Health Anxiety

Health anxiety happens when we spend an over abundance of time worrying, obsessing and/or fixating on our physical well-being. When struggling with health-related anxious thoughts, you may find yourself engaging in these behaviors: Obsessively googling symptoms, reassurance seeking from loved ones and medical professionals, avoiding certain people or places, exaggeration of normal bodily functions and frequently checking body for signs and symptoms. This can be debilitating and interfere with your day-to-day activities.

Let’s break it down:

Thoughts: This doesn’t feel right. It must be something life threatening. I should make an appointment right away.

Feelings/emotions: I feel worried/scared.

Physical symptoms from thoughts/feelings: Stomach turns, heart begins to race, tightness in chest/neck.  

Thoughts from the above physical symptoms: This must mean it’s serious. I wasn’t feeling this pain in my chest a moment ago.

Behavior: I must google to find something that can provide confirmation for what I am feeling. I must then call the Doctor and call out of work for tomorrow.

We can keep heath anxiety alive by remaining present in this anxious loop. We think something, we feel something, and then we react.

So how to we stop this from happening? We can work on coping by staying present through mindfulness exercises. In a spiraling moment, see if you can activate your 5 senses. Can you bring your awareness to your surroundings by focusing on something you can hear, smell/taste, feel, see? Once you’ve done this, notice how you are feeling. Are you still at a 10 or has your worry/anxiety reduced?

Look for the facts/evidence: What evidence do you have to support this? Can you try and challenge these anxious thoughts and/or look at them differently?

We can engage in breathing exercises: 4-7-8- technique: Inhale to the count of 4, hold your breath to the count of 7, and then exhale to the count of 8. Repeat this exercise several times.

Seeking therapy can be a great way to help you work through your health anxiety.

While helping you to manage your anxiety symptoms are important, your therapist may also explore possible root causes for your health related anxiety.

Other areas to be explored:

Past trauma

Recent loss/grief

History of illness/medical trauma

What is means to be in “control” in your own life

Childhood and relationships

Please note, health anxiety is different from having a concern about your health. It’s quite normal to worry if you are feeling unwell or notice changes within your body. However, health anxiety goes above and beyond occasional worry to something more catastrophic, causing a negative impact on your life.