Imagine you have a headache. You look it up, and after briefly looking through the various symptoms and causes, you start to panic. What if it is something much worse? So you take to the internet to see if there is anything worse that could cause a headache. After spending a significant amount of time researching different possibilities, you find no answer and no relief, and the headache has only gotten worse.
What is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety is different from Somatic Symptom Disorder because, with health anxiety, physical symptoms may not actually be present or or they can be completely normal bodily functions or variations of normal.
Health anxiety encompasses a wide range of severity and is clinically diagnosed as illness anxiety disorder in the DSM-5, replacing hypochondriasis.
There is an obvious distinction between the two, but it can be hard to quantify the difference. Some people may think they have health anxiety when in reality they could have somatic symptom disorder, and vice versa.
The symptoms feel very real in both cases, and both disorders can co-occur.
A Normal Symptom Can Spiral Out of Control
One reason why this cycle of worrying is so compelling is that anxiety itself creates physical symptoms.
A rapid heart rate or fluttering in the chest, an upset stomach, muscle tension, and shortness of breath are all common examples.
Research on health anxiety shows these symptoms are a byproduct of anxiety, and because of this, they can easily be mistaken for a symptom of a serious illness, which helps fuel the cycle.
Fear creates a symptom. The symptom gets misinterpreted as a sign of a serious illness. Which fuels more fear, and the cycle continues.
This is what truly separates health anxiety from simply being cautious or informed about your health. Fear causes every new physical sensation, no matter how minor, to be filtered through a lens that assumes the worst.
Reassurance From a Doctor Works Only Temporarily
A trip to the doctor for reassurance is not always helpful in the long term. Anxiety about a particular symptom goes away for a short time, but new symptoms cause worry, and the cycle repeats.
One cycle is short-lived. However, a series of repeated cycles makes anxiety incredibly draining, both mentally and physically.
It Often Occurs With Other Anxiety Conditions
Compared to some other conditions, health anxiety frequently occurs alongside other disorders.
Often, health anxiety isn’t a standalone issue as much as it is one of many anxious thoughts looking for a target.
Because of this, if someone is primarily focused on their health and the underlying anxious thought patterns are not addressed, the focus will simply shift to another area of life.
What Distinguishes Health Anxiety From Being a Concerned and Informed Patient?
Often, people who have health anxiety and people who are concerned, informed patients can look very similar on the surface.
However, there are important differences.
Health anxiety tends to cause people to constantly monitor changes in their body. When they notice a change – they frequently become preoccupied to the point that it interferes with daily functioning and routine activities.
In this process, they may check their body for changes, look for new symptoms or interpret information in a way that provides momentary reassurance.
This reassurance, however, doesn’t break the cycle. Instead, this pattern leads people with health anxiety to use healthcare services at a higher rate compared to the general public, ultimately failing to alleviate the underlying anxiety.
Treatment That Actually Works
The good news is that health anxiety is highly treatable. Numerous studies suggest that the most effective treatment for health anxiety is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).
CBT is based on the principle that many of our thoughts are automatically generated by our belief systems, which consist of rules we’ve incorporated throughout our lives. Some of these rules are realistic and helpful.
Others, however, are arbitrary, unhelpful, or simply inaccurate. Some of these unrealistic rules induce anxiety and contribute to excessive health worries.
Although research has shown that CBT is just as effective in a traditional face-to-face setting and an online or self-guided format, treatment should be individualized to the patient’s preference. Thus, depending on the patient, the treatment could include traditional psychotherapy or medication.
When It’s Worth Reaching Out
If you experience health anxiety, you may benefit from support if you feel you are spending a lot of your mental energy worrying about your health when you could be directing it toward other areas of your life.
Perhaps you feel you’ve spent a lot of time researching health-related topics, only to find that all the research increases your anxiety.
Reaching out for help can make a difference if you feel stuck in a loop and nothing seems to break the cycle.
At CK Wellness, we have found this to be true. It is never maladaptive to seek help if you feel you are spending too much energy worrying about health-related matters and want to reclaim your mental energy for other areas of your life. Reach out and let’s talk.