THERAPY SERVICESTRAINING SCHOOL
LOCATIONS
TOOTINGCLAPHAMMARYLEBONE
CALL 020 8673 4545BOOK AN APPOINTMENT
Product has been added to your basket.
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • THE AWARENESS CENTRE
      • About The Awareness Centre
      • The Team
      • Centre News
      • Media
      • Collaborative Partners & External Agencies
    • OUR PRACTICES
      • TAC Clapham
      • TAC Tooting
      • TAC Marylebone
      • How to Find Us
    • THE DIRECTOR
      • Michaela McCarthy
  • THERAPY SERVICES
    • NHS THERAPY SERVICES
      • NHS Lambeth
      • NHS Wandsworth
      • NHS Sutton
      • Our NHS Therapists
      • NHS Multilingual Counselling
    • PRIVATE THERAPY SERVICES
      • Online Counselling & Telephone Therapy
      • Low Cost Counselling, Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology
      • Counselling
      • Psychotherapy
      • Psychology
      • Our Low Cost Therapists
      • Our Private Therapists
      • Private Healthcare Providers
    • SPECIALIST THERAPY SERVICES
      • Addiction Counselling
      • Anger Management Therapy
      • Bereavement Counselling
      • Child & Adolescent Counselling
      • Couples Counselling
      • Eating Disorders Therapy
      • Family Therapy
      • LGBTQ+ Counselling
      • Multilingual Counselling
      • Sex & Relationship Therapy
      • Trauma Counselling & Psychotherapy
    • FURTHER INFORMATION
      • Types of Issues
        • Abuse
        • Addiction
        • ADHD
        • Anger
        • Anxiety Disorders
        • Asperger’s Syndrome
        • Attachment Disorder
        • Bereavement and Loss
        • Body Dysmorphic Disorder
        • Bullying
        • Cancer
        • Carer Support
        • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
        • Communication
        • Dementia
        • Depression
        • Disability
        • Dissociation
        • Eating Disorders
        • Family and Relationships
        • Gender & Identity
        • Guilt and Shame
        • Hearing Voices
        • HIV/AIDS
        • Illness
        • Infertility
        • Isolation & Loneliness
        • Learning Difficulties
        • Life Transitions
        • Low Self-Esteem
        • Mental Health
        • Paranoia
        • Passive Aggressive Behaviour
        • Personality Disorders
        • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
        • Pregnancy & Childbirth
        • Psychosis
        • Rape
        • Redundancy
        • Schizophrenia
        • Self-Harm
        • Sex and Relationships
        • Sexuality
        • Spirituality
        • Stress
        • Suicidal Thoughts
        • Tourette’s Syndrome
        • Trauma (Child & Adult)
        • Trichotillomania
        • Workplace Issues
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Resources
      • Approaches to Therapy
      • Client Testimonials
      • Book an Appointment
  • FEES
  • TAC TRAINING SCHOOL
    • Meet the Faculty
    • Foundation Certificate in Counselling
    • Diploma in Integrative Counselling
    • Diploma in Clinical Supervision
    • Diploma in Working with Couples
    • Corporate Mental Health Workshops
    • Testimonials for the Foundation Certificate
    • Testimonials for the Diplomas
  • PRIVATE PRACTICE
    • Private Practice
    • Hire A Room
    • Wimpole Street Practice
    • Join TAC Directory
    • Therapist Testimonials
  • BLOG
  • WORK AT TAC
  • COUNSELLING PLACEMENT
    • Counselling Placement
    • Counselling Placement Testimonials
    • Placement Training Testimonials
  • CONTACT
    • Appointment Request
    • Contact Us

How Can I Cope With Health Anxiety?

If you spend a lot of time thinking you might be ill, or worrying that you might become ill, to the point that it starts to disrupt your daily life, you might have health anxiety, also known as hypochondria. This can be extremely stressful and affect your day to day life, such as concentrating on work or socialising with friends. To this end, it’s important to learn coping mechanisms to help you deal with your health anxiety to maintain a good quality of life. 

