i have a phobia of appendicitis, what can i do to get over this fear?

Question

I'm a teenager and i am absolutly petrified of appendicitis. Whenever the word is mentioned or applied, i scream, start shaking, break out a sweat, start crying or can't sleep or refuse to eat. It's really bad, i need help. Please give me advice.

Answer 1

i am scared of dying! i spend all day on web m.d. cuz every cough, bruise, itch, spot, i think i have cancer or something and am going to die. every head-ache i think i have a brain tumor.
i am thinking about hypnosis. or therapy for anxiety. maybe one of those would work for you...

or just get your appendix out, if they do that without you being sick.

i know how it is!! :(

Answer 2

First, you have to recognize that the actual risk of getting appendicitis is extremely low, and if you do get it, most people recover completely if they get to a hospital within a day or two of the problem. So, there is no real risk - the risk of dying from a bee sting or car accident is much higher.

Second, you need to realize that even though the risk is not real, your body is responding as if you are in a life-threatening situation. This is called a panic attack. Rapid breathing, sweating, feeling shaky, and agitation are all caused by adrenalin - this is the 'flight of fight' response that people feel when they are in a threatening situation. There is nothing wrong with you when you feel this way - this is what adrenalin does. What ends up happening with many people is that a past experience with something scary caused a normal release of adrenalin. But the odd feelings caused by adrenalin actually end up becoming the thing a person actually fears. Then the next time the situation is encountered, you try to fight the effects of adrenalin, which creates more anxiety, and releases more adrenalin.

To stop this cycle, you need to accept the fact that you will always feel effects of adrenalin whenever something scares you - this is normal and cannot be avoided. Second, you need to recognize that even though the feelings caused by adrenalin are uncomfortable, they aren't going to hurt you. When you think about it, feeling shaky, sweating and having a tight stomach isn't that big of a deal, and it goes a way after a little while.

The last step is to learn how to cope with adrenalin. The worst part of a panic attack is the shallow breathing that leads to hyperventilation which causes weakness and an upset stomach. You can stop this by telling yourself - OK - i'm feeling scared and adrenalin is causing me to feel weird. I am going to take deep shallow breaths to calm down and wait a little while until the adrenalin wears off.

The link has some good techniques for dealing with this sort of thing:

Answer 3

Educate yourself on appendicitis. What it is and how the procedure would go if anything would happen.

Only a small percent of people actually have complications. Alot of people are scared of many things. The best way to control that fear is to conquer it. Like I said educate yourself and better understand what it is you are afraid of. Maybe you will find some kind of common ground with your fear.

Good Luck

Answer 4

have your appendix removed...then you shoudl not have to worry about it anymore.