Understanding and Managing Health Anxiety

Many individuals have experienced the phenomenon of researching a minor symptom online, only to find themselves confronted with alarming potential diagnoses. For those experiencing medical anxiety—clinically referred to as health anxiety or illness anxiety disorder—this experience transcends occasional concern. It manifests as a persistent, debilitating fear of serious illness that persists despite medical reassurances or negative test results.

In today’s health-aware culture, especially in the wake of the pandemic, this form of anxiety has grown more visible. It affects students under academic pressure, caregivers watching over ageing parents, cancer survivors navigating remission, and even the most grounded among us who have faced health scares. Yet despite how common it is, health anxiety is still widely misunderstood.

It’s Not “All in Your Head”

Health anxiety stems from more than mental patterns—it involves the body, past experiences, and emotions. While its origins remain unclear, it likely emerges from compounding factors: genetic predispositions, early environments, and unresolved emotional events shape our relationship with physical sensations. Growing up with frequent illness, unpredictability, or in a household fixated on health naturally conditions the body to become a threat barometer.

Traumatic or high-stress health experiences, even those long in the past, can leave a lasting imprint. Being misdiagnosed, going through medical emergencies, or witnessing the illness of a loved one can create a nervous system that stays on alert. Studies suggest that stressors like these, especially in childhood, can increase the likelihood of developing health anxiety later in life (Asmundson & Taylor, 2020).

And importantly, not all health anxiety is unhelpful. Some level of concern keeps us tuned in to our bodies and responsive to change. The problem begins when that concern becomes a preoccupation, when reassurance wears off quickly, and when even neutral sensations begin to feel threatening.

When the Mind Fixates on the Body

Signs of Health Anxiety

Health anxiety tends to show up in familiar but often overlooked ways, including:

• Frequently scanning the body for new or unusual sensations

• Repeatedly researching symptoms or possible diagnoses online

• Seeking reassurance from medical professionals or loved ones, sometimes multiple times

• Avoiding health check-ups out of fear that something serious might be found

• Struggling to focus at work or rest at night due to persistent health-related thoughts

  
  

It is not uncommon for anxiety itself to cause physical sensations such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, or muscle tension. These then become part of the anxiety loop, reinforcing the belief that something must be wrong. It is a complex cycle, and it often feels very real.

Therapeutic Approaches That Make a Difference

Effective therapy doesn't simply calm anxious feelings—it fundamentally reshapes your relationship with uncertainty and bodily sensations. There are many therapeutic approaches that help process health anxiety, and they include:

1. Somatic Experiencing

Somatic Experiencing helps individuals recognise the body's physical response to anxiety. The Somatic Experiencing practitioner allows individuals to identify and process their body sensations, leading to a deeper connection with the physical experience of anxiety. Somatic experiencing helps relieve tension, reduce physical symptoms, and improve emotional regulation. 

• Nervous system regulation techniques help calm the overactive threat-detection system

• Interoceptive awareness training helps you interpret bodily sensations more accurately

• Pendulation practices teach you to move between comfortable and uncomfortable sensations, building tolerance for physical discomfort without panic

  
  

By reconnecting clients with their bodies as sources of information rather than threats, somatic work helps rebuild trust in physical experiences.

2. EMDR Therapy

EMDR therapy addresses the underlying trauma or negative experiences that might be fueling health anxiety, thus allowing individuals to shift from negative to more positive and adaptive beliefs, leading to a reduction in anxiety levels and a greater sense of control over their fears. 

• EMDR therapy helps individuals identify specific past experiences or beliefs that may be contributing to their current health anxiety.

• Using bilateral stimulation like eye movements or tapping, the EMDR therapists help the brain to reprocess and reframe the negative associations, reducing their emotional impact. 

• EMDR therapy also helps individuals develop a more adaptive way of coping, which reduces their anxiety.

By addressing the underlying trauma or negative experiences, EMDR therapy helps individuals break free from the cycle of worry, fear, and avoidance behaviours that often characterize health anxiety.

3. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Widely considered the gold standard for treating health anxiety, CBT works on two fronts:

• Cognitive restructuring helps identify and challenge catastrophic thinking patterns (transforming "This headache must be a brain tumor" into "Headaches have many common causes, and I've had them before without serious consequences").

