Health Anxiety

Health Anxiety

Illness Anxiety Disorder 


Illness anxiety disorder (previously called hypochondriasis) is characterized by obsessive, irrational, and uncontrollable worry about having a serious medical condition. Naturally occurring sensations are often misinterpreted as evidence for illness, resulting in the individual being easily distressed about their health. These distorted thoughts typically lead to excessive checking behaviours and persistent questioning to ensure that they are not sick. Alternatively, the individual with health anxiety may avoid medical attention due to fear of what may be discovered. Even if the individual does have an illness, the degree of worry and related checking behaviors are more extreme and time consuming than would be expected. This mental health condition can not only be physically and mentally draining, but can also negatively impact the quality of life of the individuals and their relationships. 


Common signs or symptoms of illness anxiety disorder include: 

 

  • Avoiding places or activities for fear that help may be hard to find
  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep
  • Excessive body checking 
  • Reassurance seeking 
  • Researching illnesses and treatments frequently 
  • Excessive missed days of work or school 
  • Frequent trips to medical professionals 
  • Inability to participate in activities due to trying to prevent exposure to perceived germs or illnesses 
  • Decline in quality of life (reduced involvement in activities, poor relationships, limited interests, preoccupied with worry) 
  • Being preoccupied with having or getting a serious disease or health condition

 

Somatic Symptom Disorder 

Alternatively, Somatic Symptom Disorder is a type of health anxiety in which a person has a significant focus on actual physical symptoms they are experiencing, which causes major emotional distress and impacts functioning. Individuals with Somatic Symptom Disorder may have a diagnosed medical condition, but the reaction to the symptoms is out of proportion to what would be seen as a normal reaction. A person is not diagnosed with somatic symptom disorder solely because a cause cannot be identified for a symptom, but the emphasis is on the extent to which thoughts, feelings, and behaviours related to the illness are out of proportion to the symptom. 

Symptoms of Somatic Symptom Disorder can include: 
  • Experiencing specific sensations (e.g. pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, or weakness) for more than six months
  • Constant worries about potential illness 
  • Feeling that medical evaluation or treatment has not been adequate 
  • Fearing that symptoms are serious, even when there is no evidence 
  • Having a more severe impairment than is usually expected from a medical condition

How is health anxiety (Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder) treated? 

The most common treatment for health anxiety is psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT has been found to be effective in treating health anxiety as it can help identify beliefs around health, change unhelpful thoughts, help find different ways to respond to bodily sensations, teach ways to cope with anxiety, and help to reduce body focused behaviours. 

If you think you may be suffering from Illness Anxiety Disorder or Somatic Symptom Disorder, contact us for a free 15 minute phone consultation to see how we can help! 

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