I need some tips for PPPD and severe health anxiety
I'm 16 years old and I have severe health anxiety.
Everything started when I had two surgeries for pilonidal cysts. I got highly anxious and started searching around the internet about what it was, what could happen, etc. It took a long time to heal, but it's okay now and I hope I will not have this problem in the future.
After those events, I started having episodes of searching the internet about different illnesses.
Sometimes I stopped for a week and lived normally, but then I'd start again and have panic attacks. This lasted for about 4 or 5 months, and then 3 months ago my anxiety went over the roof. I've felt completely different ever since.
In school, I had random panic attacks where I got high blood pressure and a fast heart rate. While I had them, I felt like I was walking on clouds and thought I could fall at any second. Then they started becoming worse, ano the symptoms became constant.
Now I experience almost:
24/7 panic
***A "walking on clouds" feeling***
***Feeling like I could fall at any second***
***Tremors in my hands***
***Sometimes my vision feels "slower" (I don't know how to explain it***
Depersonalisation
Feeling like i could pass out.
Sometimes can’t focus at all
While I had the high blood pressure, I went to a
cardiologist and took a low dose of beta-blockers (bisoprolol, 1.25 mg) for two months, along with anxiety supplements the doctors recommended. My blood tests came back completely normal, and the neurologist I saw said everything was normal too. I also went to an ENT who diagnosed me with PPPD, and I have seen a psychologist and it doesn't seem to have helped even a little.
Now I'm stuck in a constant, never-ending cycle. I feel terrified to go outside because I think something might happen. I spend the whole day sitting in my chair or laying on my bed. The main problem is that the moment I stand up to walk, all of my symptoms appear. I'm completely exhausted and genuinely don't know what to do anymore.
I just want my normal life back. I want this panic to stop taking over because I feel like I can't do anything at all.
Every second I think something is wrong with me and jump to the worst-case scenario. I mostly worry about my heart and brain, and recently I've been fixating on my thyroid, kidneys, and many other things.
The people who try to help me can be counted on one hand. Everyone else tells me I'm exaggerating or doing this for attention, and it feels like no one cares.
If anyone has gone through this or has tips on how to handle PPPD and this level of panic, I would be so incredibly grateful. Thank you so much for reading this!