In this blog, we’re going to talk more about health anxiety and some of the ways you can cope with it, as well as some of the common approaches to treating health anxiety.  

What is Health Anxiety?

There are lots of different types of anxiety that people can suffer from. For example, people with social anxiety disorder might feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable in social situations, whereas people with generalised anxiety disorder might feel on edge and worried about lots of things all at once. People with health anxiety or illness anxiety disorder feel irrationally worried by their health. They often worry that they have something wrong with them, and they might get paranoid that they could develop a severe illness in the future. Like other anxiety disorders, this near-constant worrying can cause issues in other areas of life, such as work. 

Health Anxiety Symptoms

If you have health anxiety, you might experience the following symptoms and behaviours:

  • Persistently worrying that you’re in ill-health 
  • Routinely checking for symptoms of illnesses, such as looking for lumps or physical sensations like tingling or numbness
  • Constantly reading health information online and keeping up with the latest health news
  • Avoiding watching medical-themed TV shows if there’s a serious illness storyline 
  • Taking on the role of an ill person by avoiding certain activities as if you are ill 
  • Being concerned that doctors have missed something when testing you 
  • Regularly asking others for reassurance that you’re not ill 

Physical symptoms

If you’re stressed about something, you might experience physical symptoms like a headache or an increased heart rate which you might associate with being ill, and this can heighten your anxiety. 

How to Cope with Health Anxiety 

Health anxiety can seem overwhelming, but there are a few things you can do that might help you to better manage your symptoms. They include:

Keep a diary 

Lots of people with health anxiety find keeping a diary to be a good way of monitoring their anxieties. In your diary, make a note of how frequently you check your body for symptoms of an illness, research an illness online, or ask others for reassurance that you’re not ill. Over time, try to reduce the amount of times you exhibit these behaviours. This can be slightly easier to do if you have a reference point. For example, one week you might make a note that you read health information five times, so the next week you might try and reduce it to four. 

Challenge your feelings 

It can be useful to sometimes try and counteract the thoughts you’re having with more rational thoughts. To do this, it’s handy to make a table with two columns. In the first column, write down your health anxiety thoughts, and in the second column, try and think of a rational reason as to why you might think or feel the way you do. For example, in the first column you might write that you’ve been having headaches that are worrying you, and in the second column you might counteract that with rational reasons why you’re having headaches, such as too much screen time, excess stress, or dehydration. 

Stay busy 

When you notice that you have an urge to check information online or check yourself for signs of illness, try and do something else instead. For example, you might choose to go for a walk, do some cleaning, or go to the shops. Some people find this distraction technique useful.

When to Speak to a Doctor About Health Worries

Sometimes, self-help coping mechanisms don’t work. If you’ve tried some of the above techniques but are still struggling to cope with your health anxiety, it might be best to speak to a doctor. Make an appointment with your GP if you feel like you can’t live a normal, everyday life as a result of your health worries. If your GP diagnoses you with health anxiety, there are a few different treatments they might recommend, including: 

Psychological therapy 

You might be referred to a mental health professional to undertake therapy. Psychological therapy like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be useful for people who suffer with health anxiety. CBT can challenge your feelings, the way you think, and your thought patterns. You’ll learn coping mechanisms and, after a cycle of treatment, might be able to better control your health anxiety and resume living a life that isn’t dominated by negative thoughts. 

Medication 

Sometimes, medication can prove to be a highly effective way of managing anxiety. There are a few different types of anxiety medications available, and your GP will be best placed to help you find the right one. 

Challenging Health Anxiety at The Awareness Centre 

At The Awareness Centre, we have a specialist team of therapists and counsellors who can help you with your health anxiety through talking therapies such as CBT. Our therapists have helped lots of people with health anxiety to overcome their concerns, and we could help you, too. 

We offer in person, over the phone, and online appointments, and we’re available seven days a week. If you’re struggling to get a handle on your health concerns and are noticing that they’re overwhelming your life and interfering with your work or relationships, please get in touch with us to arrange an appointment.

