If you have health anxiety, it can be crippling to your life. You might not know exactly what is causing your anxiety, but you’re certain it’s a problem. You might spend all day worrying about something that shouldn’t affect you. And because your health should be a priority, this obsessiveness can also keep you away from the things you need most – like good health!
You might have health anxiety if… you: always worry about your health. regularly check your body for symptoms of illness, including pain, tingles or lumps. obsessively search online or in the press for “wonder cures” that will magically make you well. act as if you are sick (including not getting enough sleep), because this will give you an idea of how your mind perceives your daily life and what your life is like compared to how it feels.
You feel constantly worried about health anxiety. The fear of having an illness or doing something harmful is overwhelming. You might be obsessed with reading labels or researching websites on health information. In general, health worries can distract you from your actual goals. This can lead to other health anxiety disorders, such as headaches or stomachaches.
You’ve tried cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). You’ve tried relaxation techniques, such as meditation or yoga. Or you’ve explored alternative treatments like acupuncture or hypnotherapy. Unfortunately, despite your best efforts, health anxiety usually goes away after a few weeks or months, and CBT and other psychological therapies don’t seem to work long-term.
You’ve tried medications to treat your health anxiety. Many of these drugs only suppress your symptoms. They treat the symptoms, not the underlying causes. While some people may experience mild side effects, for most people, these drugs provide no lasting relief from their symptoms. At best, they provide a short-term or temporary “temporary fix.”
You’ve been trying to ignore the symptoms because you’re afraid that you’ll have an upset stomach, for example, if you drink too much caffeine or eat too much chocolate. Caffeine and food sensitivities can actually increase your health anxiety disorder. And eating too much chocolate or caffeine can actually increase your risk of serious illness.
Finally, you’ve had some luck with supplements or herbal remedies. Herbal remedies can help treat your health anxiety, but they are not a substitute for good medical treatment. People who have serious illnesses or are severely overweight are especially sensitive to herbal remedies. If you use herbal remedies and don’t get the right medical treatment, you could wind up with worse health consequences.
If you have health anxiety, keep in mind that there is a solution that many people may overlook. You don’t have to continue to ignore your illness. You don’t have to live in fear that some little bump or spill will make your problem worse. You can cure your stress and anxiety, and you can do it without going crazy and losing sleep over little things. When you take the right action today, you can live a happy, healthy life with less worry.
To get help for your health anxiety disorder, talk to your doctor or psychologist. They can give you some valuable advice and also refer you to an expert in mental health therapy, if that’s what your problem requires. You can find someone in your area that specializes in treating people who worry too much about health and wellness issues. Your family doctor should be able to give you some suggestions for mental health support as well, so that you can cope with your illness anxiety disorder.
Sometimes it’s helpful to try a combination of therapies to treat your health anxiety disorders. That’s because your body can change in response to different treatments. For example, cognitive defusion therapists can help patients reduce their stress and anxiety by exposing them to stressful situations in the safe and controlled environment of a cognitive experiment. The therapist will teach the patient to mentally escape from the situation at hand, replacing it with something more relaxing and enjoyable. This treatment can be particularly effective for people with mild health worries who tend to suffer from physical symptoms like chest pain, headaches and muscle tension when they are exposed to high stress levels.
If these therapies don’t work, there are also other methods to use for treatment. You can use prescription drugs to control your health anxiety or to relieve your symptoms of it. These are called benzodiazepines and can be very effective when used properly. However, many people also develop a dependency to these medications, so you should be sure to check with your doctor on the side effects and precautions of taking these drugs. There are also other types of medical conditions that can bring on health anxiety and other symptoms, including chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and other neurologic disorders.
To get rid of your health anxiety, you need to start by accepting that you have a problem and that you need help. Don’t try to fight off your illness or your worry; just calm yourself down and accept that you do have a problem. If you try to ignore your worries, this only makes them stronger. Then, you must find a way to replace your worrying with reassurance. Once you replace your worrying with reassurance, you will have learned coping skills that will help you eliminate your health anxiety.