For several years, I’ve known of people becoming anxious because they thought they had developed a brain tumor. I’ve seen them in forums, chat rooms, my inbox, all over.
I say to all those people, perhaps even to you, relax a little.
Often the fear of a brain tumor starts because of headaches
I’m not saying that out of spite, either. Headaches are not good indicators of brain tumors.
If you think that you have a brain tumor right now then chances are you don’t believe me. I understand why. After all, I didn’t go to Medical school. But I found someone who did. Take a moment to view his video below.
The man in the video is Dr. Len Cerullo, CINN Medical director and Neurosurgeon. I hope you believe him.
Thing is headaches are a part of having chronic anxiety
Muscles that get tense because of stress and fatigue. Even daily headaches are not uncommon in people with anxiety problems.
So if lone headaches aren’t a big concern, then what is?
Well, like Dr. Cerullo mentioned, headaches accompanied by the following can be a problem.
1. Vomiting
2. Nausea
3. Double vision
4. Headaches that awaken you
So again, headaches by themselves are a poor indicator that you have a brain tumor. Even if it’s the kind that make your head tingle or feel numb.
However, if you’re convinced that death is at your door then please see a doctor. Otherwise, do yourself a favor and stop doing exhaustive research on this topic because it only leads to more anxiety.
Looking back, in all the years that I used to surf the net to find information about my anxiety symptoms, I never found anything that made me feel better. All I ever found was other diseases that I didn’t account for that sounded way worse than what I thought I had.
So no matter how hard it is, no matter how scared you are, no matter how much you want to dig into your headaches or other symptoms, don’t. It never helps.
The truth is that brain tumors are rare – exceedingly rare. Stop driving yourself crazy about anxiety symptoms. Start finding and applying solutions
This hit the nail on the head. I’ve seen my doctors for headaches probably more than anything else. I’ve had a CT scan and an MRI done just to be sure, and I finally, FINALLY recently began to believe that my headaches (yes, DAILY headaches) are caused by anxiety. My neurologist also attributed my brain fog to lack of sleep (which isn’t completely the case. Yes, I’m sleep deprived…but it’s just plain old anxiety. I think she was afraid to say that.).
This website has helped immensely, but Claire Weekes’ book was amazing. It described me perfectly! I’m FINALLY rediscovering myself under all these layers of fear. AND – my headaches have gone from daily to once or twice a week.
So really…stop looking at symptom forums. They make everything worse. It’s taken me a long time to “believe” that I don’t have some undiscovered disease (I did have cancer when I was 16, which has made believing that harder…but the cancer presented completely differently than any of these “vague” symptoms I have/had now). But I’m finally believing it and working on healing.
Hey Emily, So glad to hear that you’re focused on the right thing now. It takes awhile for most people to stop symptom hunting, but when they do is when they start to make the most progress.
