Wow, this could not have come at a better time...My family and friend community are dealing with a nasty stomach bug and I have a fear of throwing up (I hate it). I find myself washing my hands and judging others for bringing their kids around when they were sick throwing up two days ago. The Lord is showing me that this overwhelming, ruminating fear is mostly about not being able to control this thing that I hate. I need to do what I can, take vitamins and exercise, but ultimately know that He's going to see me through it, no matter how awful it might feel at the time. He even promises to bring me blessings through the hard things...
Thanks so much bro. I actually first found you by accident in the first health anxiety video you made, this one here came right when I needed it. God bless 🙏
I have suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember, first it started with separation anxiety- worrying about my mom and if I left her I couldn’t control (stop) anything happening to her. As I grew older and moved out it transitioned to health anxiety. I now have gastrointestinal issues and have been checked a lot of times but have constant rumination thoughts. Listening to your videos has made me realize the core issue- I didn’t feel safe through childhood and I need to control my environment. Thank you for posting this and please do more! God bless you
Wow---so need this! Thanks, Mark! Whew--wish I would've discovered you and Melissa back in March of 2020 (well-before that actually). I've got this video on loop.
When you asked "What if I started talking about cancer?" I usually would have closed the video instantly. I avoided everything related to cancer. Cancer being mentioned on TV -> switching channels, washing hands; cancer in the newspaper -> closing it, washing hands; "do not see a mental image of celebrities who have or had cancer". Cancer on my internet browser -> closing it, deleting all cookies etc. I would avoid the word entirely, even if it is about the zodiac sign, not the disease. I would not read it any further, I would not hear it any further. I certainly would not write "cancer". Saying "cancer"? Absolutely not. Now as you see, I wrote cancer nine times by now. I just started writing the word out again and again and again. I was having casual conversations about King Charles' disease etc etc. I am not a mental health expert and definitely talk to your therapist or health provider about it before you do anything but my experience is that it is a good start to just write the name of the disease you fear over and over and over. For me it took all the magic out of the word "cancer". Of course you do not wash your hands after writing it, you don't delete it from the paper, you don't throw the paper away immediately for neutralizing purposes. Maybe put it down and read it out loud 15, 30 minutes later. You go on with what you want to do, not what your OCD tells you to do. It will get mad, it will throw stuff at you. And you ignore it. You say "okay, then be it". I stopped cancer/disease related compulsions which were at least 14 years old cold turkey on my own because it took months to find a therapist available to me (THAT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE, TALK TO HEALTH CARE PRODIVERS AND THERAPISTS BEFORE DOING THAT). It was not easy but if I can do it, you can do it IN YOUR OWN pace too.
I have a contamination/ health fear with chemicals. I am so happy there is a website for poison control because when I call them, they act like I'm craaaazzzy. 😂 I know this is reassurance seeking but I'm working on it. At least I can laugh about it lol
Thank you so much for this video. This is exactly where I am right now. I think a few things formed.my fears of health. My brother nearly died when we were kids and got a sickness that they now vaccinate kids for. I was misdiagnosed more then once in my life...one of those needing surgery for. And my dad has had COPD for the last 20 plus years and it's a progressive illness that will take his life sometime and for 20 years we have wondered if it was our last Christmas or birthday with him...he also stopped breathing in front of the entire family and we had to do CPR on him and he was placed in the hospital and intubated for a week. This happened every 6 months on the clock for 3 to 5 years. When I finally had my own child my fear was ignited to massive levels. I think this started the OCD and the control and the fear tornadoing through my life. And now I've created a monster that has big wheels and no breaks, so it runs fast and smashes through logic and faith. I have quite a way to go...my hole is deep. But I never realized it was OCD, control and fear issues until I watched your videos. I honestly thought in my craziness that if I stopped worrying about it God might make the illness true because I didn't pay enough attention to "him" about it. Sick thinking, huh. Time to start relearning.
Really a beautiful video and a beautiful talk! Thank you Mark for all of your hard work. It really resonated to me because I am struggling with Health OCD (and probably other forms of OCD) I was wondering where can we ask you the questions that you will possibly address in your videos?
I have been struggling intensely for the past year. Scared to hangout with people. Scared to go into public. Washing my hands. Excessive cleaning and showering after work. Scared to eat food. I've researched so much. Where is this coming from? Turning to god. I spent this entire morning crying just so tired of it. This video is one I think I will need to watch many times. My mom was very depressed and disabled. She would attempt suicide lay in bed for weeks. I was also taught the world is a scary place. And I always feel I am in danger. I don't know why this never clicked for me before. I'm so looking forward to re-learning safety. Thank you so much.
