Health Anxiety
Health anxiety is when you spend so much time worrying you're ill, or going to get ill, that it starts to take over your life. It's related to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
How to tell if you have Health anxiety?
You may have health anxiety if you:
- constantly worry about your health
- frequently check your body for signs of illness, such as lumps, tingling or pain
- are always asking people for reassurance that you're not ill
- worry that a doctor or medical tests may have missed something
- obsessively look at health information on the internet or in the media
- avoid anything to do with serious illness, such as medical TV programmes
- act as if you were ill (for example, avoiding physical activities)
Anxiety itself can cause symptoms like headaches or a racing heartbeat, and you may mistake these for signs of illness.
Treating Health anxiety?
Treatment for Health anxiety can involve a combination of lifestyle changes, talking therapies and medicine. Your recommended treatment will be based on how severe your depression is.
Please get in touch with us by clicking on the Self Refer button at the top of the website to discuss your options