Expert: Reed (John Rieger) - 1/27/2012

Question
Ever since I was little, I've had hypochondriac tendencies. I am constantly worrying about my health, and every time I have a symptom, I jump to the worst possible cause. Researching symptom causes on the internet is usually a bad idea, making it only worse, as cancer pops up for everything. Despite logically knowing this, I still worry.

My mother died a few years ago from a degenerative disease, and this has only served to intensify my worries. I have panic attacks over the smallest symptoms. I always feel like I'm sick, even though my physicals at the doctor's office generally go well. I don't trust medical doctors because they are constantly misdiagnosing, and (generally speaking) rarely seem to care about the well-being of their patients and care more about the money in their pockets.

I've eaten very well most of my life, mostly vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains. I exercise moderately. I don't smoke, I rarely drink alcohol. I avoid physically suffering any way I can, and yet I still think I'm going to be sick in a hospital bed some day soon. My thinking is, an incredible amount of people die from disease, disorder, illness, etc... What's to stop me from having the same fate?

I know there is no quick fix to this kind of thinking/feeling, but what can I do to alleviate this anxiety and to stop feeling such terror any time a random symptom pops up?

Answer
Hi Ashley,

While you may be researching causes of your symptoms, I assure you that the causes you have been given are not the real cause. I say that because doctors are not dealing with your whole Being, your Mind, Intuition, feelings and emotions, and your Body collectively.

Your panic attacks are related to suppressed and denied feelings and emotions that you experienced in your early childhood. Something traumatic happened either to you or to someone close to you, or even a pet that got sick and died. This is confirmed by your statement, “I avoid physically suffering any way I can.” When we experience something that is traumatic and we can’t fully express all that we feel in the moment, we fragment. By that I mean that a part of us is forced outside of our energy field, and it is this part of us that we need to heal in the present time

The only way that you can heal this permanently (on all levels) is to allow yourself to remember, feel and express everything that you have been denying and avoiding all your life the next time you are activated into your panic attacks. It’s not going to be easy or nice, but I assure you it works.  

I’m going to give you a link to my website http://shenreed.com/index.html and my free eBooks   that you can download. In your case, I suggest that you begin with book 2 and go to Chapter 20 - Healing Level 1.. While my issues are not the same as yours, the panic and terror I was feeling was, and that is what is important. Once you have read that, you can read other parts of that book, or go to book 1 and use the meditation tools I share to help you find the lost parts of you.

If you have any questions, you know where you can find me,

Regards
Reed