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!]

"Vanessa is so easy to talk to and helped direct me forward. The worksheets are helpful."

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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!]

"On line therapy has been a game changer as I traverse a new period in my life. The therapist is amazing and I love that I can pick the format of how we connect. We can email, text and video chat. It’s so convenient and works well with my schedule."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I love the format. I feel like the worksheets gave my therapist and I opportunities to become familiar and established context and understanding before we ever had our first session."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I'm so happy with my therapist, Shelly. I look forward to our weekly sessions. She remembers so many of the details that I spoke about in prior sessions and challenges me to stretch myself. Since working with Shelly my mental and emotional state of mind has great improved. I value her insights, knowledge and generosity."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"The user interface of the website and the platform is very easy and straightforward to navigate."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"feel so much better about the future"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Convenient, holistic and reliable, online therapy has saved me hours of travel to see a therapist at a fraction of the cost"

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"Good conversations and an enjoyable experience."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Everything has been great! Tina has been very supportive and helping me work things out. Learning how to improve my communication and realizing what I need to do to grow as a person."

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