Overcome Health Anxiety with Online Therapy

Overcome Health Anxiety with Online Therapy

Category: Health anxiety | Last updated: October 18th, 2018 | 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.

RIGHT NOW: Free therapy due to the coronavirus pandemic

We want to help as many people as possible during these extraordinary times.
Therefore we are offering parts of our online therapy platform for free.

The free access includes our online therapy program with 8 easy-to-follow sections and 25 worksheets, yoga and meditation videos, activity plan, journal, and tests (communicating with a personal therapist is not included).

GET HELP NOW

Reviews

Our online therapy services have received 1035 reviews and the average rating is 4.7 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I enjoy this site a lot. Very quick to respond and the electronic journal is nice. My therapist is extremely Nice and amazing at listening !"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"The CBT guide at Online Therapy has been very helpful. I was able to have a few key revelations about my current situation while working on the content provided.
Self change does take a lot of work. You can't just watch the videos and have your life changed.
But if you're willing to put in the work this site can be an excellent resource."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"Definitely has helped me. Very convenient. I would recommend."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"So helpful and getting more out of it than I thought I would"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Amazing! 😇"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"We've really enjoyed David's down to earth, rational approach. He speaks in a language that both of us feel we want to take action on the homework he's given."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I have received very helpful guidance."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"great worksheets and great concept. sometimes hard to keep track on your own. but overall good."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I have been a member for a month and I feel satisfied with the service I am getting. The methods seem solid and based in science. The feedback is quick and helpful. The only barrier I can see so far, is me not using the service to its fullest extent."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"First of all, starting a healthier mindset starts with the person in the mirror. I have the capacity to do so much for myself.

I loved this program and the therapist was very kind and sincere. I am glad I did this program."

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