Always worried about your health? You may be experiencing health anxiety
(approx five minute read)
Learn about health anxiety, a condition where fear of illness dominates your thoughts. Discover symptoms, causes, and tips for managing health-related anxiety effectively.
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About four to five per cent of people experience health anxiety.. But experts believe it may be underreported and that the percentage could be closer to 12% — or even twice that. That’s literally millions of people across the world experiencing this form of anxiety. But what is it?
What is health anxiety?
According to Anxiety UK, health anxiety can fall into the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) spectrum of disorders. If you’re impacted by health anxiety you might be obsessed by the idea that you are currently (or will be) experiencing a physical illness. A common example is that you might get/have cancer. You might be experiencing a tight chest, and rather than pass it off as just that, a tight chest, you might think you’re having a heart attack.
Common symptoms of health anxiety
Anxiety UK has a few questions that might help you identify if you are experiencing the anxiety disorder. If you answer yes to most of these they recommend you seek further information or guidance from a medical professional. These questions are based on looking at the last six months.
Have you experienced a thought about having a serious illness that has been ongoing for at least six months?
Have you felt distressed due to this thought?
Have you found that this thought impacts negatively on all areas of life including, family life, social life and work?
Have you felt that you have needed to carry out constant online searches, self-examination and self-diagnosis?
Have you experienced disbelief over a diagnosis from a doctor or felt that you are unconvinced by your doctor’s reassurances that you are fine?
Do you constantly need reassurance from doctors, family and friends that you are fine, even if you don’t really believe what you are being told?
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Personal experiences with health anxiety
“I’ve experienced health anxiety. It impacted my life quite considerably during my early 20s,” said Mo Hawkston. “When I was going through it I genuinely had no idea it was anxiety, I just thought there was something physically wrong with me. There wasn’t. I’ve also only recently stumbled across the term health anxiety.
“My health anxiety began with a fear of passing out. I think it was caused by passing out a few times but also the fact my mum has epilepsy
“I can’t really tell you when or why the anxiety evolved, it just did. One day I found what I thought was a lump on the back of my neck (it wasn’t a lump by the way). I continuously checked it over and over again throughout the day. When I lay in bed I was convinced I had some sort of tumour and that I was going to die in my sleep. Understandably it took a while to get to sleep.
“After a few weeks I went to the doctor to get the ‘lump’ checked out and a few other bits on my body I was worried about. He quickly told me I was fine and my fears about being physically ill went away.
“They didn’t stay away though.
“I had what I thought was a heart issue when one night after sport my heart rate wouldn’t go down. It did eventually after a few hours.
“I went to the doctors to have an ECG (a test that checks your heart rhythm), and annoyingly they found some abnormality in the reading. For the next two days I thought I might have a heart attack and die on the spot.
“I paid to see a heart specialist two days after. He told me the reading was totally fine. Because I’m quite active it can do funny things to ECG readings, apparently.
“This health anxiety pattern went on for a couple of years. It was only when I’d worked out (not sure how as I hadn't had therapy) that it steamed from anxiety that these ‘health’ issues started to subside. My mind still plays tricks on me now, making me think I’m suffering with some sort of illness, but I know how it can be sometimes so find it easier to ignore now.
Effective self-help tips for health anxiety, according to the NHS
1. Keep a diary: Note how often you check your body, ask people for reassurance, or look at health information. Try to reduce how often you do this
2. Challenge your thoughts: Draw a table with two columns. Write your health worries in the 1st column, then more balanced thoughts in the 2nd. For example, in the 1st column you may write, "I'm worried about these headaches" and in the 2nd, "Headaches can often be a sign of stress".
3. Keep busy: distract yourself by going for a walk or calling a friend.
4. Get back to normal activities: get back to things you’ve been actively avoiding doing
5. Try breathing exercises for stress: go to YouTube, listen to a guide meditation on your phone
Recommended resources for managing health anxiety
Anxiety UK recommends reading Overcoming Health Anxiety. The book is based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and provides a range of tools and techniques which you may find useful.