Overcome Health Anxiety with Online Therapy

Category: Health Anxiety Online Therapy | Last updated: February 1st, 2022 | Reviewed and approved by:
Dr. Steven Gans, MD
Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD

Are You Health Conscious or Health Anxious?

Almost every one of us gets concerned about our health and well-being. And that concern can motivate us to try to optimize our eating, sleep and to lead a healthy lifestyle. Being health conscious can be great. It helps a lot in leading a healthy, happy, successful and meaningful life.

However, problems arise when this health consciousness gets transformed into “health anxiousness”. If you become too obsessed about your health and if you get too apprehensive that you are suffering from a severe illness (without the presence of such medical symptoms), then you may be experiencing health anxiety. In the past, psychologists referred to this as “hypochondria”. However, it is now called Illness Anxiety Disorder.

Illness Anxiety Disorder is a somatic symptom disorder in which the person suffering from it gets overly anxious or obsessed over his/her physical conditions. They see even a minor problem as an exaggerated severe illness. People suffering from Illness Anxiety Disorder often require continuous care, support and assurance from health service providers, family and acquaintances.

See if you recognize yourself in the symptoms of health anxiety:

Being preoccupied with having or developing a serious disease or health condition
Worrying that minor symptoms or body sensations mean you have a serious illness
Being easily alarmed about your health status
Finding little or no reassurance from doctor visits or negative test results
Worrying excessively about a specific medical condition or your risk of developing a medical condition because it runs in your family
Having so much distress about possible illnesses that it's hard for you to function
Repeatedly checking your body for signs of illness or disease
Frequently making medical appointments for reassurance — or avoiding medical care for fear of being diagnosed with a serious illness
Avoiding people, places or activities for fear of health risks
Constantly talking about your health and possible illnesses
Frequently searching the internet for causes of symptoms or possible illnesses

What’s more, people with Illness Anxiety Disorder can also experience additional mental health issues, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Clinical Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Treatment Procedures

The good news is that Illness Anxiety Disorder can be treated. Effective methods of treatment include Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Exposure Therapy and support. You can receive these types of treatment here at Online Therapy.

Reviews

Our online therapy services have received 3293 reviews and the average rating is 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"My therapist Shelly is great and very helpful"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Never been in therapy before, but I'm loving my sessions with Dr. Annice Overall! She's empathetic, listens thoroughly, and offers excellent guidance and advice. It's only been a month, and I'm already seeing improvements to my mental state by following her suggestions. Definitely recommend!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I like this platform so far for many reasons.

I can do it on my phone from anywhere.
It involves a lot of writing which I’m comfortable with.
My therapist is very responsive and provides thoughtul replies that show she’s not a bot. I do worry about bots. Some of the repiles could have been produced by a bot and an LLM but most feel personal and attentive.

I’ve never done online therapy. This was a good experience. I don’t know if I would do it again, but I will let you know after I’ve met with my therapist.

Brent"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Beth is there for me and helps me look at things from different perspectives. I feel more motivated than I have in a long time. I'm excited to continue to work with her."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"My experience has been great. I've been using Online Therapy to supplement my mental health routine. I like that I can purchase a month of treatment at a time, such as around major holidays, or when my regular therapist is not feeling well. I use the texting live sessions and it's a great help for someone like me struggling with agoraphobia issues."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"In the few weeks I have been a member, I have already noticed a marked improvement in both my mood and thinking. I have had two different coaches, my first was very good and I still think about her advice from time to time. My second coach’s therapy is based on REBT and I find it more suited to my learning style. I found both coaches to be knowledgeable, empathetic, and experienced by the way they spoke to me and guided me through painful memories or stressful situations. The site is also very helpful and comprehensive. The requirement to write down my thoughts and/or respond to worksheets helps to keep me focused on my personal goals. The website also helps to think through thought distortions on my own — although my second coach has really been wonderful. I am so glad that I found this site."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I feel April is very dedicated and brings up issues that we as couple therapy are there for. She gives each of us fair time to share and interact. Looking at all issues from the outside in."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"This program has helped me look alot into myself, made me ask myself questions normally I'd never even think about. Allowed me to accept how some parts of me are while allowing me to change other parts. I can confidently say I'm doing much better than when I entered the program and am doing well."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I have truly appreciated the support that has been offered throughout this program. i have been a part of this online-therapy program for about six months now and can honestly say it was the best decision I could have made. It has been a pillar of support as I navigate through some tougher parts of my past year."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Been very helpful so far"

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