Health Anxiety Disorder Treatment
Health anxiety can feel like living with a constant alarm system that never fully switches off. A small headache becomes something serious, a racing heartbeat sparks panic, and every new sensation sends the mind searching for answers. While it’s natural to worry about our health from time to time, health anxiety goes beyond ordinary concern; it can quietly take over daily life, affecting relationships, work, sleep, and peace of mind.
What is health anxiety?
As stated above, Health anxiety, also known as Health Anxiety Disorder (HAD), is a condition where an individual develops an increasing sense of worry towards their health and may begin to fear the onset of normal body sensations and mistake them for signs of serious illness (Rachman, 2012).
How does health anxiety develop?
According to the Cognitive Behavioural Model of Health Anxiety developed by Paul Salkovskis, Hilary Warwick, and Aimee Deale (Rachman, 2012), health anxiety develops when body sensations or physical changes are misinterpreted as dangerous or threatening. For example, a person may notice a pounding heartbeat and immediately fear they are having a heart attack, even when the sensation is caused by stress or anxiety.
These fearful thoughts can trigger strong emotional and physical reactions in the body, including anxiety, fear, increased heart rate, muscle tension, and constant worry about their health. In response, people often engage in “safety-seeking behaviours” such as repeatedly checking symptoms, searching online for medical information, or excessive reassurance seeking (Rachman, 2012).
Individuals with health anxiety will often seek reassurance to actively reduce the fear and uncertainty they have towards their health. This is known as excessive reassurance seeking. This can include repeatedly asking doctors, friends or family for confirmation that nothing is wrong, requesting repeated medical tests, searching symptoms online, and constantly checking the body for signs of illness (Halldorsson & Salkovskis, 2017). Research has shown that excessive reassurance seeking is common in people with health anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). It is often classified as a type of “checking behaviour” as the person repeatedly checks to make sure they are safe or healthy (Halldorsson & Salkovskis, 2017). While some reassurance seeking can appear supportive or helpful, constant reassurance can unrelentingly keep the cycle of anxiety going.
The Cognitive Behavioural Model of Health Anxiety
can show us how these reactions can unintentionally maintain the cycle of anxiety. The more attention given to body sensations and feared illnesses, the more threatening the symptoms begin to feel. This can reinforce the belief that something is seriously wrong, even when there is no medical evidence of illness.
People with health anxiety may become so focused on finding certainty about their health that it becomes difficult to feel reassured for long periods of time. Understanding this cycle is important because it shows how thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviours all interact to keep health anxiety going. Recognizing these patterns is often the first step toward managing anxiety in a healthier and more balanced way (Rachman, 2012).
How can this cycle be stopped?
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective treatments for health anxiety. CBT helps individuals understand the connection between their thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviours, and how these patterns can unintentionally maintain anxiety over time.
In CBT, I work with each of my clients by helping them understand how specific maladaptive thinking and behaviours contribute to their anxiety. For example, someone may notice that reading health information online increases their worry about their symptoms, leading them to seek reassurance. CBT helps break down these patterns and develop healthier ways of responding to uncertainty and physical sensations (Axelsson & Hedman-Lagerlö, 2019).
Work within CBT also explores past experiences that may have shaped beliefs about health, illness, or vulnerability. For some, this may include a previous medical scare, growing up around illness, or witnessing a loved one experience health problems (Axelsson & Hedman-Lagerlö, 2019). Understanding these personal experiences can help provide insight into how anxiety developed and why certain fears feel intense. Another key part of CBT involves learning to gently challenge anxious thoughts by examining evidence and considering alternative explanations. For example, a headache may be related to stress, dehydration, lack of sleep, or caffeine withdrawal rather than a serious illness (Axelsson & Hedman-Lagerlö, 2019). For many of my clients, I help them learn to distinguish between perceived threats and realistic concerns, allowing them to respond to bodily sensations with greater balance and confidence.
Research has shown that CBT is highly effective for health anxiety. Studies have found that individuals who receive CBT experience significant reductions in health related worries compared to those receiving standard care and medication . These improvements are often maintained long after treatment ends (Axelsson & Hedman-Lagerlö, 2019).
Health anxiety can feel overwhelming and often defeating; however, effective treatment is available, and with evidence-based treatment such as CBT, individuals can break free from the cycle of fear and develop a healthier relationship with their thoughts and body.
RELATIVE BOOKS:
Overcoming Health Anxiety: Letting Go of Your Fear of Illness by Katherine Owens and Martin M. Antony
The Health Anxiety Workbook: Practical Exercises to Overcome Your Health Worries by Taylor M. Ham
References
Rachman, S. (2012). Health anxiety disorders: A cognitive construal. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50(7–8), 502–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2012.05.001
Halldorsson, B., & Salkovskis, P. M. (2017). Why do people with OCD and health anxiety seek reassurance excessively? An investigation of differences and similarities in function. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 41, 619–631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-016-9826-5
Axelsson, E., & Hedman-Lagerlöf, E. (2019). Cognitive behaviour therapy for health anxiety:
Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical efficacy and health economic outcomes. Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research, 19(6), 663–676. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737167.2019.1703182