u/Own_Campaign1656

Backstory: I am a disabled Vet and have been diagnosed with PTS. Since I was diagnosed in 2013 I am happy to say that my life has gotten infinitely better, working with my psych team on a regular basis saved my life! (I still see them every few months) I’ve gotten married to an amazing woman and got my dream job and I’m in the best shape I’ve been since I got out of the Navy. From the outside, life is the best it’s even been for me.

Current state: a few years ago I started having these dizzy spells and no one could figure out what was going on and after multiple ER visits and 7 CT scans, they finally figured out that I had MAJOR sinus issues and had developed allergies to a bunch of new things (including our dogs)

I’m not sure what triggered this response but I am now terrified of dying due to some unforeseen allergy or ailment and over the last 6 months it’s gotten infinitely worse. I’m an avid golfer and fly fisher and I find myself scared to go outside out of the fear that I’ll get stung by a bee, go into anaphylactic shock and die. Anything allergy related immediately triggers major stress and anxiety and the worst possible thoughts you can imagine, when tends to exacerbate my asthma or whatever “symptoms” I think I’m experiencing at the moment. I wash my hands 12+ times per day just to be sure I’m clear of allergens (I work from home so am not exposed to much during the day). Thankfully I’m good at compartmentalization and no one else has noticed, but it’s getting to the point where I’m not sure how much more I can handle.

I’ve never been allergic to bees and as far as we know, I’m still not but this fear of being stung has gotten worse and worse as the weather has gotten nicer. If I’m being honest with myself, most of the allergic reactions I’ve had were made much worse in my head, the anxiety and panic were worse than the actual symptoms.

I’ve never been scared/compulsive like this before and I don’t know what to do, it’s on my list to talk to my provider about but I’ve also heard great things about this group. Any thoughts anyone might have would be greatly appreciated! I’ve never had something like this happen, developing new fears based off nothing has been terrifying.