how to get the most efficient practice and it included stuff outside of the practice room; and one of those things were "turning off wifi on my phone before I go to sleep at night so I won't get any notifications and get stuck and unfocused on my phone in the morning". It's such a difference!! Because then you get to Decide when you're going to react to what everyone's written etc. Normally I actually don't turn my wifi on until lunch right now!

[@jennsumbera6435]

absolutely love you for the advice you always share with us, & being super real while trusting us, you are never alone!

[@laurenh230]

Thank you for sharing. I really relate. Sometimes I wake up and feel the slightest pain like in my side and convince myself that my appendix was about to burst or other terrible diseases. It happens almost every night to the point where my sleep gets interrupted and I can’t go back to bed because I get so scared I may have a serious illness. It got so bad to a point to where I felt a small bump in my mouth and, me being a young and have never smoked or anything, had totally convinced myself I had mouth cancer. I was so worried I made my mom take me to the dentist so I could be 100% sure I wasn’t dying. I feel like people need to talk about Illness Anxiety Disorder more because it really can affect lives in miserable ways. Again thank you for sharing and I really hope your anxiety gets better

[@emmarobichaud5158]

I don't have illness anxiety but I do a lot of performance anxiety and it really helps me to focus on other stuff I actually enjoy. seeing videos like this one also help me a lot. also completely unrelated but something in you intro sounds like my mom saying my name and every time it freaks me out

[@chantal0004]

the slow progression to fully laying down on the floor was great and relatable lol

[@alexcoel]

yes yes im literally going through a lot of health anxiety and i feel like people always joke about being an hypochondriac and it makes me sad bc i struggle a lot w thinhking about dying and illnesses almost every day and im soooo tired of it ☹️

[@jennsumbera6435]

brb while i actually go read unwinding anxiety !! ALSO u should make a whole vid about ur fave books OMG :,) obsessed

[@RedVine6]

Saying this while I'm still in the beginning of the video. I had no idea my anxiety had a name. I totally have Illness Anxiety... I've had it since early teenage years. I'm 22 in April.

[@santaskiddo7503]

this is exactly what happens with me,,,,, sooo relieved I'm not alone in this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Vampirepup_edits]

Oh my god! I didn't expect to relate to something so hard wow . I've been having chest pains randomly for probably just over a year now and they seem to have got more frequent recently . Now while I have a lot of unhealthy habits that could have caused that,such as laying face down in my bed,bending over a lot because of my job etc . I am also aware that I obsess over social media way too much,I feel like I have to check messages every time I go on my phone,I get anxious if people don't respond,i get anxious if they do and didn't for ages,basically I'm just a huge overthinker and worry about everything lol 😅 In addition to that,like most people,I've got a decent amount of childhood trauma,a lot of bad memories about certain things such as being sent death threats by people online,harassed over the phone and such,most of my trauma stems from social media and not real life . I feel like whenever something happens that triggers a memory of that thing it can send my anxiety through the roof and that's not good at all lol It means that I cannot trust people with my phone number anymore,i get so scared when I have to speak to anyone on the phone I don't know,it's not fun haha Wow this is long I know you probably won't read it Keara but honestly this just opened my eyes to so many things and I think I realised that it's just phantom chest pains due to anxiety and I'm not actually dying like I have to tell myself a hundred times a day 💖😵

[@That-One-Person2]

I feel this way too and I'm sorry that you feel that way and I know how bad it is

[@lilylom6367]

I know this wasn't necessarily a happy vlog, but u should know ur so awesome and u looked amazing (side note: I want ur glasses and please let me know where can I find them) and u processing ur emotions helps me understand mine better too, so thank you :)

[@PeripheralPink]

You're definitely not alone, found this very relatable.

[@lilithofthenight1991]

I USE VALERIAN ROOT EXTRACT FOR MY COMPLEX PTSD 💁🏻‍♀️

[@rainestormee]

I have the exact same type of anxiety! Youre not alone!

[@Numb_starboy.org11]

I have the same anxiety! This is quite relatable for me.

[@bluecheshirecat13109]

Love you and here for you 💕

[@Worldofaromantica]

i have this with my chest but also with my breathing. I have a harder time breathing at first, I try to breathe in deeply, but something stops it and then I can't go any further so I can't breathe deeply and then I pay attention to it and it only gets worse. until the moment I can no longer breathe. and also I feel that if I try to relax so don't pay attention and just lie down or something that I can't breathe then it's like I have to breathe. and then I have to think about it or something. I can't really explain it, and i dont know what it is

[@lenaakesson2610]

I just want to let you know that you are rocking this new haircut, I loved all of your outfits in this video, and your necklace was soooooooo beautiful 💕😍

[@sarah_stirlen]

I totally feel you about the anxiety. I have had really serious anxiety since I was 6 I’m 14 now. Anyway I had a really ugly panic attack at school because well life sucks. So yah that’s my life rn

[@tilly_711]

Your not alone! There is a song by a content creater named Wilbur soot that is about being a hypochondriac! Its called Saline Solution! I love it!

[@specialagentA]

Here's another person who can relate: I had pretty bad OCD as a kid and I'm still trying to get help for it. I have a lot of illness anxiety as well as an actual chronic illness so it makes sense to pay attention to that I guess. I think my biggest fear is that even if there is something seriously wrong doctor's will put it to my anxiety and not actually find the cause. Which they did with my chronic illness which took 3.5 years to diagnose.

