so, i found this site today and it has been seriously helpful. but it made me think, ive noticed alot of people who get this kind of thing have a history of anxiety/panic/worrying. which i think has alot to answer for!!
however, it made me wonder, what makes people get like that? i try and think back to what has made me the way i am, and i really cant pin point a specific time in which i suddenly became a 'worrier' im 26 but i was really ill when i was 11 with some sort of vomiting virus i assume, where it damaged my stomach and i ended up with terrible IBS which made school life awful and was a constant worry on my mind (you know, where all the bathrooms are, will it start when im out, it will be embarressing) so it would be easy for me to say that was the trigger in my life. however even earlier than this im sure i was reading my parents 'family guide to health' book which had every illness under the sun in it. and having a nervous disposition even younger than thins. i really wish i could remember the exact trigger. i have 5 brothers and sisters and none of them are like me. there must be something from being really little engrained in me to have started these thoughts off.
can anyone else remember a 'trigger' point to where they seemed to become obsessed with their health? dont get me wrong, when im feeling okay i dont worry about my health, but when things start i tend to assume the worst! x

Yes. I can remember my trigger very clearly. It's silly but I'll tell the story anyway.

I was probably 10 or 11 and having a sleepover with my friends. One of my friends was kidding around about breast cancer and for some reason it triggered something in my mind. I was convinced I had breast cancer based on what my friends had told me about it that night. From that point on I thought about my health CONSTANTLY. I have thought I've had everything under the sun - all kinds of cancers, diseases, etc.

My family had a similar book, I kept it under my bed and would read it all the time.

I'm the only person in my family who obsessively worries about their health. However mental illness, specifically anxiety and depression are in my family. So I'm sure whatever goes on in my head is a mixture of the family history and that sleepover when I was 10 or so.

I do,I can totally relate.I grew up being anxious,the only child(my twin sister died 9 days after we were born),my dad was out of home for 9mths to a year at the time working on ships and my mom was always overly protective.I remember always being sick up to age 12 with bronchitis,on antibiotics and home constantly and there is this one time when I was sick in bed with a high fever and my mom crying over my bed putting cold compress on me and saying "Oh no she is going to die"...and then there was my amazing grandma who kept saying to me that when I was born they thought I was the one going to die not my sister and they thought I would have problem with my heart and I was a runner and proved them wrong...those were her words(But I had no heart problems)...plus many more instances with my mom and dad being sick that would make me fearful.

Now,I can be ok,almost would not know I have anxiety issues...until something starts hurting that feels weird or different and I freak out!When my anxiety turned upside down in my mid 20's I would run to doctor all the time looking for reassurance and then I'd be ok...now,I'm the opposite,I stay clear of doctor offices as I hate waiting for tests always thinking the worst,like I will have the C-word,I can't even say cancer out loud or they find something wrong with me and then I will not stop panicking....

It all makes me feel stupid and irresponsible...

My health is just another thing I tend to worry about, among many.  I have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and have panic attacks, too.  My palps do happen when I'm anxious but they also happen when I'm not.  I also have a VERY strong family history of anxiety.  My aunt had agoraphobia and didn't leave the house for a while, aunt and uncle have panic attacks, etc.  I think it runs in families but it also may have to do with the fact that I hated school as a kid and worried a lot when I was there.  Not sure what exactly tuned me up anxiety-wise but I've been struggling against it since I was about 6 years old.

Jess33,

How bad are they? do you have PVCs everyday.  What is it that make them so bad that you can't (or wont) work or have kids? do you have that many?

Just curious.