How to overcome health anxiety and bad thoughts?

Thank you for reaching out and for submitting your question. I am sorry that you are experiencing some challenges in your life right now.

There are some people who seem to live carefree lives when it comes to their health. They don’t seem to ever give it much thought. But then there are others who are forever researching symptoms and can’t stop endlessly checking themselves for all sorts of maladies. They can’t stop fearing the absolute worst. The smallest of bumps or lumps and they are off to the races in terms of imagining they must surely have a horrid, incurable condition. It can truly become a debilitating and stressful way to go through life. But it does not have to be this way. 

There are approximately nearly 800 million people worldwide who struggle with what is commonly known as illness anxiety disorder. It can mean you are hyper focused on your own health and/or on the health of someone close to you. The condition can be chronic. And it can be quite distressing and disabling. The near constant, endless worry disrupts function across your life. It can interfere with relationships, upset sleep, lead to depression, and can be problematic in terms of keeping up with work or school. It tends to also lead to many unnecessary doctor visits, procedures, and medical tests as medical practitioners struggle to ensure nothing really is wrong.

For someone with illness anxiety disorder their physical health is not the problem. Health isn’t the concern at all. It is instead the inability to tolerate uncertainty this is the issue. A person who is better able to manage uncertainty when it comes to their health will experience a symptom and will think “I must just be stressed and working too much and that is why this is happening.” The reason it through, and they forget about it. Alternatively, when you struggle with illness anxiety disorder you brain does something different. Your mind jumps to taking a ‘we are better to be safe than end up sorry’ sort of approach. And so then there are an infinite number of possible health concerns to consider. The symptom you get focused on could very well be quite real. But what happens is you misinterpret and decide the signs you see must surely be indicative of a serious and dangerous disease process.

A person with illness anxiety disorder has a brain that is not as able to be as flexible. You can’t see that there may be some other simple explanations for what you see. Instead, your brain leaps straight to worst case scenario. You think you are simply being conscientious and playing the safe card. You might believe you are justified in taking full responsibility for your health.

Did you know that people who do actually have a serious medical diagnosis tend to not have illness anxiety disorder? They have complete knowledge of their condition and know what the future potentially has in store. Yet, they live well and enjoy their lives. In fact, they don’t feel unlucky and don’t want to wallow in worry. They know life is short and they want to live it. They consider worry to be a waste of precious time – their illness sometimes means life is a bit shorter and lot more uncertain, and so it is suddenly more important than ever to really have fun and enjoy the time they have.

We would all like to be guaranteed a life of good health. But nobody can have that. So when it comes to illness anxiety disorder the concern then involves addressing the intolerance of uncertainty and they constant reassurance seeking.

Here are some ideas to consider which may help you as you work to overcome illness anxiety disorder:

Don’t go down the research rabbit holes. We have so much information literally at our fingertips. It is a wondrous thing and incredibly helpful and valuable. However, it also can be problematic. If you want to look up a local restaurant and take a look at their menu it’s great. But for in depth medical self-diagnosis? Not so great. Sure, we are all guilty of looking up symptoms when something comes up that has us not feeling our best. But the reality is this – if you research your symptoms long enough then no matter where you start you more than likely will come up with death the eventual outcome. Spoiler: we are all going to die eventually.

You could spend days or weeks or months researching an illness. If you find yourself doing this, put some limits and boundaries in place. Only go to reliable sites. Limit the time you spend – you get 10 minutes only for two days per week. Illness anxiety disorder is a beast whose hunger you will never satisfy. Stop feeding the beast!

Replace worry with action. Instead of worrying about getting sick, proactively spend time getting well. Increase your movement. Reduce your alcohol. Improve your eating and sleep habits.

Focus yourself more in the present. If you spend all your time worrying about what might happen in the future you prevent yourself from fully living in the moment. When you find your mind leaping ahead, grab hold and pull it back into the now. When illness anxiety thoughts creep in, notice them. Appreciate the thoughts for what they are. They are just thoughts, not actual facts of predictions. Notice them and acknowledge them. Then set them aside and come back to the present.

If this continues to be something you struggle with, a therapist can be a great resource. A therapist can help you work through some strategies and help you navigate handling uncertainty better.