This all started 2 months ago. I had head pressure and still do. I went to a walk in urgent care clinic. The doc said, “If you only have pressure you need to get a ct immediately.” then after this I was so damn scared. Then she states, “maybe try zyrtec-d for a week, if it doesnn get better or gets worse go to the er.” I’ve seen 3 docs after her, including an er visit. I have OCD, and I haven’t seen a doc for this, therefore it’s not being treated. I’ve had it forever, and always just dealt with it. I’m 27 and have never felt like this. I’ve been researching the Internet for 2 months, doing absolutely nothing else… This is putting a horrible strain on my relationship with my hubby and child… It seems that everyday a new symptom pops up, or an old one gets worse. I have had a couple of bad headaches, but they go away with sleep. Now, for the past 4-5 days I have evening headaches, the pressure gets worse in the evening, and so do all of the other symptoms. I’ve been waking up sweating and shaking, feel inner tremors throughout the day, sweaty palms, nervousness, fear being alone, face gets red and hot. Today I was nauseous… All of the docs I’ve seen say sinus infection or anxiety/ stress. I try and talk myself out o thinking I have a tumor or aneurysm, but then it scares me, so I go back to thinking I do… I haven’t worked or done college homework in these 2 months… I’m very scared that I do have something wrong with my brain, physically. I have another doc appt. tomorrow. I can’t afford a ct or MRI, but feel like that is the only thing that will put my mind at ease. I also have odd head pains, almost like they are in my scalp, mostly in temple area. I have 4 teeth (3 being wisdom teeth) that are so rotten and need to come out. I just can’t stop thinking this, and am so scared. It’s ruining my life, and I don’t know what to do. How do docs know that there isn’t something without a ct or MRI??? Like I said, ive suffered from OCD for a long time, but never have had physical symptoms due to it or anxiety, and it seems like it would have popped up by now. I hope that someone can shed some light and help me…
Hi I am worrying myself sick over this but do think I may suffer with anxiety as I panic on a daily basis about becoming I’ll. Can I just ask, is numbness in the arms and legs and muscle spasms linked to anxiety as I’ve had this also and it scares me. My doctor has taken bloods from me which I’m awaiting results but I worry myself sick I could have a tumour or ms as I have lots other symptoms including headaches and clicking in my head also cold patches. I will be so very grateful for any help thank you
Hi i have worrying for months that i have some illness that is going undetected. At first i had chest pain and heart palpation and i thought i was going to die of a heart attack or a sudden cardiac arrest. Finally when those worries went away i started feeling bloating, (ibs) and a gassy feeling in my stomach for a about month that persisted 24/7, this made me think i had stomach cancer. After that went away i felt tightness in my throat, i had lump in my throat feeling, i had difficulty swallowing food and at that time again i was convinced i had throat cancer. Then again I started feeling chest tightness which again was on my left side mostly, it kind of felt like i pulled a muscle or something around my heart. This lead me to believe i had some cardiac problem again and my heart was going to stop, this went on for about a month and with the chest symptoms this month i felt dizziness, weakness in my arms and legs but mostly on left side. Now after a month exactly on Jan.1/2012 i opened the new years with headaches, head pressure, and a numb forehead. i felt head pressure and headaches all over my head but mostly on the right side. This new symptom came with other new symptoms like blurred vision, eyes sensitive too light, again dizziness, weakness in arms and legs mostly on the left side, and finally very little or no chest pain left side. Now I believe i have a brain tumor because all my symptoms match the symptoms i read on the internet after i google them, like they did when i searched heart pain etc. This has been going on for about 4 months i am going crazy i think i am dying and i am only 19, all i do all day is worry or check up symptoms on the internet. I am depressed all the time, I have been to the doctors numerous times they say i have GAD(Anxiety) i have also been to the emergency 3 times were i have done a blood tests, urine test, chest xray, ecg, abdominal xray, abdominal ultra sound, i have wore a holter monitor for a day all tests came back good. I now want to get either a mri or ct scan at least on my head now so i can see if i have tumor or not cause i am paranoid, i cant sleep or do anything all i do is just worry, and my doctor wont send me in for testing either on my head which leads to more problems.
I was wondering if you can give your input on what you think is going.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
i forget to add i have also started feel nauesa, excessive yawning, i feel like i am walking with the weight of my feet on right side, i have memory problems such as forgetting real small things that i used to know like the back of my hand. i also feel the tingling and cold flashes.
THANKS AGAIN!
Wow jaiprakash!!!! You described me to the T!!! I mean everything you have said I have been through and still going through. I want an MRI so bad but i can’t get the Dr. to have me referred to get one!!! I know how you just want that assurance that its not a tumor and I’m just like that I feel if I know I’ll feel better!!! But then I’m scared it will be something else next!!! But I’m glad I’m not out there by myself,cause I really thought I was By Myself!!!! I’m 31 years old and been going through this for abot 2 years now!!! I really do understand!!!
I’m 19 years old and these passed few days I’ve convinced myself I have a brain tumor. My symptoms are loss of equlibrium at times, jittery muscles, pressure headaches, and blurry vision. Growing up though I’ve always had bad stress and anxiety. And now I’m pretty positive it’s just those two things. Don’t worry yourself. Find things to relax you.
Agree with everything 100%. I’ve been anxious for the last week becasue of “what if…” The muscle weakness, and feeling off-balance, and at times breathless, can cause you think all kinds of things. With everything I’ve done for the last 5 years to try and control my anxiety, it led me to write that I’m dying of either Parkinson’s, Lou Gehrig’s, or MS. I’m desperate to find out why I’m feeling the way I’m feeling, but it all could be just in my head. I just told myself that until the doctor tells me what my results are in 3 weeks, I should enjoy the coming weeks as if nothing is wrong. It’s hard to do because I’m constantlybeing reminded-physcially- of what is happening in my body…but it all could be just anxiety and being way overly stressed. If the latter, then I have the tools to overcome it all. I just need to do and not talk about doing. Angry with myself but I will get over it God Willing!
Thank u ❤️
All of you have described my onset of symptoms to a T.
Lately I’ve experienced ocular migraines, mild loss of balance, weakness and occasional pain in my left arm, and the twitching of my eyelids and face at times.
Unusual set, isn’t it? I made the mistake of Googling symptoms and poof! I believe in full that death waits around the corner from me, ready to whisk me away. At least, I did, until I saw that I was not alone. I feel a sense of renewed hope, now. Maybe this isn’t it for me after all. I’m currently attempting to persuade my parents to take me to a hospital with a functioning MRI machine, so that hopefully, if I explain symptoms to the staff, they’ll vouch for a referral. Anyway, this thread has allowed me to retire to my bed and rest my weary eyes without the utter terror I’ve been experiencing the last few nights.
I too have the same symptoms said by jaiprakash. I am glad to hear dat am not d only person suffering . I had started getting headaches for past 1 month and now as ma headache is gone ,I feel a tightness or pressure in ma head. But one thing is its accompanied by neck pain which I have been experiencing for past one month. But I don’t have any other problems like vomiting,nausea or weakness.etc could anyone explan wat could b reason for this hell lot of things . I used to be an happy guy always pranking around but now I live with an inner fear that I might soon die leaving ma parents alone and am just 19 years old
Good information. I feel bad because my dad has a brain tumor and is paralyzed on his right side.
When I visit for long enough i start worrying that I have a tumor just being around him and seeing how much it sucks.
Keep thinking i have brain tumor driving me crazy
thank you so much for your post jaiprakash and Colin everything you said i have had and now im also worried about a brain tumor. ino ypu wrote your post along time ago but was just wondering if everything was ok an are you still going through the brain tumor fear x
it would be lovely to speak to someone else who also experiences the same symptoms as me . so whoever needs to talk please contact me x
I’m 24 years old I have head pressure on back of my head ny my neck and sometimes on top I had. A ct scan 2 years ago which came back clear had the back of my eyes tested came back clear but I’ve convinced myself I have a brain tumour
Hey, I am 18years of age… Near the end of last year I was driving my car like every other day to the shop, all of a sudden my eyes went blurry, I was dizzy like I was going to faint, my heart was racing and I felt sick, luckily my brothers gf was with me and she helped me pull off the road to calm down.. When I came right I drove back home to my mum, convinced I was having a heart attack i couldn’t get myself out of my car to move I felt faint and was in so much shock. My mum came rushing out to me, and after about an hour I was fine, like nothing had happened. I then went to go for a drive again, and just couldn’t do it… Because I’ve always been someone who is paranoid about everything, I googled my symptoms.. I went through every illness there was to match what I had with it! .. As weeks went by, I didn’t experience anything that intense but I did experience chest pain a lot on and off. But for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to even drive without having to pull over because of chest pain and feeling dizzy.. I was working at the time in a busy cafe/bar, and for someone who has always lacked confidence, working in this position boosted my self esteem tremendously.. Last year December I had my first ever blood test, it came back everything was fine there was nothing wrong, that’s when the doctor told me I had anxiety, and put me on a low dose of propanolol.. I ended up loosing my job due to anxiety, and things went bad with my relationship.. My relationship had always been quiet rocky, but this just made it worst! I had to go away for a week with my partner and my grandparents to an event.. But the whole time I felt sick, I wasn’t eating or sleeping properly, I kept having pain in my body.. Onwards from that week, I have pretty much been through every emotional aswell as physical anxiety.. I recently switched to a new GP, he has tried me on lorazepam, but that didn’t seem to work.. I have been through emotional blunting, wanting to hurt myself, to fear of the weather, to not going out anywhere without my mum (because she is my safe person) ;to believing that I was loosing my memory aswell as my sight and hearing. If I hear something on tv or read something, I compare myself to it and start thinking what if this is what I have, I continuously ask myself what if questions! Recently my new worry is that I have some type of illness. I stopped eating for a week, I wasn’t sleeping, the list of symptoms I have had:
Nightmares
Sweating
Tingling in every part of my body
Sore and swollen throat
Fast heart rate & slow
Dizziness
Nausea
Numbness in my face
Weakness/pain in my joints
Extreme stomach pain
Blurred vision
Loss of appetite
Hearing loss
Forgetting everything
Burning all over my body
Itchiness
Hair falling out
Migraines
Blood in my flem
Bleeding nose
You name it, I’ve most likely had majority of it!..
Google is my Dr! I go from thinking I have ovarian cancer, to skin cancer, breast cancer throat cancer, to now brain tumour or a blood clot, just because I have random pain Zaps, blurred vision, muffled hearing and feeling faint. Or I compare people who have some sort of illness to myself and think that I have what they have.. My GP has now said I have severe panic disorder, and has referred me to a psychiatrist .. I was seeing a psychologist, but she has also said I need a psychiatrist. I have rang health line, numerous times, I have seen my doctor, and have asked him to give me another blood test to see if I have anything wrong or to do a scan but because he thinks I am fine he won’t. So I am on metoprolol, citalopram, zopiclone and Alprazolam ( all very low doses though).. I have no idea what to do anymore, im stuck in a nightmare! I’ve given up on driving, going out, my art, doing anything apart from being in constant fear of pretty much everything… Sorry for the long long post, and boring you guys with my story…
Would love to possibly get some advice or maybe just to know that I’m not the only one… Thanks xx
Hi.. I am only 15 years old and I worry too much about literally everything. It started when I thought I got splinter on my finger and got too nervous because I could not get it out. Then I thought I had kidney failure or kidney stones because I had back pain. It triggered anxiety so one day while i was watching a movie, my heart was beating so fast and i could not breathe properly, I thought i was going to die because I was too nervous for no reason at all. Palpitating and chest pains last for days so we went to a doctor and had ecg(?) (Heart rate test or something like that) The results are normal. I thought everything was going to be better but when after idk how many days, my muscles started shaking and moving. I dont know why I felt like I have brain tumor so I searched its symptoms on google (worst decision I have ever made) and again, i got too worried because I saw muscle jerking as one of the symptoms then after searching, I now feel other symptoms like dizziness, feeling off-balance, headaches mostly on the left side and shooting pains on the scalp but THEY ARE BEARABLE and dont hurt that much, ear pain, muscle shaking, jolting awake whenever I try to fall asleep, clumsiness, blurred vision (sometimes left, sometimes right), body trembling especially my hands, i sometimes see flashing lights when my eyes are closed, having a hard time remembering things, etc. Palpitating and chest pains have stopped but not completely. We went to an eye doctor and he said I have ocular migraine. Gladly, my parents help me a lot to overcome this but I still think i have some sort of undetected illness like brain tumor, i feel a little bit better now that i know I am not alone..