The Awareness Centre
The Awareness Centre offers counselling support seven days a week. Give us a call on 020 8673 4545 and one of our friendly Front of House team can answer your questions and help find you the right therapist for you.
Am I Lonely? Loneliness & Mental Health At TAC
The Awareness Centre: Now Working Across Four London Boroughs

Related Posts

Top tips for calming your anxiety

A Psychotherapist’s Top Tips For Calming Your Anxiety

How to support someone with anxiety

How To Support Someone With Anxiety

I Overthink Everything

I Overthink Everything

Coronavirus: How To Unplug From Collective Anxiety

How To Unplug From Collective Anxiety

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.

Subscribe to our newsletter



    Please add me to the list

    Categories

    • Abortion
    • Abuse
    • Acute Stress Disorder
    • Addiction
    • ADHD
    • Agoraphobia
    • Alcoholism
    • Anger Management
    • Anxiety
    • Ask Michaela
    • Attachment
    • Bereavement & Loss
    • Bipolar
    • Borderline Personality Disorder
    • Bullying
    • Children and Adolescents
    • Co-Dependency
    • Coaching
    • Coronavirus
    • Counselling
    • Counselling Placements
    • Couples
    • Dementia
    • Depression
    • Divorce
    • Domestic Violence
    • Dreams
    • Eating Disorders
    • Echoism
    • Ecopsychology
    • Empty Nest Syndrome
    • Family
    • Guilt
    • Health
    • Imposter Syndrome
    • Infertility
    • Insomnia
    • LGBTQ
    • Life Stories
    • Loneliness
    • Masochism
    • Meditation
    • Menopause
    • Mental Health
    • Mindfulness
    • Narcissism
    • News
    • OCD
    • Panic Attacks
    • Parenting
    • Personal Development
    • Personality Disorders
    • Porn
    • Postnatal Depression
    • Pregnancy
    • Psychology
    • Psychosexual
    • Psychotherapy
    • PTSD
    • Relationships
    • Sadness
    • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
    • Self Esteem
    • Self-Care
    • Self-Harm
    • Sex
    • Sexual Harassment
    • Sleep
    • Social Anxiety Disorder
    • Stress
    • Suicide
    • The Awareness Centre
    • Therapy
    • Training School
    • Trauma
    • Uncategorized
    • Workplace Issues

    TAC Brochure

    DOWNLOAD

    TAC has BACP Membership

    TAC Clapham

    41 Abbeville Road
    London SW4 9JX
    [email protected]
    020 8673 4545

    Available Services

    check_circle
    Low Cost Therapy
    check_circle
    Private Therapy

    Appointments

    Monday – Thursday:
    7.00am – 10.00pm

    Friday:
    7.00am – 9.00pm

    Saturday:
    9.00am – 5.30pm

    Sunday:
    10.00am – 2.00pm

    TAC Tooting

    74-80 Upper Tooting Road
    London SW17 7PB
    [email protected]
    020 8673 4545

    Available Services

    check_circle
    Private Therapy

    Appointments

    Monday – Thursday:
    7.00am – 10.00pm

    Friday:
    7.00am – 9.00pm

    Saturday:
    9.00am – 5.30pm

    TAC Marylebone

    85 Wimpole Street
    London W1G 9RJ
    [email protected]
    020 8079 0708

    Available Services

    check_circle
    Private Therapy

    Appointments

    Tuesday and Thursday:
    8.00am – 12.00pm

    Email
    Facebook
    Twitter
    LinkedIn
    YouTube
    Instagram
    Pinterest

    © 2022 The Awareness Centre Ltd.

    • OUR THERAPISTS
    • TYPES OF ISSUES
    • OUR LANGUAGES
    • FAQS
    • HOW TO FIND US

    The Awareness Centre Limited. A company registered in England and Wales, Number: 06194423. Registered Office: 74-80 Upper Tooting Road, London, England, SW17 7PB.  Trading as The Awareness Centre.

    This site uses cookies and data collection for personalised advertising. Your data may be shared with third parties for this purpose. Learn more about how we collect data and use cookies, and check that you consent. Manage PreferencesI Consent Learn more
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT