How can I stop googling my symptoms?

[Dakota]

Hello!
I'm here because I have a lot of symptoms. I don't wanna bother you with a list, but I have symptoms that doctors can see, and other that they cannot see, but I do see.
I found myself googling my symptoms especially during panic attacks or moment of peak states of anxiety.
Does it happen to you too?
How can we stop googling every single thing we feel?
Thank you,
Love
Dakota

 

[Fal]

I did a lot of googling my symptoms and joined Reddit threads based on certain things looking for peoples stories and reassurances and it’s the worst thing you can do.

However it’s what ultimately led me to this forum as someone posted about their positive experiences from here. I knew I had a problem but I couldn’t stop checking every day for cures of if something was an anxiety symptom.

As soon as I found this website and read the success stories I knew deep down this is what I am currently suffering from.

From that point on i deleted every medical type app from my phone, Reddit, any community apps and have my girlfriend periodically check my history and if she sees I have Googled something I get my favourite stuff taken away (in my case my xbox). I agreed to this because I want to take it seriously and she knows I like to play the xbox on an evening. This has helped me to stop thinking about, however I am at the very beginning on my journey to hopefully recovering so a long way to go to improve

 

[Dakota]

I did a lot of googling my symptoms and joined Reddit threads based on certain things looking for peoples stories and reassurances and it’s the worst thing you can do.

However it’s what ultimately led me to this forum as someone posted about their positive experiences from here. I knew I had a problem but I couldn’t stop checking every day for cures of if something was an anxiety symptom.

As soon as I found this website and read the success stories I knew deep down this is what I am currently suffering from.

From that point on i deleted every medical type app from my phone, Reddit, any community apps and have my girlfriend periodically check my history and if she sees I have Googled something I get my favourite stuff taken away (in my case my xbox). I agreed to this because I want to take it seriously and she knows I like to play the xbox on an evening. This has helped me to stop thinking about, however I am at the very beginning on my journey to hopefully recovering so a long way to go to improve

Oh, for sure your journey is going to improve! You-re doing great, you' re so committed, and you have people around you understanding and supporting you. This is a lot. i have my therapist that helped me and asked me to follow this program, otherwise I have people or too science oriented or too "oh, it's all in tour head" oriented. Thank you for sharing.

 

[plum]

I found myself googling my symptoms especially during panic attacks or moment of peak states of anxiety.

Sweetheart, you just have to stop. Draw a line in the sand and make a vow to change your behaviour especially when you are scared. Fear is the fuel for TMS. All you achieve when you Google symptoms is to add more fear which in turn perpetuates them.

The very best thing you can do is commit to learning all about TMS. I highly recommend the podcast ‘Tell Me About Your Pain’ which is co-hosted by Alan Gordon whose program is shared on this site. Saturate yourself with information. Let it grow into knowledge. Once you understand what TMS really is you’ll no longer need to search for answers.

Love,

plum

 

[LaughingKat]

I want to say that if anybody had told me I'd eventually lose interest in googling my symptoms, I never would have believed them. I was that desperate to find "the answer." But as I read about more TMS experiences, I VERY gradually realized that all the googling wasn't getting me one step closer to healing. Instead, it was a way of torturing myself, keeping my fear alive and my nervous system on high alert. Google is designed to spit out worst case scenarios, not reality. Every headache is a brain tumor, every twitch is a fatal disease. In other words, Dr. Google is a quack.

I wish you all the best on your healing journey.

 

[Ellen]

When trying to eliminate a behavior, I think it's good to use a replacement behavior. So when I feel like doing X, I'll do Y instead. A good replacement behavior for googling symptoms is to read TMS Success Stories instead. Or read a TMS book, listen to a TMS podcast, etc.

Wishing you the best.......

 

[Baseball65]

-Anyone talking to me

"I have been having this weird symptom so I looked it up on WebMd and ......."

-Me interrupting them

"Where is the cancer THIS time? How long do you have to live THIS time?"