We are all in the same boat I think.
Anxiety, particularly health anxiety, has taken over my life. For the past year or two, all I can think about is how I have a brain tumor. Every time I have a headache, dizziness, or spaced out, I assume the worst. I am still in denial that anxiety and stress is causing all of this, but I am starting to see how debilitating it can make someone.
Just this week, my doctor gave me a clean bill of health. Blood work was fine and he was convinced a brain tumor was not something I needed to worry about. All day after that, I felt great. But this week, I have put in a lot of hours at work and am stressed out and am having tension headaches and over tired. For the past three mornings, I have woken up with a mild throbbing headache that goes away pretty quickly. However, I assume the worst. I have been having slight dizziness and assume the worst. My mind is literally tricking me that my arms and legs are numb at times, and I assume the worst.
Bottom line, I am starting to admit I have a serious anxiety problem. I was just put on busiprone this week for anxiety and we will see how that works after a few weeks. I pray alot about my health and anxiety. God helps me get through things.
We have to remember that brain tumors are very rare and that bad anxiety can cause more symptoms than I even want to list off. I’d be willing to guess that anxiety can and does cause just about any symptom known to man. When we have a breakdown, pray. Go on a walk. Listen to calm music. Exercise. I notice that when I’m preoccupied (I.e. at work, playing a game, talking with people, watching TV), I rarely experience symptoms. It is typically only when I am just sitting here doing nothing when I freak out and have all these symptoms.
Only we can control our anxiety and choose the way we want to live and the happiness that we have. Even though I myself, am trapped by anxiety right now, I know I can get out of it and be happier and healthier. But that is my choice and my choice only. Allowing myself to worry 24/7 is my problem. I need to focus on the good in my life and how much worse many other people have it. Stay positive and look for remedies, not more symptoms. Acknowledge that we have a problem but have a plan to not waste away our lives letting anxiety control our every thought and every move. Good luck to everyone out there. Feel free to email me if you want to chat about our problems. We can all help each other out. Happy living!
notredamefootball2005@yahoo.com
I was diagnosed with a brain tumour and headaches were the least significant warning sign. Losing 1/2 lbs of weight a day while eating well and significant personality changes were the first significant “somethings wrong” warning signs.
I’m another worry wart! Something small spirals iut of control like a rolling snowball! I’ve always had anxiety. I’ve diagnosed myself with cancer several times. In 12 years I’ve had 1 MRI and 3 CT’s on my head. My last one was 3 tears ago. A simple strained eye muse turned into blurry vision wich turned into wierd head pains. My right eye also hurts, like somebody is squeezing it. I also can see my pulse when I’m in bright areas! So I k ow the feeling if wierd symptoms. I’ve learned the past ones I’ve had are anxiety but this new one has me thinking I have a brain tumor !
so guys…I’ve been feeling depersnaltisation after seeing my uncle in a bad state from cancer last week. I’ve panicked beyond belief and question reality all the time. however. looking online which I know you shouldn’t do but it can be inspirational as well as bad for you. depends where you look. but looks like we’re all fighting the same demon of anxiety. takes over your life and day to day thinking and makes you feel like you’ll never learn to enjoy again. I have however seen that all forms of anxiety are workable or curable and in many cases 100 percent curable. I’m going to start my journey to recovery by using one of the many tools that there are out there. people dismiss mental illness all the time. meditation is just as good for the mind as a plaster for a cut I’ve been told. looking after mind body and soul the 3 things that make us who we are is essential. I think we’re all too quick to only look after our body…when really it has to be all 3. 🙂
Everything that everyone has said I feel everyday! I cant sleep at night and I have this head pressure on the right side and I am too afraid I have a brain tumor. I made an apt for tomorrow with my doctor to discuss these feelings and try to get a CT or MRI done. I was diagnosed with anxiety about a year and a half ago. I go through phases, sometimes I will be fine and have little to no symptoms of anxiety and other times I have full blown anxiety. I felt like I couldn’t breath for a long time and I quit smoking and tried to tell myself I only feel that was because I have anxiety and that I’m ok and it actually worked! But now I have the head pressure and I recently had an uncle die from brain cancer so now I’m on edge about the whole brain tumor thing. I start to tell myself everything will be ok but then Ill start thinking about the what if’s and the pressure come back. I have 3 children and a husband and I’m only 26! I fear dying and leaving my family behind! I need to snap out of this and try to regain my life back. But hearing that I’m not the only one out there that feels this way puts me at ease. Hopefully we can all overcome this illness and get our life’s back on track!
