Jim, who has inflammatory bowel disease, has been to the emergency room multiple times due to debilitating pain. Naturally, he was anxious about the possibility of another flare-up, and his anxiety intensified when he was far from the emergency room. With any inkling or twinge in his gut, he would drive to the emergency room to sit in the parking lot “just in case.” Sitting in his car, he felt a sense of security, knowing that help was readily available.
As his anxiety eased, he felt safe enough to drive home, but he began to worry about the possibility of an attack when he was home at night. His home wasn’t close to the hospital, and he began driving to the hospital parking lot at night. Sometimes even sleeping in his car. Again, he felt a sense of security, that if pain struck, he could get help quickly. But he also started to feel less and less comfortable at home.
He started sleeping in the ER parking lot more and eventually decided to rent an apartment close to the ER. That helped his anxiety, but he felt less and less comfortable venturing out away from his home.
He stopped going to the grocery store, ordering online instead, and stopped visiting family, asking them to come visit him. As his life became more and more constrained and with the encouragement of his family, Jim finally sought professional help.
What is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety is when normal concerns for one’s health turn into a fear of illness that takes on a life of its own. The story of Jim is a more extreme case but is an example of how anxiety can begin to reshape your life in dramatic ways.
Technically, this is known as Illness Anxiety Disorder. In the past, it was called hypochondriasis—from the Greek meaning below the lower ribs, or in the gut—literally a “gut feeling” something is wrong.
Back in the day, hypochondriasis was also associated with hysteria, a disease associated with women who presented with mysterious physical symptoms. The theory at the time was their uterus (hystera in Greek) was out of place.
As bizarre as that sounds, it was the explanation at the time, and we would later realize that those women suffered from sexual trauma and dissociation. But even as our understanding advanced, the terms stuck around far longer than they should have.
Today, the terms have changed to remove the pejorative meaning and to treat the condition for what it is. Like it says on the tin, Illness Anxiety Disorder is simply anxiety about your health unrelated to an actual physical condition, lasts for six months or longer, and leads to significant impacts in your day-to-day life.
The Health Anxiety Worry Loop
Anxiety, in general, is very motivating. It comes with a sense of urgency. You feel as though you need to do something now or something terrible will happen. In the case of health anxiety, the no-good, terrible thing is some disease such as a heart attack, cancer, stroke— you name it, the possibilities are endless.
Unfortunately, so are the sources of information. There’s Google, various forms of AI, Reddit, Facebook, YouTube, etc. The more you look, the more the algorithm serves it to you. No wonder we’re all getting more anxious!
With all these possibilities at our fingertips, it’s easy to get caught up in an anxiety loop — where one thing spirals to another, asking yourself, “Do I have this? Am I okay? What if I miss something?” A simple Google search to check one thing can fall into a rabbit hole of “research,” consuming hours of your time, often leaving more anxious and less assured in the end.
When Health Anxiety Comes From a Real Illness
Health anxiety gets more complicated when you actually do have a medical condition that you’re coping with. When this is the case, it’s natural to be worried about your health, especially if the condition is serious. It would be strange not to be worried in this circumstance. Here, it can be hard to draw a line between rational concern and irrational fear.
We often don’t realize we’ve fallen into fear until we’ve crossed far over the line. Some clues that you’ve crossed over are compulsive checking, going back to your doctor repeatedly for the same thing, not feeling any reassurance when your symptom is explained, and a worse condition is ruled out.
How to Manage Health Anxiety (That actually works)
The challenge with anxiety is seeing it for what it is: the fear of something bad and not something bad itself. Fear is the brain’s signal to seek safety, so it can be hard to sit with it without reacting.
Mindfulness and somatic approaches to therapy can help you “keep your seat” in the midst of fear and begin to hold difficult physical sensations without overreacting. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can help recognize when the solution has actually become a problem.
Over time, you begin to recognize and ultimately befriend your anxiety. Recognize when you are triggered and discern what really needs your attention and what you can let pass.
Don’t let anxiety rule your life.
Untreated health anxiety is exhausting. With therapy and practice, you can begin to grasp its true nature and stop anxiety from taking you down rabbit holes, feeding anxiety, and leading you into dead ends. As you change your relationship to anxiety, more time and energy will become available to address your real needs.
To explore how therapy may be of help to you, schedule a free 20 minute consultation.