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Those with HealthOCD — how do you differentiate between when you need to see a doctor or not?

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Basically the question above. I’m trying to heal from Health OCD / hypochondria and it’s really hard to not feel like I need to go to the doctor immediately. For example, I looked up brain tumors and it said the main symptom is headaches. I have now gotten headaches for the last week in a row, now lasting all day maybe an hour each. I’m afraid of tumor or aneurysm. I made an appointment a month from now at my neuro. Now how do I sit with that? what helps you? My immediate OCD thought is “what if it’s an aneurysm and I actually have to go to the ER right now”. I can usually just sit with the thought. But, when I have the headache I go through all the symptoms of a brain tumor or brain aneurysm and convince myself I have them. I don’t want to miss anything by saying “this is just my OCD” but then I don’t want to give into my OCD either. is there something that’s helped you? (I’ve heard saying ”I’ll go in a few weeks” or putting it off but unsure if that’s a compulsion, too) TLDR: struggling with health OCD. when the symptoms feel real, how do you handle it? How do you decide when it’s a real concern?

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Subreddit
r/OCD
Posted
Feb 13, 2026 at 12:03 AM UTC
LeadScore: 5

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Condition
health anxiety, OCD, hypochondria, headaches, concern about brain tumor/aneurysm