I was depressed for 6 months even i plane to suicide.but from from 1 or 2 week i feel relif from my depression but i discoverd my memory is quite week( it is hard to remember peoples names or i only can remember the nicknames of people i used to call them) as it before and i feel like hard to understand simple things so i google it about my syntroms and i discoverd memory loss is a syntrom of brain tumour.then i feel a mild pain in my left temple and over my eyes so i press my right temple many times to see why i dont feel any pains in my right temple the next day I feel a pressure in my right side where i press last night( feeling head pressure is the another syntroms of tumor) i dont feel any headque in my left head area but my right temple area i am feelig pressure an a mild pain for 2 days like something in there .i feeling depressed again .my memory is still weak and i feel hard to understand things.it is remarkable that i am having memory problems for 1 months but i dont have any headqes and headpressure back then .i used to be good at mthematics before my depression but now i become slow and hard to understand simple steps.is my depressio and suicidal thouths for 6 months made my memory so weak or it is tumor? Plz somebody help me .i also have chest pains and heart populastion issu .
Please can someone put my mind at ease I’ve had constant on/off dizziness feeling everyday for the last 3 years I’ve seen many doctors who have all done the same tests on me balance, reflex, hearing, strength, speech, oxygen, blood pressure, ecgs, hand and eye corridation and even checked right behind my eyes for any pressure or swelling in swelling in my head and brain and said all looks really good I’ve had full blood tests to check my levels there all good as well so am i dieing of a undiagnosed brain tumor that is causeing me to feel dizzy?
im 14 years old going though terrible anxiety. i went to my neurologist because i had numbness and tingling in my arms and hands, little bit in my legs and feet, but good news is that those sensations are now going away. but before then, i remember having a small anxiety attack because i was like “what if its a brain tumor?” or “what if i die?” and my mom was like: “you’re gonna be fine” and she was right, i was okay. that helped me alot and my neurologist requested therapy for me. but the bad news is that im STILL searching up symptoms even though we already got confirmation that it was just my anxiety causing these things. im trying to stop, but i really cant. im concerned about my health these days, especially COVID. i also realized that ive BEEN having anxiety as well because, back in 4th grade, my aunt died from a sudden blood clot. and one time i was at a friends house spending the night and i called my mom, she didn’t pick up. so 10000000 calls later, she never picked up. so being the sensitive girl i am, i had a breakdown. but coming to find out, my mom was just deep in her sleep lol. so anxiety SUCKS. it literally takes over your life. but it doesnt have to be that way. im glad that soon i will be able to get the help i need to potentially control my anxiety and be the happy girl that everyone wants to see 🙂
Hello I’m 32. I have severe anxiety. I’ve been dealing with head pressure sometimes seems so severe at the top of my head which is worse in the mornings. I have a nagging cough and sometimes when I cough or bend down I get light headed and feel pressure in my head. I also have been having vertigo like feelings. Where when I walk and stand still feels like I’m still moving. I’m so scared to even mention this to the dr or get a scan bc I’m Terrified to die or hear bad news. I really just want to be normal and live life as I have three girls. I’m scared. I feel alone. And sometimes I feel like when I’m talking I fumble my words. Almost as if what I’m trying to say doesn’t want to come out. Also I have been having muscle twitches and spasms and of course all these are symptoms of brain tumors. :/ :/