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 591 reviews and the average rating is 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"This program has been beneficial to me.
The videos and worksheets have been especially helpful.

I chose not to have live chats with my therapist, but I feel her written notes and encouragement to me were beneficial. I moved along a lot faster in the program over the course of a full month than the feedback I’ve gotten. To be fair, I did sessions 6-8 all this weekend, so she hasn’t had time to review. I was through session 5 by last weekend and devoted a lot of time to one part of the session and would love to have had comments through as far as I’d completed. My latest feedback at the end of this final week of my month-long subscription is still just through session 2. At least that’s all I can find. I have implemented and practiced all the suggestions and and completed all of the exercises except for one that I skipped on purpose. My current subscription expires in two days.

I wish there were a search feature for therapist feedback and maybe there is, but I don’t see one. It can be a little tedious going back to each worksheet to find something I want to comment on if I didn’t do it initially. I don’t care for the Action Plan calendar. It’s not user-friendly. I’d like to copy one day’s actions to another day without having to start over. It’s too time consuming. Some days I do the same things. The Notes app on my phone is a lot easier to use and I can record what I need to do with with audio.

I’m on the list to work with a local CBT specialist in my area. So, I signed up for this program to do in the interim while I was waiting for my first appointment with her. I’m not going to continue with the online program, but I’m grateful for it and for what I’ve learned and for the fact that it helped me learn about new ways to challenge my thinking and re-channel it to more positive thoughts that bring about better behavior. I will continue to use what I’ve learned, particularly journaling and re-directing my thinking. I already do yoga and meditate. I recommend giving this program a try if you’re not sure. I’d do it again."

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Great advise, thanks for being the support I need."

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Iv only been doing it for a couple of weeks but have noticed two major break threw in my thoughts and feelings ... looking forward to learning new information to help make life little easier"

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I've learned so much about myself and how I have been seeing the work in a way that had been quite harmful to my own self-esteem. Being able to see the other side now has allowed me the chance to work towards the person I have always felt I was meant to be. I'm grateful for everything that I've learned from Maggie and for all of the help!"

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"This is a great system to address my pressing needs. The worksheets help focus my needs while having an expert therapist guide me through the process."

()

Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I've been doing the program for about a month and so far it has helped me out. I am able to actively receive feedback on my day to day habits and thought processes. My therapist asks appropriate questions and provides very helpful and non-judgmental suggestions."

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"So far I have been working through my issues for a couple of weeks and I have already felt a change in being "aware" of my emotions and being able to understand them, instead of just feeling them and having it take over my entire day. That alone has helped me to manage some of the non-logical mood swings I have been having. And I want to say thank you for being someone I can talk to, since the average person would not be able to handle this constant stress on a daily basis. Truly thank you for giving me someone I can talk to. That alone is already making a difference for me. Thank you."

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I really enjoy the daily interaction with a therapist and find it better to communicate in writing where I can organize my thoughts as opposed to a face to face office visit."

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I feel better having someone to talk about things with and help me get through the week. I work a lot and cant afford time off to go to appointments etc, and having this at hand 24/7 is so much better in my opinion than a once a week session. I would highly recommend this to anyone with a busy schedule."

()

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Its easy to navigate, easy to understand and works well."

()

View all reviews »

Let us know what you think!

Have any questions?

Are you unsure of what program to choose or have any questions about our services? Chat with us or check our FAQ to alleviate any concerns.