Am I going crazy?
I visited your website and also saw that you answered someone’s question about schizophrenia, so I figured I could ask you. Let me start by saying 4 months ago I was the happiest guy around... not a care in the world. All of a sudden I felt tired and had a sore throat. Nothing too bad but the research I did to find out what was going on scared me into thinking I had lymphoma. For the next 2 weeks I had severe anxiety and sadness thinking that I had some cancer that I clearly didn't have. 2 weeks later I started experiencing numbness on my face and chalked it up to anxiety. Soon I started noticing these black spots called floaters in my visual field. I started seeing them after I had been scared that I was losing my eyesight for no apparent reason. About a month later I started having visual snow again I think this was because I was looking for it and each person has some if they look for it. For about 2 months I’ve been struggling with anxiety. Just yesterday I was lying in bed and thought that I heard a loud robotic voice. I couldn't understand what he said but I was frightened.
Now my fear is that I will get schizophrenia and read that it isn't too uncommon. Is it time to get a psych test done? And do you think I am becoming schizophrenic? Also I do not have any relatives with it.
IT'S HARD TO SAY. On the one hand, I think everything could be described by excessive worrying which is to say, high anxiety. High anxiety can make you pay attention to things and worry about them, and even trigger depression.
What you could do is think about the things that help you relax and really calm down. For me it's watching movies alone and cooking a meal. Comedians help me relax too, and so does spending time with people I'm really comfortable with. Make a list of some things and commit to doing one thing every day.
At the same time, I'd make 3 appointments with therapists or psychiatrists. Second and third opinions are important. A good therapist will probably give you relaxation techniques (or pills, if you're okay with that) and follow up with you once a week to see if you're improving. For now, just try and relax and find some things to enjoy.