Services: Treatment of Health-
Related Fears and Worries
Related Fears and Worries
What is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety results from a desire to protect one’s health and persistent fear that one’s health is threatened. This anxiety becomes problematic when it occupies one’s mind and behaviors on a regular basis. Characteristic signs and diagnostic symptoms of someone suffering from health related anxiety include:
- Difficulties functioning or enjoying life due to fears and preoccupations
- Frequent thoughts and worries about bodily functions, physical oddities, and physical discomfort.
- Worries about a specific organ they hear about on the news or at work.
- Preoccupation of having or danger of getting, a serious illness
- Frequent medical visits (primary care, urgent care, ER) and requests for repeated testing for reassurance
Example of Living with Health Anxiety
Jim often worries, “What if I have a brain tumor?” He has been having painful headaches for the past few days. Every time the headache starts (it starts right behind the eyes) he worries about what is causing this pain. He often thinks his pain is coming from a brain tumor or an aneurysm.
He tries to tell himself that the headache is just from stress but this doesn’t help much. Jim finds himself rubbing his temples and forehead to see if he feels any lumps. When he notices that there might be a bit of swelling around his right temple, his anxiety becomes very intense. Jim wonders if he should talk to his doctor and have tests done.
He asks his wife about this and she tells him he is just fine. Her calm words do not help. He fears that she no longer takes his concerns seriously and that she automatically dismisses his health fears. Jim began finding it very difficult to read books or watch TV shows where a character had brain cancer. As time went on, he found it more and more difficult to hear stories related to all types of tumors and cancers. He would ask his wife to turn off the TV whenever health-related news stories came on or if cancer storylines unexpectedly arose on other programs.
His wife was initially understanding but began to find it annoying when Jim’s anxiety meant that she had to hide in the basement to watch her favorite show after a main character was diagnosed with breast cancer. (Furer, Walker, and Stein, 2007)
He tries to tell himself that the headache is just from stress but this doesn’t help much. Jim finds himself rubbing his temples and forehead to see if he feels any lumps. When he notices that there might be a bit of swelling around his right temple, his anxiety becomes very intense. Jim wonders if he should talk to his doctor and have tests done.
He asks his wife about this and she tells him he is just fine. Her calm words do not help. He fears that she no longer takes his concerns seriously and that she automatically dismisses his health fears. Jim began finding it very difficult to read books or watch TV shows where a character had brain cancer. As time went on, he found it more and more difficult to hear stories related to all types of tumors and cancers. He would ask his wife to turn off the TV whenever health-related news stories came on or if cancer storylines unexpectedly arose on other programs.
His wife was initially understanding but began to find it annoying when Jim’s anxiety meant that she had to hide in the basement to watch her favorite show after a main character was diagnosed with breast cancer. (Furer, Walker, and Stein, 2007)
What Causes Health Anxiety?
The anxiety starts when the person experiences an internal trigger (sensation, emotion, memory, etc) or external trigger (such as hearing or seeing something illness related) and has an illness related thought that interprets the sensation as something dangerous. This thought then leads to feelings of anxiety and fear. As the emotions intensify, there may be bodily sensations (such as increased heart rate, feelings of weakness, etc) that are interpreted as a sign that something is seriously physically wrong. The person then has a strong urge to check, seek reassurance, or engage in avoidance behaviors, and will experience a temporary decrease in the anxiety and fear. However, similar to the anxiety/avoidance cycle, the person continues to experience worsening anxiety each time he/she is exposed to the same internal or external triggers.
Experts say that health anxiety may develop in persons with a genetic predisposition, certain childhood experiences, or a history of stressful life event(s).
Circumstances that worsen health anxiety symptoms include anxiety, depression, and preoccupation with body sensations. Behaviors that can reduce these symptoms include exercise, relaxation, reduced attention, and conservative medical management. Building on these two recommendations, I would also reccomend decreasing time spent on the internet researching symptoms (an avoidance/reassurance behavior) and establishing a routine schedule for doctors visits (such as only having scheduled monthly visits) to help manage reassurance seeking behaviors.
As with any anxiety disorder, management of these symptoms will take time and require a commitment to engage in deliberate thoughts and behaviors intended to break this cycle of health anxiety.
Circumstances that worsen health anxiety symptoms include anxiety, depression, and preoccupation with body sensations. Behaviors that can reduce these symptoms include exercise, relaxation, reduced attention, and conservative medical management. Building on these two recommendations, I would also reccomend decreasing time spent on the internet researching symptoms (an avoidance/reassurance behavior) and establishing a routine schedule for doctors visits (such as only having scheduled monthly visits) to help manage reassurance seeking behaviors.
As with any anxiety disorder, management of these symptoms will take time and require a commitment to engage in deliberate thoughts and behaviors intended to break this cycle of health anxiety.
Recommended Treatments for Health Anxiety
Current treatments include:
Sample CBT interventions include:
CBT is best suited for individuals who want to participate in therapy, are interested to learn about psychological approaches to manage their worries, has the time and energy available, and has a positive therapy experience (if applicable). Those with severe distress or other psychological conditions that affect their ability to participate may benefit more from pharmacological treatments.
Whether medication, therapy, or both are selected as a treatment choice, the client must participate fully in the treatment to be successful.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (individual or group)
- Exposure therapy with response prevention
- Stress Management
- Antidepressants
- reducing worries about health
- decreasing time spent checking bodily symptoms and obtaining reassurance from others
- reducing avoidance of health-related situations
Sample CBT interventions include:
- reviewing and identifying triggers and irrational thoughts
- changing problematic behaviors
- developing alternate coping skills to better tolerate discomfort and uncertainty
- guidance on how to approach anxious situations differently
CBT is best suited for individuals who want to participate in therapy, are interested to learn about psychological approaches to manage their worries, has the time and energy available, and has a positive therapy experience (if applicable). Those with severe distress or other psychological conditions that affect their ability to participate may benefit more from pharmacological treatments.
Whether medication, therapy, or both are selected as a treatment choice, the client must participate fully in the treatment to be successful.
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If you are ready and want help breaking free from this cycle of worrying, I can help! Call or send me a note. I look forward to hearing from you !
- Dr. Melissa Soo Hoo |
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Hours Mon-Fri: 8am - 5pm
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Telephone 949.337.1034
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