My health anxiety has always been off the charts, but the Covid situation caused me zero worry at all. I actually found it strange to see so many people afraid during that time. I can’t explain it, other than the fact that maybe I deal with real scenarios much better than the ones that my health OCD conjures up.
I have dealt with it for years. As a child , I was very sick all the time, especially the first five years of my life, were horrible with illnesses I had a lot of o.C.D back as. Child didn't know it it didn't have a name. Then, in nineteen eighty two, when I was twenty-seven years old, I was in a very serious car accident where I had been given three points of blood , so I would live. I started getting. Sick after that. Unexplained illnesses. I just figured I was going crazy after many years of unexplained illnesses. In nineteen Ninety nine, I was diagnosed with hepatitis c. The cause of years of unexplained illnesses. Of course, by this time, I was a mess because now I was diagnosed with an untreatable disease. Years of thinking I was crazy. Hepatitis c was only given a name in nineteen eighty nine. There was no cure back then , so in nineteen ninety It looked hopeless. But at least I knew An answer to my illnesses. I refused the interferon treatments because they were horrible. So glad I refuse them because they did.People's bodies harm worse than The hepatitis c did. In two thousand and twenty I did the new treatments that were out It was easy two months and I was cured of Hepata to see. But The health anxiety is still there In my mind in Two thousand twenty four.
I wasn't taught shit about prayer. Nor was I prayed for. I had to come back to it myself. Or, it had to come back to me. Not that I wasn't shown love, I was, I just feel that without prayer, something major is missing from human life.
My fear is performance based. I hate mistakes, I have a bass guitar that I have a love hate relationship with. I've wanted to play for more than 40 years now but I never thought I could learn all the workings of music, scales, modes, rhythms. I've been invited to sing on several occasions but I don't like my voice and I've never learned how to use it. At 68 years old the regrets of my life are growing and there are a few. My biggest is not using the skills that God gave me and now I don't know how to connect to Him. I feel like I'm too late.
Wow, this could not have come at a better time...My family and friend community are dealing with a nasty stomach bug and I have a fear of throwing up (I hate it). I find myself washing my hands and judging others for bringing their kids around when they were sick throwing up two days ago. The Lord is showing me that this overwhelming, ruminating fear is mostly about not being able to control this thing that I hate. I need to do what I can, take vitamins and exercise, but ultimately know that He's going to see me through it, no matter how awful it might feel at the time. He even promises to bring me blessings through the hard things...
Thanks so much bro. I actually first found you by accident in the first health anxiety video you made, this one here came right when I needed it. God bless 🙏
Mark this is for me. Thank you so much for this video. You have no idea what this video did for me. God bless you and your family
I have suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember, first it started with separation anxiety- worrying about my mom and if I left her I couldn’t control (stop) anything happening to her. As I grew older and moved out it transitioned to health anxiety. I now have gastrointestinal issues and have been checked a lot of times but have constant rumination thoughts. Listening to your videos has made me realize the core issue- I didn’t feel safe through childhood and I need to control my environment. Thank you for posting this and please do more! God bless you
My experience too.
My relationship with sickness is terror and dread. I'm more afraid of sickness and suffering than death.
@@catmomma3119 This is so me too! Pain is the worst part when you have sickness, and this really scared me.
Wow---so need this! Thanks, Mark! Whew--wish I would've discovered you and Melissa back in March of 2020 (well-before that actually). I've got this video on loop.
When you asked "What if I started talking about cancer?" I usually would have closed the video instantly. I avoided everything related to cancer. Cancer being mentioned on TV -> switching channels, washing hands; cancer in the newspaper -> closing it, washing hands; "do not see a mental image of celebrities who have or had cancer". Cancer on my internet browser -> closing it, deleting all cookies etc. I would avoid the word entirely, even if it is about the zodiac sign, not the disease. I would not read it any further, I would not hear it any further. I certainly would not write "cancer". Saying "cancer"? Absolutely not. Now as you see, I wrote cancer nine times by now. I just started writing the word out again and again and again. I was having casual conversations about King Charles' disease etc etc. I am not a mental health expert and definitely talk to your therapist or health provider about it before you do anything but my experience is that it is a good start to just write the name of the disease you fear over and over and over. For me it took all the magic out of the word "cancer". Of course you do not wash your hands after writing it, you don't delete it from the paper, you don't throw the paper away immediately for neutralizing purposes. Maybe put it down and read it out loud 15, 30 minutes later. You go on with what you want to do, not what your OCD tells you to do. It will get mad, it will throw stuff at you. And you ignore it. You say "okay, then be it". I stopped cancer/disease related compulsions which were at least 14 years old cold turkey on my own because it took months to find a therapist available to me (THAT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE, TALK TO HEALTH CARE PRODIVERS AND THERAPISTS BEFORE DOING THAT). It was not easy but if I can do it, you can do it IN YOUR OWN pace too.
