What is health anxiety?
People with health anxiety (previously called hypochondria) constantly worry about having a severe illness, even when they lack any physical symptoms. Everyday bodily sensations are seen as signs of grave ailments, which can result in substantial distress. Tied to obsessive-compulsive disorder, health anxiety gives people a pervasive fear of contracting serious diseases like cancer.
If you have health anxiety, you may check yourself excessively for signs of illness or frequently seek medical reassurance. You may also avoid certain things, rooted in your healthy anxiety fears. This can profoundly disrupt your daily life and relationships.
The most important thing to know about health anxiety is that it’s a treatable problem.
Medications, talking therapies and hypnotherapy are important to help you manage these unrealistic health concerns. These can restore balance to your overall wellbeing and reduce the impact of health anxiety on your life.
Health anxiety is the 3rd most common type of anxiety among people seeking support from Anxiety UK
Approximately 1 in 20 people have some type of anxiety difficulty
Health anxiety may be becoming more common due to people browsing the internet to look up symptoms
10% of people believe their relationships with family and friends are negatively affected by anxiety
What causes it?
If you have health anxiety, you are more likely to worry about severe illnesses rather than common ailments. The disorder’s roots are complex, potentially tied to challenges tolerating uncertainty about bodily sensations or a family history of excessive health concerns.
Health anxiety often surfaces in early adulthood. It can escalate as people get older, particularly as they begin to think about the memory problems associated with old age.
Childhood trauma or abuse, stress, and mental health issues can all contribute to the onset of health anxiety. The risk increases for people who can interpret non-serious illnesses as severe or are already inclined to exaggerate health concerns.
Health anxiety can be triggered by someone’s exposure to disease-related information online, viewing medical content or knowing someone with a severe condition. If someone is feeling unwell or has noticed bodily abnormalities, these can also trigger unrealistically severe concerns.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, these anxieties may have intensified. They could have been fuelled by an overwhelming influx of readily accessible health information that adds to the overall unease.
What are the symptoms & effects?
Health anxiety hinders your daily life, making routine activities overwhelming due to the constant fear of illness or injury. It can impact your personal relationships as well as your career if you are frequently absent from work. You may also experience financial strain from frequent healthcare visits. For people with health anxiety, there is an increased risk of developing mental health conditions like major depressive disorder and personality disorders.
How can it be managed?
How can it be managed?
Overcoming health anxiety is possible and is a path towards a more positive and fulfilling life.
Make more efforts to relax
Unwinding has an uplifting impact on your health. If you struggle to relax, explore mindfulness and breathing techniques that can bring effective relief from your anxiety.
Keep a diary
Keeping a diary is a powerful tool for addressing health concerns. It can help you to challenge your thoughts and demonstrate whether you’re worrying unnecessarily too often. You can use it to identify triggers for your worries and anxiety. A diary can also help you set goals and build your self-confidence.
Stay busy
You can attempt to counter your health anxiety with distractions, like doing chores you’ve put off or video calling a friend. This means less time to worry, seek medical advice or look up symptoms. You can also start to gradually reintroduce activities you’ve avoided. You will then have more positive things to think about and look forward to.
Medication & other support
If your health anxiety is disrupting your daily life, your GP may offer medicine, like SSRIs, a type of antidepressant. These can help you to achieve beneficial outcomes when you also lean on the support of trusted friends and family.
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a common treatment for health anxiety. Seeking professional assistance through talking therapies can empower you to challenge negative thoughts through activities like crafting balanced thought tables.
How can hypnotherapy help?
Clinical hypnotherapy for health anxiety can help you to mitigate problems using the guidance of a skilled professional. You will experience deep relaxation and receive personalised suggestions to reshape thoughts and behaviours, addressing obsessive cycles.
Well-versed in neuroscience, hypnotherapists are experts at assisting in anxiety management. They will provide guidance as well as self-help resources.
You can experience the effectiveness of hypnotherapy for health anxiety in around 8-10 tailored sessions.
Our Health Anxiety & Hypochondria Specialists
Benn Baker-Pollard
Sittingbourne
Carmen Harrington
Market Harborough
Caroline Prout
Thrapston
Chris Johannes
Spalding
Claire Noyelle
Maidstone East
Dawn Ibbetson
Chelmsford
Gary Johannes
Peterborough
Jill Whitehouse
Newcastle upon Tyne
Keeley Smith
Southend-on-Sea
Kerry Seymour
Weston-super-Mare
Peter Ely
Islington
Victoria Anderson
Sunderland
Why Choose Inspired To Change
Our solution focused hypnotherapists empower you to better understand your brain, helping to guide you towards solutions and achieve the outcomes you want. We have a team of fully trained hypnotherapists, giving you the choice of who to work with and how you want to work with them. Solution focused hypnotherapy is just as effective in-person or online in the comfort of your own home, so you can find the ideal therapist to help you reach your goals.
Every one of our hypnotherapists is recognised by governing bodies like the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the UK’s leading not-for-profit hypnotherapy professional association. They have all trained with Clifton Practice Hypnotherapy Training, one of the leading hypnotherapy schools in the UK.
