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 3287 reviews and the average rating is 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I really needed therapy but don’t have time to go in person since I stay at home with my two children. This has been the perfect solution for me and I love all the resources they provide. I talk to my therapist everyday and she is amazing! Definitely recommend"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I have been doing online therapy for 2 weeks now. I am already noticing that I am more aware of how I am feeling, and I have addressed more tough situations than I have before. I am also process past issues with and without the help of my online therapist. If you are considering starting I would highly recommend it for everyone. If you don't notice any change you can always cancel. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to a better you! Simply by looking at reviews for therapy services you are taking the first steps to becoming a better you."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"It has really helped me and was easy to manage and book live sessions in.
Loving it:"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"My therapist has been greatly helpful in not only listening to me but providing me with active solutions to tackle my problems."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I really really like the service this page provides. There are many different tools and approaches to help figuring out what the issues are and how to support each individual (using this for couples therapy) to move forward.
I took one star off because it is not always the easiest to schedule appointments due to different time zones and the page itself is sometimes having difficulties to keep a good quality for the video sessions.
Outside of that I still recommend this platform for therapy."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"So far I have really benefitted from this service. I would definitely recommend giving it a go if you haven’t been happy elsewhere"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I am very happy with online therapy. This has helped me work some things that I definitely needed to get worked out. It feels really good to talk with someone who can help me work through my thoughts and feelings."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I like the therapist and it is very nice to get the help i need"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"My therapist is an excellent fit for me. I'm happy with the progress of our work together."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"My therapist Shelly is great and very helpful"

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