How to cope with health anxiety

Topics mentioned: anxiety, counselling and therapy, self-care, reaching out for help

About: Our bloggers share their experience of health anxiety, why asking for help was the best decision, and the coping techniques they use when feeling anxious.

Health anxiety has been present in my life for as long as I can remember. From being physically frozen with fear anytime anyone was sick at school, to not sleeping or eating properly for weeks when I was going through a cancer scare.

I’d pushed my thoughts, fears, habits and anxieties to the back of my mind until I reached my 19th Birthday. I’d had a terrible trip away where I thought I was ill and EVERYTHING I’d kept squashed down came to the surface.

I vowed on the morning of my birthday that I would start therapy and for the first time in 19 years, I asked for help. It was the best decision I ever made.

Here's where you can get help for health anxiety:

For years I’ve struggled with a constant fear of becoming unwell and convincing myself that I have major health issues. It began to take over my life, with every small symptom causing me great distress and panic. When I realised that I was suffering from health anxiety, everything made a lot more sense.

Health anxiety continues to affect my life, but over the years I’ve learnt how to manage it better. It can often feel overwhelming and isolating, but I can assure you that if you’re also struggling with it too, you are not alone.

• The first step that helped me was recognising that I was experiencing anxious thoughts every time I experienced a slight bodily change.
• For example, each time I had a headache or mild pain, I would immediately think it was something serious. I’d feel extremely anxious and panic that I was critically ill.
• Acknowledging this recurring pattern helped me understand that my brain was assuming the worst with little rational thought. I realised that my problem could be related to my anxious thinking, rather than my physical health.

• It’s so tempting to google our symptoms to find quick answers to what’s causing the issue.
• However, Google only shows us general results that are often about serious health conditions. This worsens our anxiety and confirms our beliefs that our symptoms are serious.
• Remember, Google can’t diagnose us. It doesn’t take our individual situation into account. Googling symptoms easily leads to self-diagnosing, which can be dangerous as it’s often inaccurate.

• Book in to see a medical professional, such as a GP or nurse. They can help you make sense of your symptoms.
• You could also discuss your anxious thoughts about your health. They can refer you to a mental health specialist if they think this could help you.

• We can gradually learn to overcome our anxious thoughts by practising techniques such as thought-challenging.
• Health anxiety is often the brain’s automatic assumption that the symptoms signal the worst possible scenario. This is known as catastrophising.
• We can slowly train our brain to replace catastrophic thinking with more rational thinking by questioning how accurate our thoughts really are.
• For example, a headache is much more likely to be just a headache than a tumour. Especially if our medical checks show that we are healthy, and the ache began after not drinking enough water.
• Logical thinking encourages us to take a step back and consider the situation rationally.

• It’s important to share how you’re feeling with someone you trust. Health anxiety can be very distressing, and you don’t deserve to go through this alone.
• Opening up means those who care about you can give you support.
  If you don’t feel comfortable talking to anyone in your life, you can seek support from lots of websites and services.