Three Things that Increase Your Health Anxiety

Anxiety of any sort can affect our mental health adversely, thereby impacting our overall well-being. 

Health anxiety, also known as Hypochondria, is associated with overthinking about having an undiagnosed serious health condition. In this condition, an individual obsessively thinks about being ill or getting ill, which starts affecting their normal life.

Symptoms of Health Anxiety

• Constantly worrying about one’s health

• Feeling ill all the time or fearing about getting ill

• Seeking reassurance from people about not being ill

• Consulting doctor frequently

• Worrying that a test report or doctor might have missed something crucial

• Obsessively searching on the internet for an illness

• Frequently checking our body for any signs of illness, such as scars, lumps, or pain

• Excessively thinking about diseases that run in the family

Factors that increase Health Anxiety

1. The worry game: Constantly worrying and stressing about our health can eventually increase our health anxiety. This hinders our rational and logical thinking, and we get trapped in a never-ending circle of worries. Sometimes, unnecessary worries can blow out of proportion and increase our anxiety.

2. Constant Checking: When we are frequently looking and checking our body for any symptoms, pain, and sensations, we are bound to find it even if there is nothing. This happens because all the time, while we check our body for some illness, our brain receives a signal that checking means danger. This danger signal creates pain and sensations in the body. Therefore, constant checking can increase our health anxiety.

3. The search: People with health anxiety tend to search and search a lot about symptoms and illness on the internet. Google or the Internet is not our friend when we have health anxiety. Often, people try to reassure themselves by searching the symptoms on the internet, creating a circle of worrying and constantly seeking reassurance that they are fine. Constantly searching the internet can only worsen health anxiety.

Controlling Health Anxiety

It is crucial to keep health anxiety under control, as it may lead to unnecessary worries and stress and affect our overall well-being. Some preventive measures to control stress and anxiety may include:

• Keeping ourselves busy with other things

• When we feel the urge to check our body, we must distract ourselves by walking, calling a friend, or indulging in something that can keep our mind diverted.

• Getting back to normal activities rather than overthinking and stressing oneself.

• One must try to gradually start doing things that one has been avoiding because of health worries, such as sports or socializing.

• One must make self-care and relaxation a routine.

• Simple breathing exercises can be of great help to relieve worries and stress.

In a nutshell, too much of anything is always dangerous. So is overthinking about one’s health. Worrying obsessively about our health may eventually deteriorate it and make us ill. The best thing is to practice a healthy and active lifestyle.