• Behavioral experiments gradually reduce safety behaviors like excessive checking or reassurance-seeking, demonstrating that anxiety diminishes naturally when not reinforced by these actions.

CBT produces significant and sustainable improvements in health anxiety symptoms, with benefits lasting well beyond the treatment period.

4. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Rather than eliminating anxious thoughts, ACT focuses on changing your relationship with them through:

• Psychological flexibility – learning to hold difficult thoughts and sensations without being controlled by them

• Mindfulness practices – developing present-moment awareness that reduces rumination

• Values-based living – committing to meaningful activities even when anxiety is present

ACT proves particularly valuable for those facing genuine medical uncertainty, such as individuals recovering from cancer who must learn to live with a certain degree of health vigilance while not becoming paralysed by fear.

Integrating Psychological Support into the Healthcare Journey

As our understanding of health becomes more holistic, there is increasing awareness that medical care alone may not address the full picture—especially when physical symptoms persist despite clinical reassurance. Emotional stress, unresolved trauma, and ongoing uncertainty can quietly shape how symptoms are experienced, interpreted, and managed.

Incorporating mental health support into medical care offers a more comprehensive approach to healing. This is not about replacing medical evaluation but about recognising that psychological and physical health are deeply interconnected.

Some of the key benefits of integrated care include:

• Improved clarity and decision-making When anxiety, past medical experiences, or fear of uncertainty are present, it can be difficult to absorb information or make choices about treatment. Therapeutic support helps patients engage with medical advice more calmly, confidently, and clearly.

• Better treatment adherence Fear, avoidance, or emotional overwhelm can sometimes lead to missed appointments, skipped medications, or delayed tests. Addressing the psychological layer behind these behaviours supports consistency in care.

• More effective symptom management Many physical symptoms are intensified by chronic stress. Mind-body interventions and coping strategies can reduce the distress associated with bodily sensations, helping individuals feel more grounded in their healthcare experience.

• Stronger relational support , Counselling can also help loved ones understand how to offer emotional support without reinforcing anxiety or minimising valid concerns,creating a more stable environment for healing.

  
  

This collaborative model, where physicians, specialists, therapists, and counsellors work together, allows for a more compassionate and effective response to visible symptoms and their often-invisible emotional load.

Mental health support does not replace medical investigation. Instead, it provides a parallel path, especially valuable when symptoms are recurring, difficult to interpret, or emotionally charged. By addressing the internal stressors that may compound physical concerns, integrated care helps patients seek answers and feel safer in seeking them.

Finding Peace Amid Uncertainty

Health inherently involves uncertainty. No test can guarantee perpetual wellness; our bodies will always experience variations and changes. Effective therapy doesn't eliminate this reality but transforms your relationship with it.

Recovery doesn't mean never experiencing health concerns again. Instead, it means developing the capacity to note these concerns without being consumed by them—to feel the worry but not be defined by it.

This represents a profound shift from a wellness that is defined by constant vigilance to one that is characterised by presence, self-trust, and engagement with what matters most in life.

If you find yourself trapped in cycles of health-related fear, whether following a genuine medical scare or arising seemingly without cause, professional support can help you find steadier ground. In Singapore's busy urban environment, taking this step toward mental wellness may be one of your most important health decisions.

Restoring Peace is a private mental health centre which provides counselling and psychotherapy services for children, adolescents, youths, adult individuals, couples and groups with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and various mental health and relationship challenges. For more information, please visit www.restoringpeace.com.sg or WhatsApp at +65 8889 1848. For periodic updates, we invite you to join our telegram group: https://t.me/restoringpeace.

References: 

Asmundson, G. J. G., & Taylor, S. (2020). How health anxiety influences responses to viral outbreaks like COVID-19: What all decision-makers, health authorities, and health care professionals need to know. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 71, 102211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102211

National Health Service (NHS). (2021). Health anxiety. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/health-anxiety/

Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI). (n.d.). Health anxiety. Government of Western Australia, Department of Health. Retrieved April 17, 2025, from https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/looking-after-yourself/health-anxiety

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