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

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I have completed the eight sessions of online cognitive behavior therapy with Maggie Sweet as my therapist. This was my first time with an online therapy. I have given the experience five stars because the program and its format met and exceeded my expectations.
One thing I did not expect was the reciprocal nature of the client/therapist interaction, as far as receiving messages on worksheets that I completed on my own time. In my previous (in person) therapy experiences, I would do my work on my own and meet with my therapist once a week or less. We didn’t have much more contact than that. That frequency of service worked for me, so having quick responses to my online work was something I had to adjust to. At first it felt pushy but I used the novelty of the experience to challenge my commitment to my goals in seeking therapy. So, in that way, my experience with Maggie exceeded my expectations.
The online format has so many advantages that the inherent problems seem minimal. One thing I would change is to have a way to easily download worksheets in a .pdf format, or possibly upload them to a cloud storage, if copyright is an issue. Also regarding the internet format, I had one live chat experience that was interrupted by what appeared to be a connectivity issue. I was allowed to make up that session.
I would recommend this service for persons who have the therapeutic needs described in the organization’s information."

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Rating: [3 out of 5 stars!]

"I have enjoyed having therapy at my own pace."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Fantastic service."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Love the yoga! It helps me return to a good place."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"It’s great."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"It’s good but it’s a shame that there is no option to get a diagnosis."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"I find the program very structured and easy to follow. Looking forward to seeing the improvements in myself."

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"Through grace and support I was able to find a vaccine between my mind and body."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Maggie is very encouraging but also practical. She has effective ways of framing thoughts to affect behavior and get the desired results. I would definitely recommend her to others."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Great timing with replies, very comprehensive, easy to read and follow along therapy methods."

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