Health anxiety/hypochondria is one of many mental health struggles that can cripple physically healthy people’s ability to enjoy a normal life. It can feel isolating to the sufferer, as well as baffling to them that other people can live happy lives despite not knowing if they will receive a scary diagnosis tomorrow.
This topic is personal for me, and I wrote this to describe how I manage my tendency toward health anxiety and live a productive and happy life despite what is sometimes crippling, debilitating panic about my body.
My experience: In my early twenties, I’ve began suffering debilitating bouts of anxiety about my health, leading to panic attacks and an eventual panic/anxiety disorder diagnosis. Over the past ten years, I’ve been to several therapists, been prescribed anxiety medication, gone off medication, gone to therapy again, and over time have gotten better, with some health “scares” (greatly exaggerated by my own mind) setting me back some. Now, in my early thirties, 95% of the time, I feel calm about my health.
1) Focus on preventative medicine
First, re-frame how you think about going to the doctor. Over the years, I’ve learned to focus on the importance of early detection, and how many diseases are curable if detected and treated early.
Follow an annual health checkup schedule
Make a checklist for all your preventative appointment. At least annually (and your doctor will tell you if you need to go more often), you should be going to:
- Gynecologist for a well-women’s exam
- GP or family medicine doctor, for a physical with bloodwork
- Dentist (preferably twice annually; cavities and gum disease can cause serious problems elsewhere in your body)
- Optometrist (even if you don’t have bad vision; your eyes are an organ that can become diseased just like any other organ)
- Dermatologist for a skin examination (to find any suspicious moles)
Also ask about other screenings you should be getting if you have a family history of a certain disease or have high risk factors for any other reason. Be proactive about your health.
These visits will catch a lot of things that could be wrong with you.
How to overpower the fear of these appointments
You might fear going to these appointments, because you don’t want to hear bad news. I felt the same way. The way I personally have overcome it is to imagine the feeling of realizing I’m dying from something that would have been curable if I’d gone to a doctor when I was supposed to. Let that fear overpower your fear of the doctor.
To Do: If it’s been more than a year, make all these appointments today. Seriously. I promise you’ll feel better after the appointment is over.
How to face financial concerns about medical visits
If money is an issue, look for community clinics that offer physicals and well women’s exams. They’ll often be free or inexpensive. And if you’re in the US and have any health insurance, basic annual exams should be free.
For discounted optometrist and dental appointments, look for local optometry and dental programs that offer reduced fee clinics. Students in the program will perform the procedures, overseen by experienced dentists/optometrists. They’ll just be long appointments because the student will be given guidance and corrections by the attending.
2) Try Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (with or without a counselor)
If you’re having panic attacks (or are on the verge of them), you’re not living life right. Blunt truth. And it’s dumb to suffer when there’s a way out.
That way out you can maybe do on your own, but at least starting with a professional is a good choice.
Learn how cognitive behavioral therapy can help health anxiety
We don’t need to go into the full details of CBT, but there are few takeaways.
- Learn to be aware of your own thinking. Your head is a constant source of self-talk, and you are in control of your thoughts. You can’t stop a thought from bubbling up, but you can stop it from continuing by not “engaging” with it.
- Question your own negative thoughts, or assign them less weight. Without training, you automatically give all thoughts head equal weight, but you shouldn’t. Just because you think something doesn’t mean it’s true, and assuming all your thoughts are equally valid is harmful for your mental health.
“She didn’t answer the phone because she’s mad at me,” isn’t the truth just because you thought it. It’s an assumption you’re making based on limited evidence.
Understand catastrophizing and recognize when you’re doing it
If you frequently panic about your health, you are almost certainly catastrophizing. Your mind automatically goes to the worst possible outcome — not an optimistic outcome or the most likely outcome.
You’re trying to do it to protect yourself, on some level, like if you know the worst is happening you can… what? In the unlikely event that the worst does happen, you’ll figure it out when you get there.
Panicking literally makes you less intelligent (because it takes up cognitive resources) and floods your body with the stress hormone cortisol. You know what actually DOES predict bad health outcomes? Cortisol.
Learn how to calm yourself when panic strikes
You must get your panic under control. That’s the single best thing you can do for your long-term health.
You can go to a psychiatrist to get anti-anxiety medication until you learn to calm the panic yourself (and that IS a useful lesson to learn — once you feel your body relaxing from the medicine you can start to truly accept that in this moment, there is nothing wrong with your body; it was all of your own creation.) But you can’t live on xanax forever (or at least you probably shouldn’t).
3) Reframe What Control Means for You
I know it’s scary, but you need to accept a few truths about life. One, not every disease is able to be detected early. And two, some diseases, even if they are detected early, are impossible to treat.
It’s impossible to have complete control over your health.
That’s the reality. No one can and no one ever will. No compulsive behavior or fears or hopes is going to offer you complete control over the future of your health.
So, what can you do to stop yourself from going crazy? You have to find a sense of control on your own. It may feel more like forging a sense of control.
There’s two directions to this sense of control.
- How you control your fear productively (therapy and preventative medicine) and
- How you control your fear if and when you do get bad news (focusing on what you can control)
People who are optimistic about the future and who feel like they are in control of their lives (despite any external setbacks) are healthier and happier.
You can feel control over any situation in the universe, because you decide how to respond, each and every time. It’s always you.
What’s next?
First of all, mental health change requires that you do the work. You can’t just read this post and fix your health anxiety. You must internalize these messages and change the way you think and respond to situations.
And finally, if you need professional help, seek it! There’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. Both in-person and online therapy exists. If you’re a student, see if you have access to student counseling services, and if you’re an employee, see if your workplace offers discounted services, or if employer-provided health insurance covers therapists or psychologists. If money is a huge concern, look for therapists who bill on a sliding scale.
