Dr. Google Called—He Said Stop Calling
Health anxiety is a disorder where you're excessively worried that you have or may develop a serious illness. You might constantly check your body for abnormalities, regularly schedule appointments with your doctor to confirm you're fine, or, like many, consult Dr. Google. If you're wondering whether you have health anxiety or not, here are 10 signs to watch out for—and 10 ways to try and overcome it.
1. You're Constantly Checking for Abnormalities
The number one sign of health anxiety is constantly scanning for odd sensations or new changes in or with your body. You might persistently check your pulse to ensure your heart is beating correctly; you might press on certain areas to test for soreness or lumps. In other words, you're always hyperaware of everything your body is doing or where it's hurting.
2. You Consult Dr. Google
It's not enough that you think your pulse is beating normally, or that your headache is just a dull throb. You need to be absolutely sure that nothing is wrong with you—so you head to Google. You spend hours researching symptoms, poring over health articles, and reading other people's experiences, trying to match all of that information with the sensations you feel. It gets to a point where it consumes your entire being.
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3. You Truly Believe There's Something Wrong with You
Dr. Google has convinced you of one thing: you have a terrible, incurable disease. Sure, it could be just a regular headache, but you've had it for three days and the odd cranial pressure is still there. Heck, the articles you read online seem to all say the same thing. Even though it's highly unlikely that it's something serious, you truly believe that this time, something is truly wrong.
4. You're Always at the Doctor's Office—or Not at All
Because you're convinced you have a serious illness, you're always frequenting your doctor's office, scheduling appointments every week or second day. You can't help it—you need confirmation. You need reassurance. But sometimes, the fear of knowing that something could be seriously wrong frightens you so much that you'd rather not face the fact at all.
5. Your Health Anxiety Triggers Panic Attacks—Which Triggers Back Your Anxiety
Health anxiety is a form of anxiety. When your worries overstress your body, you might trigger a panic attack. Constantly focusing on your pulse to make sure it beats correctly, for one, may shoot up your adrenaline, signaling your fight or flight response that something is wrong. But since panic attacks can exacerbate these symptoms and make them worse, they can further perpetuate your health anxiety, creating a vicious loop.
6. You Experience Psychosomatic Symptoms
You didn't have a specific symptom before you looked it up, but as you continue sifting through dozens of health articles, you begin to feel exactly what they're describing.
These psychosomatic symptoms—sensations brought on by mental or emotional factors—can feel extremely real, and that's because they are real. It goes to show just how strong the mind-body connection is.
7. You Often Don't Trust Medical Tests & Professionals
Even after you get yourself checked by a medical professional who runs a few important tests and concludes you're okay, you don't believe it. You think that they—or the test—might have missed something crucial. After all, your symptoms continue to persist, and you just don't feel right.
8. You Constantly Seek Reassurance from Family & Friends
You don't only seek reassurance from your doctor—you also rely on your friends and family to tell you that you're fine. Sure, they might not be professionals, but it still feels good to just have someone listen and to know their opinion on what they think you might be experiencing.
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9. Avoid Places or Things That Trigger You
Certain places or things can also trigger health anxiety. If, for example, you tend to hyperfocus on how fast your heart beats whenever you exercise, anxious thoughts could consume your mind ("Is this how fast it should beat")? and force you to stop, stunting your progress. If you have a panic attack at the gym, you might avoid the gym altogether.
10. You're Always Talking About Your Health
Health-anxious people are always talking about their health. It's not necessarily because they have an interest in the medical field.
Most times, it's because they're either always updated about their physical condition or they've read enough health articles that they begin to regurgitate that information.
What, then, are some ways to cope with health anxiety if you have it? Let's take a look at 10 ways.
1. Ditch Dr. Google
The first thing you should do if you have health anxiety is to stop fueling these thoughts by researching your symptoms on Google. While it's fine to want to keep informed about your health, avoid consulting the web, which can exacerbate your fears. Google also almost always tells you it's cancer, which doesn't help, either.
2. Keep a Health Journal
If you're constantly body checking and hyperfocusing on symptoms, instead of letting these worries consume you, let them out on paper. You can also use a journal to track your triggers and health updates, as writing them down might help ease your mind.
3. Stop Body Scanning
While it's understandable to worry about your health and to question certain abnormalities, not every odd sensation, twinge, or ache signals that something is wrong. Constant body scanning will only perpetuate your fears and anxiety, so take a deep breath and let it pass. If you truly believe something isn't right, schedule an appointment with your doctor.
4. Distract Yourself
Oftentimes, distracting yourself can ease psychosomatic symptoms.
If you feel like your pulse is fluttering or off-beat, try engaging yourself in an activity you enjoy. Taking your focus away from the thing that feeds your anxiety allows you to see whether it's real or all in your mind.
5. Establish Regular Check-Ins with Your Doctor
While you don't want to visit your doctor every day or to be reliant on them to the point of scheduling an appointment for every symptom you feel, you don't want to completely avoid seeing a medical professional, either. The key is to find a good balance and to establish regular check-ins, so that you're up to date and informed about your health without going overboard.
6. Delay the Urge to Seek Reassurance
Odd symptoms may make your brain go into panic mode, but don't let it consume you to the point where you're immediately seeking reassurance. It's understandable to want to know that you're okay, but health anxiety can force you into a never-ending cycle if you're constantly researching potential illnesses and asking others to confirm or deny your self-diagnoses.
7. Use Grounding Techniques
Instead of letting health anxiety take over, use grounding techniques. Shock your senses by dunking your hands in cold water, or take deep, calming breaths by inhaling, holding, and exhaling for four seconds each. You can also try the 5-4-3-2-1 method by finding five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste.
8. Accept Uncertainty
Our bodies are weird. Sometimes you'll get random aches in spots you haven't touched, other times you'll get pangs and muscle spasms for no clear reason. But our bodies are also incredibly strong, and there's a lot it can withstand. Oftentimes, anxiety stems from feeling like you're not in control, and that's why health anxiety is scary, because you can't control or predict symptoms or illnesses. But if you're always letting this uncertainty consume you, you'll never enjoy just being alive.
9. Join a Support Group
If you feel like you just need a place where you can go to vent out your fears and anxious thoughts and hear someone say, "Me too," consider joining a support group. This can be a form of reassurance on its own, and you might find comfort in the fact that you're not alone.
10. Reach Out to a Mental Health Specialist
If support groups aren't enough, reach out to a mental health specialist. They can help you reframe your mindset to overcome your source of anxiety. One popular method is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has been proven to be very helpful for those suffering from health anxiety.
