Ironically, if you start taking the Paxil, you won't be suspicious of it any longer for the very same reasons you're hypochondriac.
I know exactly where you are because when I was panicky, I had a touch of the hypochondrical too. Panic comes from the same place. And my dad died at 38 of lung cancer, and at age 36-37 I was unreasonably panicky and thought that might be why.
What kind of implications does it have on your everyday life. If it really gets in the way, and regularly, and it causes you a large amount of anxiety, then it's something you need to address. If you're using this as an excuse to not do things, for example, that's a big impact on your life. If you can get by every day with just a little worry, not such a big deal.
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It won't do for me to be anxious _about_ an anti-anxiety medication; if I'm convinced that taking it (or stopping taking it) will cause an anxiety relapse, well, that's sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy right there.
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You won't have those sorts of thoughts while on the medication. The self-fulfilling prophesy is that taking the med stops you from being unreasonably anxious about it.
Think about it from one perspective. You are concerned about a
minor symptom of what
might happen if you don't manage it correctly. But in the meantime, you are affected much more seriously by your condition - to the point where you at least feel it's serious enough for therapy.
Well, I've been on the non-CR version for about 4-5 years now, and I forget a dose all the time, big effing deal. My dosage is "sub-therapeutic" - less than what's generally considered the amount needed, and I'm absolutely certain that it does me a benefit. I was pretty med-phobic before going on it, but you know what - being on it means I'm not med-phobic any longer. Anxious about handling it: no, without thinking about it, it's damned easy to do, easy as having the morning coffee.
And I know it makes a difference for what you talk about. I get the same little aches and pains I always got -- last night my (obviously temporary) back pain seemed to migrate to the side, and I had a little concern: what if this is really a kidney going bad and masquerading as back pain? And that concern was fleeting, because I had no interest in lingering on it, unlike what might have been before. And this morning my back is better, and I haven't wasted any energy on it.
Don't listen to Tom Cruise on the matter, he's an ass.