This compulsion is No different than OCD. It's a compulsion where one is trying to "Bind the anxiety" but the sufferer gets no relief ...only more and worse anxiety. We want to KNOW something definite. A little niggling voice says "If only I know this one thing absolutely, than I can be OK with all of the other things", but the trap is already set.

If I told you tomorrow that I scoped every inch of your body and you are the healthiest person on the planet you would feel great for 20 minutes, until the voice said "But did you check....?" "Well yeah, I was OK THEN, but since then I have been exposed to __________"

When you realize that the voice IS the problem, not the questions it is asking, you will be free indeed. The questions are limitless and no amount of consolation can assuage the anxiety they give you, only the truth can, and they are not the truth.

The compulsion is there, like TMS to block you from the things That really are bugging you that you think you can't deal with...your job you hate, the relationship that sucks, your profound loneliness, your sense of guilt. We all know this because all of us who have been set free found that crap in our basement too.

When you give THOSE your attention, you will find you just don't have the time or inclination to check WebMd or Dr. Google because you have a weird pain in your _______ . Because you won't have it anymore. Promise

 

[Dakota]

Sweetheart, you just have to stop. Draw a line in the sand and make a vow to change your behaviour especially when you are scared. Fear is the fuel for TMS. All you achieve when you Google symptoms is to add more fear which in turn perpetuates them.

The very best thing you can do is commit to learning all about TMS. I highly recommend the podcast ‘Tell Me About Your Pain’ which is co-hosted by Alan Gordon whose program is shared on this site. Saturate yourself with information. Let it grow into knowledge. Once you understand what TMS really is you’ll no longer need to search for answers.

Love,

plum

I loved your "Sweetheart, you just have to stop." Yes, so true. fear is the fuel for TMS, totally agree. Thank you <3

 

[Dakota]

[QUOTE="Google is designed to spit out worst case scenarios, not reality. Every headache is a brain tumor, every twitch is a fatal disease. In other words, Dr. Google is a quack.[/QUOTE]
You're soooo right. It's crazy how much I self sabotage feeding this pattern. Thank you!

 

[Dakota]

When trying to eliminate a behavior, I think it's good to use a replacement behavior. So when I feel like doing X, I'll do Y instead. A good replacement behavior for googling symptoms is to read TMS Success Stories instead. Or read a TMS book, listen to a TMS podcast, etc.

Wishing you the best.......

This suggestion will help me. i saw that in a very natural way i started to be more in the program and more in the forum too. During my first (only 2 weeks) of the program, maybe I interacted here just once. Thank you, the replacemnet is something that I will keep in mind also for other issues!

 

[Dakota]

-Anyone talking to me

"I have been having this weird symptom so I looked it up on WebMd and ......."

-Me interrupting them

"Where is the cancer THIS time? How long do you have to live THIS time?"

This compulsion is No different than OCD. It's a compulsion where one is trying to "Bind the anxiety" but the sufferer gets no relief ...only more and worse anxiety. We want to KNOW something definite. A little niggling voice says "If only I know this one thing absolutely, than I can be OK with all of the other things", but the trap is already set.

If I told you tomorrow that I scoped every inch of your body and you are the healthiest person on the planet you would feel great for 20 minutes, until the voice said "But did you check....?" "Well yeah, I was OK THEN, but since then I have been exposed to __________"

When you realize that the voice IS the problem, not the questions it is asking, you will be free indeed. The questions are limitless and no amount of consolation can assuage the anxiety they give you, only the truth can, and they are not the truth.

The compulsion is there, like TMS to block you from the things That really are bugging you that you think you can't deal with...your job you hate, the relationship that sucks, your profound loneliness, your sense of guilt. We all know this because all of us who have been set free found that crap in our basement too.

When you give THOSE your attention, you will find you just don't have the time or inclination to check WebMd or Dr. Google because you have a weird pain in your _______ . Because you won't have it anymore. Promise

Tears in my eyes. Thank you, this is so powerful and helpful for me. Thank you!