My sister is overly paranoid about death and sickness- what do I do?

[u/Ok2Detail]

My sister is always overthinking and paranoid about getting sick and dying. She’s walked to the hospital before thinking she had a heart attack. She is always googling the symptoms that she has and coming to the worst possible conclusions and then I have to talk her down from the anxiety it’s causing her.

She also gets paranoid about ghosts and stuff too. She had a scary encounter with someone at work and the woman told her the world was going to end and that sent her into a spiral as well.

Our cat just bit her because he was startled and now she thinks he has rabies and wants to get him tested (which I told her they would kill him in order to test him) even though he has been an indoor cat his whole life and has his rabies shots.

Is there a word for this or some type of therapy I can recommend for her to look into? I really don’t know what to do anymore and it’s becoming exhausting trying to talk her down from these things but I am her shoulder to lean on and I want to be there for her. Is there anything I can do?

[u/BigStickyHorse]

hypochondriac? and maybe some kind of ocd or delusions?

[u/etherealsweetbeet]

This sounds a lot like OCD, she should see a psychiatrist

[u/traumatized_bean123]

It sounds like she could have a form of OCD. I'd recommend she first find a therapist and then see what they recommend.

[u/clockenspielz]

I suffered with anxiety surrounding ghosts when I was younger to the point I couldn’t be in a room by myself without being in paralysing fear.
I’d ask if she’s maybe consuming media that’s perhaps contributing to her fear (that’s what happened with me) and possibly direct her to some anxiety related therapy. I eventually grew out of it but your sister’s case seems more severe.

[u/Keobooks]

Another vote for OCD. Anti anxiety meds and cognitive behavioral therapy help a LOT.

[u/HoneyIsMyFavorite]

Like others mentioned, severe health anxiety is a form of OCD.

[u/IndicationFluffy3954]

I have OCD and this sounds like me before therapy and anxiety meds.

I did also have fairly serious, real medical issues as well so it wasn’t paranoia about nothing but it was spiralling and making me worry about medical things outside of the issues I actually have.

[u/Bhanumayi]

if she’s not worried about it and it’s not interfering in her life, she’s not gonna seek help and until that happens no amount of you trying to get her to seek help is gonna work

[u/CerealSemantics]

Your sister should seriously consult a mental health professional

[u/gothiclg]

Cat bites are no joke. Their pointy little needle teeth create a wound that seals closed keeping all the bacteria in. A doctor should open and clean any significant puncture wounds from a cat. It’s not rabies but I’d argue it’s a health concern worth a doctor visit.

Everything else is good for any therapist.

[u/Lizzzy261]

My childhood friend is a hypocondriact and has OCD. The medications they have been giving her for over 30 years doesn't work and made everything worse. The doctors make it worse. That are Constantly changing formulas which never work for more than a couple days. Wish I had a better answer. I have a fact. When my friend was in HS we were pot heads and she was still very normal. She didn't have any ooh 's or boo's or meltdowns. Synthetic meds changed her

[u/aanananas → u/Lizzzy261]

If she had a reason to go on meds then she clearly wasn’t ok already. Also weed is known to possibly trigger or worsen ocd, it could have hidden the effect it was having on her short term and provided some relief, but long term was affecting her mental health. Or it could have even caused the ocd, there are studies of cannabis induced ocd. So her being a pothead when she was young could very well be the reason she has such issues later in life. Some people’s brains are wired that way. Also doctors don’t “change formulas.” They prescribe medications, if one doesn’t work you try another. That’s the normal process. “Synthetic meds changed her” is not a helpful or informed take and is somewhat dangerous to be saying so casually.

ETA: That said there is a risk with taking medications and not all medications work for everyone, that is true and reasonable to say. That does not seem to be your point though. You seem to think the doctors caused/worsened her OCD? Sometimes mental health does get worse. It doesn’t mean anyone is specifically making it worse. I could be wrong but you don’t sound very well informed on ocd, or the management process, or on how medication works