Health Anxiety Therapy
Support for Health-Related Worries, Obsessive Symptom Checking, and Medical Fears
That strange pain in your chest feels scary and real.
Your heart starts racing and you can’t shake the feeling that something is seriously wrong.
You notice a mark on your skin that wasn’t there before and your mind immediately goes to the worst possible explanation.
You can’t ignore a headache or brush off symptoms. For you, every physical sensation feels like a warning sign.
You either research symptoms obsessively online or avoid medical information entirely because it’s too overwhelming.
Maybe you’re constantly seeking medical reassurance, or maybe you avoid doctors completely. Either way, the worry never stops.
This isn’t just being cautious about your health. When fear of illness takes over your work, relationships, and joy, that’s health anxiety.
You know logically you’re probably fine, but your brain won’t let you believe it.
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What Is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety (sometimes called illness anxiety or hypochondriasis) is when you’re constantly worried about having or developing a serious illness, even when there’s no medical evidence that anything’s wrong.
Your body becomes the thing you can’t trust, and every sensation feels like a warning sign.
This is your brain’s alarm system going off constantly, convinced that danger is lurking in every ache, pain, or unusual feeling.
Your mind becomes a WebMD search engine that only returns worst-case scenarios.
Health Anxiety Symptoms
Physical symptoms you might notice:
- Constantly checking your body for signs of illness
- Racing heart when you think about your health
- Muscle tension from being on high alert all the time
- Trouble sleeping because you’re worried about symptoms
- Avoiding physical activity because you’re scared it might hurt you
- Feeling dizzy or nauseous when health anxiety kicks in
Mental and emotional signs:
- Googling symptoms obsessively (even though you know it makes things worse)
- Catastrophic thinking – jumping straight to the worst possible diagnosis
- Seeking constant reassurance from doctors, family, or friends
- Avoiding medical shows, health news, or anything that might trigger worry
- Feeling like you can’t trust your own body
- Getting angry at people who tell you “it’s just anxiety”
- Feeling guilty for “wasting” doctors’ time
- Avoiding doctors completely because you’re terrified of what they might find
Behaviors that might feel familiar:
- Checking the same symptom over and over again
- Taking your temperature or pulse multiple times a day
- Asking friends and family if they think you look sick
- Avoiding certain foods or activities because they might be “dangerous”
- Reading medical websites for hours
- Taking pictures of marks or spots on your body to monitor changes
- Canceling plans because you’re too worried about your health
What Causes Health Anxiety?
Past medical experiences
Family patterns
Major life stress
Information overload
Other anxiety or depression
How We Help with Health Anxiety
At Get Reconnected Psychotherapy Services, we get it. We know that being told “it’s just anxiety” doesn’t make it feel any less real or scary. We understand that your fear about your health is genuine, even if the medical threat isn’t.
We use a mind-body approach because health anxiety lives in both your thoughts and your physical sensations.
We’ll help you change your relationship with uncertainty and learn to trust your body again.
Our approaches for Health Anxiety
Exposure Response Prevention (ERP)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
We’ll help you process and resolve traumatic memories or experiences that may be fueling your health anxiety, using guided imagery and eye movements to reduce their emotional impact.
Somatic Therapy
Psychoeducation & Skill Building
Here's what we can help you with
- Stop the constant body checking and symptom monitoring
- Break the Google spiral before it starts
- Handle medical appointments without panic
- Deal with physical sensations without jumping to worst-case scenarios
- Learn when to seek medical care and when to ride out the anxiety
- Feel more confident in your body
- Get back to living your life instead of constantly monitoring for illness
Questions we'll explore together
- When did the health worry start getting out of control?
- What specific health fears keep you up at night?
- How is health anxiety affecting your daily life and relationships?
- What reassurance-seeking behaviors have you developed?
- How do you currently cope when health anxiety spikes?
Our 8-Step Therapy Process for Health Anxiety
01 Initial Assessment
02 Goal Setting
03 Evidence-Based Approaches
04 Consistent Sessions
05 Active Participation
06 Practical Exercises
07 Self-Care Strategies
08 Ongoing Evaluation
Ready to Take Back Control?
You don’t have to live in constant fear of your own body. Health anxiety is treatable, and you can learn to feel safe in your own skin again.
We’ll use what we learn in our first session to make a plan that’s just for you.
For more information about our approaches, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at [email protected]
Our Team
Looking for a therapist that truly gets you? Get in touch with us at Get Reconnected.
We offer free 15-minute video consultations.
Our team of highly trained therapists offers effective, evidence-based approaches to help you navigate both present challenges and deeper, long-standing concerns.
Blog
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