Everything To Know About Living With Health Anxiety

When you don’t feel 100%, it can be a real downer. However, illnesses usually come and go pretty quickly, so they’re not anything to get too worked up about. Some people can’t help but panic, though, to the point that worrying about getting sick practically becomes a hobby. It’s not a healthy mindset to have, but what can you do about it?

If you find that this sort of thing is on your mind a lot, you may well be dealing with health anxiety. Just like traditional anxiety, it can be overwhelming and put you into a highly negative space, which may well have mental, emotional, and physical consequences. Still, there’s no need to fear once learning everything to know about living with health anxiety.

Is health anxiety just another term for hypochondria?

Health anxiety isn’t necessarily a new concept, but the term has certainly become more prominent as concerns around mental health have grown. Initially, this sort of issue was classed as hypochondria, as the two bear a lot of resemblance to one another. Someone who’s a hypochondriac is terrified of getting sick and constantly worries about this, so it might be clear why there’s a strong crossover. However, health anxiety focuses more on the anxiety created by this worry, which is why a lot of professionals tend to differentiate between this and hypochondria. 

Someone with health anxiety may well present certain symptoms

Not everyone who struggles with health anxiety may realize that they have a problem. However, there are some clear indicators that a person may have this issue. These generally revolve around frequently checking for problems with their health, from measuring their pulse and blood sugar levels to searching for lumps and blemishes. Keeping an eye on these things isn’t a bad thing. However, if you’re doing it obsessively day after day, this may be your anxiety getting carried away. Moreover, if you’re researching every little problem you have and making assumptions about your health based on other people’s, you could be dealing with health anxiety.

Can speaking with a doctor help those struggling with health anxiety?

You might think that if you’re anxious about something related to your health, input from a medical professional will help to ease your concerns. However, this might not be enough for someone struggling with health anxiety. While it can certainly help some people to calm down, it usually isn’t long before a new concern rears its head. What’s more, this doesn’t necessarily deter someone from persistently checking if there’s something wrong with them. That’s assuming that the person even believes the advice they’re given. Some who struggle with health anxiety may become so convinced that there’s something wrong with them that they can’t accept it when a doctor doesn’t find anything.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help deal with health anxiety in the long-term

Fortunately, if speaking with a doctor does little to help someone with health anxiety, there is another solution. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can provide more long-term assistance to help tackle health anxiety more permanently. Through CBT, someone struggling with this anxiety can begin to understand how to identify when their concerns are unwarranted. The treatment teaches them to ditch any behavior that doesn’t help them and allows their anxiety to thrive. It’s not always a quick solution, nor is it guaranteed to work perfectly for everyone. Still, it can make a real difference to the quality of someone’s life when health anxiety is significantly affecting them.

Some short-term tactics could also make it easier to deal with health anxiety

While CBT can make a big difference with health anxiety, it can take time to have an impact. That’s why it’s beneficial to have a few other tactics available to stop this anxiety from overwhelming you. These are the sort of things you might employ to deal with other forms of anxiety, such as deep breathing and similar meditation techniques. Writing down how often you check your body and how much time you devote to worrying about your health may also be useful. The same goes for finding ways to keep busy when your anxiety tries to get the best of you. For instance, speaking to someone you trust or going out for a walk. These might only temporarily delay the symptoms, but they can be a big help when used alongside things like CBT.

It might be little surprise that so many people now struggle with health anxiety. If you have this issue, though, you don’t need to live in fear. Instad, there are ways you can cope with and challenge this mental health issue so that you’re not constantly afraid of getting sick.