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 3298 reviews and the average rating is 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"The lecture opened an brand-new avenue for me to manage my emotion and daily life. Myself and my family will greatly benefit from what I have been taught. I have no doubt I will experience much happier life, more importantly, with my family.
Thank you very much!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I have been enjoying the service so far, the pricing has been reasonable and working with Karen, my therapist, has been very helpful. She has been very personable and professional and the online sheets have been helpful as well, something lacking in it other online services I used."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I've been my procrastinating, but ready now to get going!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Very helpful in my time of need !"

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I enjoy being able to do this at my own pace however that is also a problem for me because I keep avoiding doing the next step for days.
It makes me feel better doing the courses however I don’t think I can afford to pay for this service for very long."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"The services are outstanding!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"This program has been helpful for people that are always having long hours working monday to friday and can find it hard to find time for yourself, highly recommend this program."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Feeling much better about myself. I feel more like I know what I’m feeling"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Shelly has been amazing. As a typical male who prefers to ignore and just cope with things. Shelly had been able to make me understand and open up to issues and opportunities."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"thanks guys for You help"

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