I’ve been to numerous doctors and all have agreed my symptoms are related to anxiety. But I can’t stop worrying that I may have a more serious health condition. Should I go for further testing?
It’s important to see your doctor about new, changing, persistent, or reoccurring symptoms. But if you’ve done that and your doctor has attributed your symptoms solely to anxiety, you can feel confident that your doctor’s assessment is correct.
If you aren’t confident in your doctor’s diagnosis, you may want to seek a second and even third opinion. If all opinions agree that your symptoms are solely caused by anxiety, however, you can feel confident that your symptoms are caused solely by anxiety and not by some other medical condition.
While doctors can make mistakes, since they are human, most doctors do a good job of correctly differentiating anxiety from other medical conditions, because other medical conditions generally have symptoms unique unto themselves and unlike that of anxiety alone. Most good doctors can spot the difference quite easily.
Again, if you've had two or three "second opinions," you can feel confident nothing else is going on. While further testing could help to alleviate your fears, if the doctors don't think they are necessary, it’s probably wise to not waste your time and money when the outcome most likely won’t change.
Again, symptoms solely caused from anxiety are easy to recognize. Doctors are well trained to spot the difference between anxiety caused symptoms and symptoms caused by other medical conditions.
Once you have the evidence that no other medical condition is causing your symptoms, it’s your job to contain your worry. Successfully containing worry is an important part of recovery and of maintaining normal health once it is attained. It’s a skill worth the time, effort, and expense of learning.
If you don’t know how to contain your fears and worries, you may want to seek the help of an experienced anxiety disorder therapist.
The combination of good self-help information and working with an experienced anxiety disorder therapist is the most effective way to address anxiety disorder and its many symptoms. Until the core causes of anxiety are addressed - the underlying factors that motivate apprehensive behavior - a struggle with anxiety disorder can return again and again. Identifying and successfully addressing anxiety's underlying factors is the best way to overcome problematic anxiety.
Additional Resources:
- Anxiety Disorders, Symptoms, Signs, Types, Causes, and Treatment.
- Anxiety attacks and panic symptoms can be powerful experiences. Find out what they are and how to stop them.
- How to stop panic attacks.
- Free online anxiety tests to screen for anxiety. Two minute tests with instant results.
- Anxiety 101 is a summarized description of anxiety, anxiety disorder, and how to recover.
Return to our Anxiety Frequent Questions page.
anxietycentre.com: Information, support, and coaching/counseling/therapy for problematic anxiety and its sensations and symptoms.