[@geumdisrud3720]

I have chest pain (not heart related or anxiety related) It hurts ALOT it feels like I am being stabbed in chest when it gets really bad. Pain meds don't take it away and I had to get cleared by a cardiologist before anything else could be done. It doesn't help that I am 15 as it has started affecting my homework. I cant focus when it happens and ontop of it sometimes it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest. I have had it for close 8 months. Its started affecting my grades and its not good at all. Anyway just wanted to share. I love your vids!! You have helped me figure out what comp heterosexulaity is and that when I thought I was bi I am actually lesbian so thank you sooo much!

[@Hvhvjbknllctcrfuogo]

Hope you feel better soon.:-D

[@geumdisrud3720]

@@Hvhvjbknllctcrfuogo Thanks, I get a physical therapy consult on next wensday so hopefully that does it.

[@tabularasa]

4:34 In regards to using cannabis to treat anxiety, medical users are still at a disadvantage (even in nations like Canada) because restrictive laws prohibit big, good quality medical studies. We are still in the dark about the specific details of how cannabis can help or hurt us. But consumers who suffer from anxiety have learned through trial and error that it’s important to use a strain with an appropriate ratio of CBD to THC. It's true that cannabis can decrease anxiety, as you described, but in some people, excess THC consumption can exacerbate it. So the best advice I can offer is talk to an experienced bud-tender in a retail shop, tell them what you've experienced, and ask them to direct you towards a strain with a higher or equal ratio of CBD to THC. Also, going with a low dose is always a good bet.

[@shaliekk]

Damn I'm here early We love you Keara!

[@kali6341]

i have found that when using marijuana to help with my anxiety i need to research the strains before buying anything, i look for strains that would help with anxiety/ more medical leaning strains or indica dominant strains personally. i found this to really help!!

[@transspeciesanimalie9974]

Im transspecies and i have a chronic illness my anxiety does sometimes correlate with identity stuff like dysphoria or others being mean to me about my identity rip, and my behaviour doesnt always correlate with like human body language and as a trans species cetacean THATS A WHOLE JOURNEY ✨🐬🐋 Hope u feel better keara! I followed u for years hehe also what IS that SALAD? IT LOOKS SO GOOD ill order it next on fresh (:

[@various_artists]

Which species are u *flipper hi 5*

[@elizabethgrey2168]

Chrissie hodges on KZbin is amazing at helping you feel so less alone with intrusive thoughts from ocd.

[@girlamerie]

my own family gives me anxiety😔 I literally won't come out my room at times

[@lyky4120]

I just came from my room thinking about am anxiety and wondering when will it go away howll I get over it

[@justinfelt748]

Hello, Keara and Happy Tuesday!😊😊😊😊😊😎☀. First, you look amazing today!💙💙💙💙💙💙. And second, today is International Women's Day!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉. When you're feeling stressed or anything that bothers you, there's only one thing to put the anxiety away - ASMR!💙💙💙💙💙💙💙. It makes the anxiety go away and make your heart grows with anything that calms your body down. And that's the way is ASMR all about. Try it and it's fun! Take care!😊😙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙🌈🌷💜💜💜💜💜💜💜😊😎☀⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐👍

[@cathalreilly4314]

Very good carer

[@richieredmond1163]

What did you do to your hair

[@80s_rockgod49]

Happy whatever day it is. It's Tuesday

[@cathalreilly4314]

Service lovely carer especially in the springtime in the summertime lovely

[@brendam455]

🤗

[@cathalreilly4314]

Just calm down Kira can down that it calm down don't be getting excited

[@niknoks6387]

Does singing not help? Check out the honest guys, they help me chill and sleep. I hope your anxiety settles soon. Take care xx❤️🇬🇧

[@ryanmorejon5813]

I know how you feel sometimes but you have to remember that there are always people out there who will still care for you and help for you and support you like I want to do the same for you 😉🏳️‍🌈❤️

[@joscayaa]

DAMN I'm glad I'm not the only one eating banana with peanut butter

[@charliewithasemicolon]

The KZbin channels Chrissie Hodges (kzbin.info) and OCD and Anxiety (kzbin.info) have great videos about OCD and Anxiety! (they both have videos about health)

[@Jelly_Jay_15]

Omg im the third person to comment!!! But also I have this everytime my hand feels dirty I have to wash it like 3 times if I cant im so anxious

[@benmiller3822]

I was the 1 thousand like

[@Charlotte-uj6jt]

I get anxious at school basically every day so your advice doesn’t really help me bc I can’t just do something random every day and like abandon school for it

[@ted200582]

Make lite of your anxiety Make fun of it in your mind Dont give it serious attention Say….come on …me and u are gonna get on with our day

[@transspeciesanimalie9974]

Also i love ur tidye dolphin shirt , as a trabsspecies cetacean i approve 😏✨🐬

[@Jelly_Jay_15]

I think the reason why you have chest pains is from anxiety it can cause chest pain

[@justino9042]

How old are you??

[@cathalreilly4314]

I had a therapist tell the pandemic hit

[@shaliekk]

6:08 me

[@cathalreilly4314]

I am a little sissy girl tg

[@slowbrodragon6951]

Instead of putting so much time worrying about your gender, you should try to focus first to seek therapy for your anxiety and such, then your gender issues will likely disappear

[@fienockers6038]

Can you also tell me what to do

[@slowbrodragon6951]

@@fienockers6038 sure, what do you need help with? Tell me what's on your mind ☺️

[@chloegibbons2066]

what are your qualifications to say this?

[@various_artists]

Perfect banana

[@user-of5mj5nl6r]

Stop googeling!! I know it’s really hard sometimes but in the end it doesn’t help you😊