What is health anxiety?

The Symptoms

It is an obsessional preoccupation with the thought that you have a serious physical illness. The most common health anxieties tend to be  cancer and HIV but it may be any type of illness. You can become convinced that harmless physical symptoms are signs of serious disease or severe medical problems. For example, if a person experiencing health anxiety  feels a pain, they may believe that they have cancer . Those with health anxiety frequently misinterpret physical symptoms of anxiety as a sign of an impending physical health problem.

Treatment

• Seeking reassurance that you are not sick
  
• Visiting and revisiting your doctor
  
• Requesting multiple tests to make sure you are safe
  
• Repeatedly checking for signs of illness
  
• Despite this you doubt the tests are right or you think your doctor may have missed something
  
• Avoiding anyone who may be seen as infected
  
• Avoiding news stories/TV

CBT is the treatment recommended for health anxiety. it gives you an understanding of the causes and what maintains the problems. You then are taught an number of tools and techniques to overcome it. 

You learn how to challenge and rationalise your obsessive thinking

Your learn how your compulsive checking and reassurance seeking is making your problems worse in the long term. You will find out how to face your fears and create healthy habits.

John - Web Developer

" when I felt an ache or pain I would instantly think it was cancer. I would try to get rid of the thought but it kept coming back. I then kept going to the doctor to get checked out. When  he told me it was not cancer I felt relief but this would not last long. I would then have to go back again and again. 


My CBT sessions have shown me how to change my thinking so the health anxiety is no longer in control."

Thank you

John

After 11 sessions of CBT he overcame his Health Anxiety