Health anxiety treatment that gives you your life back.
Are You Living with Health Anxiety Symptoms?
Constant Worry
The worry that you might be sick or could get sick takes over. Fears of cancer, heart attack, dementia - you name it. You may find your thoughts are consumed by worries about your health and the search for answers about things you notice in your body.
Unexplained Symptoms
It might seem like every day there are seemingly new symptoms coming up for you - headaches, fatigue, chest pain, stomach upset. You may start to wonder if you’re making it all up, but surely it’s not all in your head. You may get hung up on unexplained symptoms the most.
Missing Out on Life
The more you feel unwell, the more you may start to miss out on things - declining invitations and staying home. You may find that your thoughts are so consumed by worries about your health, that you can’t stay present and enjoy the moment. You’re losing precious time.
Top 6 Myths About Health Anxiety
Most people with health anxiety come up with the same strategies to try and manage it. Here’s a breakdown of some of the most common tactics, (along with explanations for why these don’t work long-term).
If you’ve been relying on these rules for managing your health anxiety, you might have noticed that you get short-term relief from the anxiety. However, you may have also noticed that over the long-term your health anxiety has only gotten worse. You may be feeling more unwell or having more physical symptoms than you did a few years ago.
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This tactic called “checking” actually increases anxiety by putting lots of attention and importance on every little thing. Since most bodily changes are benign, it actually increases unnecessary danger signals that something is “wrong” with your body.
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While it may seem better to assume the worst, this only ramps up your anxiety and causes you to pay more attention to the sensation. The more attention you pay to any part of your body, the more you amplify signals of pain or discomfort. More attention equals more anxiety.
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Because 100% certainty isn’t possible, you set yourself up to “never rest.” You may find yourself endlessly searching for information and once you feel a bit reassured about one thing - you’ll just start worrying about something else.
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This tactic, referred to as “reassurance seeking” may give you bits of relief for a moment. This acts like tiny hits of a drug for your brain. In the long-term however, it only feeds into feeling more and more unsure of yourself. It also often leads to feelings of frustration and conflict in your relationships when people struggle with the amount of reassurance you’re asking for.
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Doctors are highly educated, but simply cannot provide an explanation for every single change or sensation you may notice in your body. In fact, running unnecessary tests can sometimes be detrimental to your health (such as PET scans to check for cancer) which is why tests are only recommended when it’s likely to show something.
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Information gathered online about bodily sensations and symptoms is a lot like watching the nightly news to figure out how safe your home is. Sensational, frightening stories are the most attention grabbing. The same is true for health concerns. This can lead to “anecdotal bias” - the perception that knowing someone who’s had a health problem increases the likelihood of it happening to you.
How Health Anxiety Treatment Can Help
When It’s Time to Call In the Pros
Health anxiety can affect major areas of your life - your relationships, work, mood, self-esteem, independence, and even your physical health. Everyone worries about illness from time to time. Certain “health scares”, like having a biopsy done or having a family member with cancer, can be a bit unnerving for most people and really make you re-evaluate whether you may have been taking your health for granted. Health anxiety isn’t necessarily a problem that warrants therapy, as long as it’s mild, doesn’t happen often, and isn’t affecting your life. If you notice your health anxiety is bothering you or if it’s negatively affecting major areas of your life, it’s time to reach out. Read on to learn more about how our team can help.
“Research has shown that CBT Treatment for Health Anxiety has lasting benefits even after treatment has ended, even for people with diagnosed medical conditions.”
Decrease Tension in Relationships
After successfully completing health anxiety treatment our clients report feeling less reliant on partners, friends, and family members for reassurance about their health. This change in dynamic often decreases tension that can build up in relationships around health anxiety. Our clients also report feeling more able to support loved ones who may be going through their own health related troubles, something that previously felt intolerable.
Better Work Performance & Attendance
Health anxiety therapy can help you perform better at work simply by improving attendance. Our clients who were previously calling out of work due to health related worries and symptoms, often report also feeling more able to refocus on work with less focus on bodily sensations.
Raise Your Mood & Improve Coping
Our clients who complete health anxiety therapy report feeling less focused on physical symptoms so they can do more, get out more, and try new things - all of which can significantly improve your mood and reduce depression.
Difficulties processing sadness and grief are a common experience for those who struggle with health anxiety. Health anxiety treatment can help you build stronger coping skills to handle the inevitable moments of sadness that are a natural part of life.
Enhance Your Health & Finances
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of health anxiety treatment is often a reduction in physical symptoms, which are often related to anxiety, resulting in less bodily sensations to trigger worries.
Our clients often report using money toward personal goals and hobbies that they previously would have spent on excessive medical care and testing.
Ready to Get Started?
Get In Touch With Us
Perhaps one of the hardest steps you’ll have to make by yourself is the first step of reaching out to us. Send us your info and we’ll take it from there, supporting you each step of the way.
Complete a Free Consult
You might be nervous about making phone calls or not sure what to say - either way we’ll walk you through it step-by-step in about 15 minutes. We like to be sure it’s a good fit first.
Have Your First Session
We’ll set up your first session with your therapist to complete your initial assessment. This helps to ensure we have a solid game plan from the get-go so you can feel confident in the process.
References:
Tyrer P, Salkovskis P, Tyrer H, Wang D, Crawford MJ, Dupont S, Cooper S, Green J, Murphy D, Smith G, Bhogal S, Nourmand S, Lazarevic V, Loebenberg G, Evered R, Kings S, McNulty A, Lisseman-Stones Y, McAllister S, Kramo K, Nagar J, Reid S, Sanatinia R, Whittamore K, Walker G, Philip A, Warwick H, Byford S, Barrett B. Cognitive-behaviour therapy for health anxiety in medical patients (CHAMP): a randomised controlled trial with outcomes to 5 years. Health Technol Assess. 2017 Sep;21(50):1-58. doi: 10.3310/hta21500. PMID: 28877841; PMCID: PMC5601246.