What Is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety is a psychological condition in which the mind confuses normal bodily experiences with serious health concerns. Those who are coping with health anxiety can mistake innocent sensations as indicators of a life-threatening diagnosis and react with an intense response.
Coping with health anxiety can take on many forms. Typically, patients will demonstrate patterns of extreme preoccupation with their health.
Examples of these patterns are:
- Being absorbed in monitoring bodily functions such as breathing or one’s heartbeat
- Obsessing over minor physical flaws
- Over-analyzing bodily sensations such as headaches, aches, tiredness, etc.
- Being convinced that you might have a disease that is presented in a news story
- Researching every symptom or becoming obsessed with researching diseases
- Looking for constant reassurance from others about your health
- Avoiding doctor appointments because you fear being diagnosed with a serious health issue
If these preoccupations continue and no other reasonable explanation can be found, the diagnosis of health anxiety, or illness anxiety disorder is a likely cause.
Socially, health anxiety can prevent a patient from connecting with others. They might avoid places or people that can trigger their anxiety, be afraid to try new things for fear of injury, and more. Read more about how anxiety affects daily life.
Core Beliefs Associated with Health Anxiety
Those coping with health anxiety are often convinced that what they are experiencing is a real medical concern. However, for many, the source of their physical obsession comes from a psychological place.
Anxiety disorders usually result from unhealthy core beliefs about oneself. For example, someone with health anxiety might have a concern that being healthy means never showing any bodily weaknesses. Similarly, a person with general anxiety might become nervous about certain situations because they have preconceived expectations about perfection.
It is important to note that those who suffer from anxiety demonstrate physical symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, exhaustion, chest pain, and aches. These physical effects of general anxiety can actually trigger health anxiety in a patient, creating a vicious cycle of nervousness.
This cycle can begin as a result of having once experienced (as a child or otherwise) or witnessed someone close experience a serious health concern. Also, someone who has seen death or who has a family member who also suffers from health anxiety can develop the condition as well.
Strategies for Coping with Health Anxiety
Of course, strategies for treatment should be discussed with your therapist. Although, some coping methods can be done on your own while others may require assistance from your care provider.
1. Therapy sessions can help
A trained therapist can help you explore what you’re experiencing and learn more about why these feelings are affecting your life.
Thoughts that we associate with an experience or an event can produce feelings that then dictate how we behave. For example, if a person constantly thinks about getting sick, that can develop into feelings of anxiety. Those feelings, in turn, may prompt you to seek medical care excessively or stay up at night researching the symptoms.
Therapy sessions can help retrain your mind by identifying fears and unfounded beliefs about medical illnesses with no symptoms. You can learn ways to view bodily sensations and how to change your responses to them. It aims to help you be aware of how your worries affect you and teach you skills to tolerate and cope with the stress. And it assists you to improve your daily functioning at home and work.
2. Limit access to technology or other forms or reassurance
Gradually reducing your access to technology can lessen your temptation to research every symptom and disease. Start with small steps such as only allowing yourself to google symptoms once a day or week.
In addition, begin to reduce tour seeking reassurance from others. Set limits on doctor visits or time discussing your symptoms.
3. Get active!
Those suffering from health anxiety often isolate themselves or avoid certain activities that they think will make them sick.
Staying active and involved with your community will show you that you are just as healthy and resilient as your peers. It will also keep you socially engaged which can reduce feelings of anxiety.
Start by re-introducing one activity a week that you’ve avoided in the past and work up from there.
Coping with health anxiety can interrupt your daily life and cause you to spiral into a bed of nerves. Talk with your provider today about the best treatment plan for you. With help from a professional, you can find peace and comfort once more.
For more information on anxiety therapy, click here.
More insights into health anxiety here.