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.

Reviews

Our online therapy services have received 669 reviews and the average rating is 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I haven't finished the programme so can only speak for what I've done so far. But so far it's becoming helpful and making me question and improve my thought patterns. And it's helping me feel more positive and compassionate to others and myself."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I am very happy with my services."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Excellent feedback and prompt responses."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Great!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Finding this course really helpful and feeling a lot better in myself!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I like the online experience."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"Helpful and insightful. Good to write down feelings."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Very helpful, but it's somewhat expensive. You have to have self discipline and determination to change every day for it to work. I like it a lot. The worksheets are extremely helpful. They keep me positive and focused."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I've only been using this for 2 weeks, but so far I enjoy the information and therapist interaction greatly. The tools are user friendly."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"It has been a great experience for me so far. The CBT approach is very helpful and I feel as if I am already seeing results!"

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