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Always think worst.

Fuzzyhead

Senior Member
Messages
372
Why can't i just believe Dr's etc? I have had a left sided back ache for about 6 weeks and i keep prodding and twisting my torso and convincing myself it's my lung because it hurts sometimes at the end of my breath. I saw an osteopath yesterday who said she could feel all my left side wasn't right and my rib was locked. I kept saying to her so it isn't my lung and she said no i can feel it's skeletal. I believed it coming home but this morning it's worse and i am worrying it's my lung again. Why do i always think the worst, it's awful.
 

lansbergen

Senior Member
Messages
2,512
I am pretty sure in my case it is the pleura. That effects both ribs and lungs. So you are probably both right.
 

Invisible Woman

Senior Member
Messages
1,267
Did the osteo plan on having multiple appointments with you or was (s)he expecting to sort it in one go?

If it was a one off appointment I would get back in touch with them to let them know it's worse. Otherwise mention that it got worse at the next appointment - bring the appointment forward if necessary. If you are really worried then maybe a trip to the GP is in order.

Why do you always think the worst? Well, you're not alone there. I think many of us find that when we are in a bad patch we are inclined to think the worst - let's face it experience has shown us that not every cloud has a silver lining. I usually find having a rest and maybe reducing my activity over a few days helps.

I also find that when I am going through a bad phase, there is so much that I can't get a grip on that I can sometimes become a bit fixated on some individual problem. I think it's my brain's way of coping because it simply cannot handle the big picture.

Don't be too hard on yourself. Could you maybe treat yourself to something you could manage from a bar of chocolate or a nice escapism novel? Assuming that you can manage either of those.

Even perfectly healthy people can occasionally find themselves being very negative for all sorts of reasons. If you do find mood is a problem then it might be worth contacting the MEA's Connect service as they may be able to point you in the direction of help. I am assuming you are in the UK:

http://www.meassociation.org.uk/information-and-support-line/meconnect/

The Samaritans can be good if you just need someone to chat to but don't feel you want to talk to those around you about it - you don't need to be suicidal or anything to talk to them. Again I am assuming the UK:

http://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help-you/contact-us

And you can always chat to us here.

I hope you feel much better soon. :hug:
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
Why can't i just believe Dr's etc? I have had a left sided back ache for about 6 weeks and i keep prodding and twisting my torso and convincing myself it's my lung because it hurts sometimes at the end of my breath. I saw an osteopath yesterday who said she could feel all my left side wasn't right and my rib was locked. I kept saying to her so it isn't my lung and she said no i can feel it's skeletal. I believed it coming home but this morning it's worse and i am worrying it's my lung again. Why do i always think the worst, it's awful.

At least you know you're thinking the worst, aware that it's not the pain per se but what you're thinking about it that is the biggest problem right now, because our thoughts are the one thing (almost the only thing!) we can have any sort of control over. I read once that we can only have one thought at a time (despite all the noise about multi-tasking). So if you distract yourself (in various ways), then the negative thinking will stop, because you can't think 2 things at the same time.

Invisible Woman has some good suggestions for doing this. Meditating helps me calm my mind. And reading fun trashy books or a good murder mystery. And watching Jane the Virgin on Netflix - one of the funniest series out there.

When you're thinking the worst about something, you're invariably thinking about the future. If you train yourself to stay in the moment, now (and meditation is very good for this), then the worry basically stops. It's non-productive anyways. I'm not religious but like this saying anyways: if you worry, why pray? and if you pray, worry? Actually worry is about the most useless thing to do - it accomplishes nothing and just paralyzes us and makes us feel awful.

And yes, I'm sure addressing the issue may help - let the osteopath know it's worse and see what she says. I would assume she has some sort of treatment plan in mind. When I cracked a rib, it definitely hurt when I breathed and it lasted for several weeks so it makes perfect sense to me that your problem could be a rib.
 

Mary

Moderator Resource
Messages
17,335
Location
Southern California
@Fuzzyhead - I just realized it is so easy to give advice ... right now I'm struggling quite a bit with worry re my granddaughter who has cervical cancer. The only thing that really helps me with the worry is doing research, trying to find an answer that doesn't include poisoning her with chemo.

Between my granddaughter and our new president-elect in the U.S., I've been hit with a double whammy. Jane the Virgin is very good for taking my mind off of Trump, and doing research helps with my granddaughter.