Spent a year convinced I was dying. Here is what my GP finally told me

A Good Weekend advice column describes a prolonged period in which the writer believed they were dying after experiencing multiple serious-sounding diagnoses, including pancreatic cancer, mesothelioma, a myocardial infarction and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. Their GP ultimately told them none of those conditions applied, except plantar fasciitis, diagnosing instead Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD), previously labeled hypochondriasis. The piece explains that health anxiety is often rooted in fear of death, citing clinical psychologist Dr. Rachel Menzies. She says anxiety can peak and fade when people sit with it without repeatedly Googling symptoms or constantly returning to doctors. Cognitive behavioral therapy is described as an effective treatment, sometimes combined with short-term antidepressants such as sertraline or escitalopram.