Coping Guide
Health Anxiety: How to Cope
Health anxiety is when worrying that you are ill, or will become ill, starts to take over your life. The NHS notes that anxiety itself can cause symptoms such as headaches or a racing heart, which can then feel like more evidence of illness. NHS self-help focuses on gradually reducing checking and reassurance-seeking, challenging worried thoughts and getting back to normal activities.
Signs of health anxiety
The NHS lists signs including:
- Constantly worrying about your health
- Frequently checking your body for lumps, tingling or pain
- Often asking people for reassurance that you are not ill
- Worrying that doctors or tests have missed something
- Looking up health information online a lot, or avoiding anything to do with illness
Health anxiety self-help steps
- Keep a diary of how often you check your body, seek reassurance or look things up, and gradually reduce it over a week
- Use two columns: your health worry in one, a more balanced thought in the other ("Headaches can often be a sign of stress")
- When the urge to check comes, do something else: a walk, a call to a friend
- Gradually return to things you have been avoiding, such as sport or socialising
- Try breathing exercises to relax
Why reassurance does not last
Checking and reassurance bring relief for a while, but the relief fades and the urge returns, sometimes stronger. Reducing them gradually is uncomfortable at first, but it helps break the cycle.
When to get help
See a doctor if worries about your health stop you living a normal life or self-help is not working. Health anxiety can be helped with talking therapy, such as CBT, with a qualified professional. Always get new or worrying physical symptoms checked by a doctor rather than assuming they are anxiety.
Sources & further reading
Frequently asked questions
Can anxiety cause physical symptoms?+
Yes. The NHS notes anxiety itself can cause symptoms like headaches or a racing heartbeat, which can be mistaken for signs of illness.
Does looking up symptoms online make health anxiety worse?+
Frequent searching is one of the signs the NHS lists. Tracking and gradually reducing it is part of NHS self-help advice.
Is health anxiety the same as hypochondria?+
Health anxiety is the term now commonly used for persistent worry about being ill. The NHS says it is related to OCD.
Should I still see a doctor about symptoms?+
Yes, for new or worrying symptoms. If worry continues after you have been checked and it affects your life, ask about help for health anxiety.
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