Typing in your symptoms in Google is NEVER a good thing for a person dealing with Anxiety.

When I was going through my anxiety, I would google every little symptom that I had.

I diagnosed myself with just about every possible disease out there. I would bookmark all the sites and pages that I would go to. I even joined support groups.

Little did I know, the Internet became my worst enemy. I would surf the net with the sole purpose of trying to find answers and calm my fears, but I was actually causing more harm that good.

Three things that I realized from my searches on the web for anxiety:

1. Your mind will play tricks on you

Anyone can post anything on the Internet, whether it be true of false.

When you are suffering from anxiety, your mind will convince you to believe everything is true.

2. Any page can cause anxiety

I read articles and posts, but the minute I read a post that sparked fear in me, my anxiety would skyrocket and I would go into full blown panic mode. I would obsess over the "what if's" about what I read.

What if it was true? What if that happens to me? What if that is what I had? What if, what if, what if". I found out a lot about myself and what I could handle and what I could not.

3. Support groups can sometimes cause more harm than good

By joining these groups I did find out that there were a lot of people experiencing my same symptoms and going through anxiety, which was good, but I quickly found out that my obsessive researching and joining these support groups about anxiety became too much for me to handle.

I became personally attached to every post. Most of the posts on the message boards for the anxiety groups were people going through the same thing I was going through.

Sometimes I would run across someone that was there to help and who had overcome anxiety, but that was rare. I found that the posts did not help me at all. It only added to my anxiety and and obsessive thoughts about my health.

The right way to search the Internet:

1. Limit your time.

2. Do not get on the Internet when you are going through an anxiety attack or are feeling overly anxious.

3. Pay attention to what types of articles, posts or pictures trigger your anxiety and discuss them with someone you trust and who supports you. I found that talking about it to someone who had a rational mind at the moment (usually my Husband), helped a lot.

You will eventually get to know what types of things on the Internet trigger your anxiety. I suggest steering clear of them until your anxiety is under control.

P.S.: Do not get on Web MD or download the Web MD app to your phone . It will not bring anything positive to your day.

XOXO

Meagan