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SELF HELP FOR HEALTH ANXIETY
Individuals with Health Anxiety have an obsessive preoccupation with being seriously ill. If someone believes they have a serious illness, such as cancer or a brain tumour, then any innocent or normal physical sensation can be seen as a symptom of that serious illness, and serves to confirm that they 'MUST' be seriously ill. This is turn, causes them to check for other symptoms, read up and find out more about the illness, focus their attention on their body sensations, and continually scan their body for sensations or more symptoms.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy focuses on challenging
the unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, and gradually changing our behaviours (the
checking, reassurance seeking, avoidance etc). We therefore discover that it is
anxiety and worry about our health that makes us feel the way we do, rather than
having a serious illness.
Self Help for Health Anxiety VIDEO
SELF HELP FOR HEALTH ANXIETY
Read the
Anxiety page
Read about how
Adrenaline (the body's alarm system) affects
us. Adrenaline is a normal reaction, we tend to misinterpret the
normal body sensations as confirmation that there is something terribly wrong.
When we focus on one particular part of our body
for a while, we start to notice different sensations. Try thinking about a part
of your foot or throat (swallow) right now, and really focus on noticing any
feelings there. What do you notice? You are probably noticing sensations that
you hadn't noticed before. That is what happens with our focus of attention in
health anxiety. The more we think about a part of our body, the more we notice -
which then triggers worrying thoughts about our health.
We can learn to notice
where our focus of attention is, and learn to take more control with attention
exercises or learning mindfulness skills.
Mindful Breathing - practise this effective and simple skill at least
twice daily
Mindfulness & mindful
activity
You could include a set time of doing a mundane
activity with your full attention, initially for 3 minutes twice a day, then
gradually increase. For example, when doing the washing up, you can practise
using your senses to shift your focus and notice: The more we practice,
perhaps the more, initially at least, we will notice those thoughts intruding,
and that's ok. The only aim of mindful activity is to continually bring our
attention back to the activity, noticing those sensations, from outside and
within us.
See the mindfulness and
NOW for more examples
Read
Fact or Opinion
Thoughts are not facts,
they are just thoughts and we don't have to believe everything we think! The
problem is not that we are seriously ill, the problem is that we THINK we are
seriously ill. That's a big difference! So if we are not seriously ill, but
just think we are, then constantly worrying and thinking about our health
isn't going to be helpful at all - but it will have an adverse affect on us.
Thinking we're ill when we're not, is making us more ill.
Do you know for certain
that you have this serious illness?
Do you want to spend the rest of your life
worrying about illness, or do you want to get on with your life?
Learn to challenge the
distorted thinking by using the
Health Anxiety Thought Record Sheet
You might also
Postpone your worry or set Worry Free Time
You might notice an
immediate reduction in your anxiety, but it can sometimes take a few weeks
before you start to notice a difference - after all, you've been thinking this
way for a long time, and it can take a while to change a long-term habit.
Stick with it!
Learn and use STOPP skill
Checking - When we worry about our health,
we notice that part of our body, and we check it - by looking, by feeling, or
by thinking about it. We do this lots of times, but all it does is keep us
thinking about it, and increase our worrying thoughts, and therefore our
anxiety - which stimulates adrenaline, which will make us feel worse.
So we need to reduce the
checking. You can aim to do this over a period of several days. Write down how
many times you check your body every day, and reduce it every day - and then you
will start to notice that you worry less. You might agree to check just once a
day - thereafter tell yourself that you have checked already and don't need to
check again (because it's extremely unlikely to have changed in that short
period).
Avoidance - We avoid
certain situations in case it starts us worrying about our health, and this
can impact greatly on our everyday lives. Many people avoid certain television
programmes, or hospitals, or conversations about health etc. See
Overcoming Avoidance to help you identify and work out a plan to help you face
your fears and reduce the avoidance. See also FACE
Fear and Anxiety video on that webpage.
Reassurance seeking - we might repeatedly
ask our family and friends, or visit our doctor often, in order to hear the
words "everything is ok - there's nothing wrong". This seems helpful....for a
short while...until the worrying thoughts come back again, then we start all
over again. So the reassurance seeking helps to keep the anxiety going, in the
long term.
Aim to reduce visiting
your doctor or asking others for reassurance. If you usually ask your partner 30
times a day, then aim to reduce over the period of a few days, as much as you
can. You might write down the number of times you ask, because writing it down
helps us notice, and also helps us think twice about doing it! You can also
notice your success at reducing the reassurance over time.
Whilst your doctor can do
tests and tell you that you don't have a particular illness, we have to accept
that, we can never be certain that you will never have that or another serious
illness. The chance is a lot smaller than we imagine, and perhaps there are
things we can do to reduce the risk.
Is there anything I can do that will help me feel healthier? (e.g. stop
smoking, change my diet, exercise more) If so, then do it!
Of course, there are still
going to be times when you should visit your doctor. You could discuss this
with your doctor and agree what is appropriate. Generally, over-the-counter
medications suggest visiting your GP if your symptoms are still there after a
week. You might agree to extend this to two weeks. However, you must seek
medical attention if you have a high temperature, severe pain or your physical
condition worsens. STOP! - just pause
for a moment
Take a breath - one slow deep breath
Observe - there's
that health worry again. My body and mind is reacting to that body sensation
and I feel anxious. Notice the Super-Scanner
Pull back - this is just the health
anxiety - my thoughts are reacting to the super scanner. Don't believe
everything you think! Let's stick with the facts - these thoughts are just
opinions (Fact or Opinion). I don't have to react right now. There's another
explanation for this...(normal body sensation etc).
What's the bigger picture?
Practise / Proceed -
What can I do right now? I don't need to check or seek reassurance. I can use
these strategies:
Health Anxiety Self Help Guide - this page as PDF
MASTER ALARMING ADRENALINE mp3
(Panic & Health Anxiety version) Female voice, with music.
MASTER ALARMING ADRENALINE mp3
(Panic & Health Anxiety)
Male voice, with music.
THE MIND BULLY mp3
(for dealing with intrusive / distressing thoughts)
Female voice, with music.
Self Help Books
Overcoming Health Anxiety
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