Wow, "What is your relationship with..." It can become an identity! 😮
I have a contamination/ health fear with chemicals. I am so happy there is a website for poison control because when I call them, they act like I'm craaaazzzy. 😂 I know this is reassurance seeking but I'm working on it. At least I can laugh about it lol
Thank you so much for this video. This is exactly where I am right now. I think a few things formed.my fears of health. My brother nearly died when we were kids and got a sickness that they now vaccinate kids for. I was misdiagnosed more then once in my life...one of those needing surgery for. And my dad has had COPD for the last 20 plus years and it's a progressive illness that will take his life sometime and for 20 years we have wondered if it was our last Christmas or birthday with him...he also stopped breathing in front of the entire family and we had to do CPR on him and he was placed in the hospital and intubated for a week. This happened every 6 months on the clock for 3 to 5 years. When I finally had my own child my fear was ignited to massive levels. I think this started the OCD and the control and the fear tornadoing through my life. And now I've created a monster that has big wheels and no breaks, so it runs fast and smashes through logic and faith. I have quite a way to go...my hole is deep. But I never realized it was OCD, control and fear issues until I watched your videos. I honestly thought in my craziness that if I stopped worrying about it God might make the illness true because I didn't pay enough attention to "him" about it. Sick thinking, huh. Time to start relearning.
Really a beautiful video and a beautiful talk! Thank you Mark for all of your hard work. It really resonated to me because I am struggling with Health OCD (and probably other forms of OCD)
I was wondering where can we ask you the questions that you will possibly address in your videos?
Once again, thank you!
Very effective. Very happy to find you Mark
I have been struggling intensely for the past year. Scared to hangout with people. Scared to go into public. Washing my hands. Excessive cleaning and showering after work. Scared to eat food.
I've researched so much. Where is this coming from? Turning to god. I spent this entire morning crying just so tired of it.
This video is one I think I will need to watch many times. My mom was very depressed and disabled. She would attempt suicide lay in bed for weeks. I was also taught the world is a scary place. And I always feel I am in danger. I don't know why this never clicked for me before.
I'm so looking forward to re-learning safety. Thank you so much.
WOW! Thank you for this! So good!
This is amazing truly
Thank you from the bottom of my heart
My health anxiety has always been off the charts, but the Covid situation caused me zero worry at all. I actually found it strange to see so many people afraid during that time. I can’t explain it, other than the fact that maybe I deal with real scenarios much better than the ones that my health OCD conjures up.
Omg, I finally found a video on the actually root of it! Thank you so much.
Thank you so much. You have helped me tremendously
I have just found out just how proud I am which is why I hate mistakes.
what happens when you get health ocd from having chronic illness 😞
I have dealt with it for years. As a child , I was very sick all the time, especially the first five years of my life, were horrible with illnesses I had a lot of o.C.D back as. Child didn't know it it didn't have a name. Then, in nineteen eighty two, when I was twenty-seven years old, I was in a very serious car accident where I had been given three points of blood , so I would live. I started getting.
Sick after that. Unexplained illnesses. I just figured I was going crazy after many years of unexplained illnesses. In nineteen Ninety nine, I was diagnosed with hepatitis c. The cause of years of unexplained illnesses. Of course, by this time, I was a mess because now I was diagnosed with an untreatable disease. Years of thinking I was crazy. Hepatitis c was only given a name in nineteen eighty nine. There was no cure back then , so in nineteen ninety It looked hopeless. But at least I knew An answer to my illnesses. I refused the interferon treatments because they were horrible. So glad I refuse them because they did.People's bodies harm worse than The hepatitis c did. In two thousand and twenty I did the new treatments that were out It was easy two months and I was cured of Hepata to see. But The health anxiety is still there In my mind in Two thousand twenty four.
I believe my heart is really struggling with loving my enemies. Therefore, my Salvation obsessive compulsive tendencies come up big time. 🙎
I wasn't taught shit about prayer. Nor was I prayed for. I had to come back to it myself. Or, it had to come back to me. Not that I wasn't shown love, I was, I just feel that without prayer, something major is missing from human life.
My fear is performance based. I hate mistakes, I have a bass guitar that I have a love hate relationship with. I've wanted to play for more than 40 years now but I never thought I could learn all the workings of music, scales, modes, rhythms. I've been invited to sing on several occasions but I don't like my voice and I've never learned how to use it. At 68 years old the regrets of my life are growing and there are a few. My biggest is not using the skills that God gave me and now I don't know how to connect to Him. I feel like I'm too late.