Hypnotherapy for Health Anxiety
Hypnosis for health anxiety
Health anxiety is very common, 1-2% of people struggle with it and the number is always rising*. The internet could be seen as a contributing factor as it can be a scary place when we’re struggling with health anxiety. Our often benign symptoms can be related to more serious illnesses if we are looking at unofficial articles or in forums with an unregulated public contribution. Even on official NHS pages, it is possible to misdiagnose ourselves. Whilst it’s normal to be concerned about the signs and symptoms of an illness; if you are finding that your health worries are affecting your everyday life, it’s time to seek help.
Coronavirus aka Covid 19 pandemic
In light of the covid 19 pandemic, our government is taking unprecendented action to prevent the spread and keep us safe. The severity of the situation is having an negative impact on people with pre-existing anxiety disorders and issues. If we suffer from health anxiety, we’re likely to already take precautions to prevent the spread of virus’ and bacterial infections. To hear the government confirming our inner voice’s worst fears can validate it and lead to even more anxiety and anxious behaviours. If you are experiencing health anxiety because of the coronavirus pandemic, please get contaect us for support.
What is health anxiety?
Also known as Hypochondria, sufferers experience overwhelming anxiety regarding their health. Inaccurate self-diagnosis is common and in extreme cases, we sometimes reject professional medical opinion if it doesn’t confirm what we believe to be true. Health anxiety can be detrimental to our daily lives and restrict our ability to go to certain places in fear of infection or worsening of our illness. The fear can be perpetuated by the physical symptoms of anxiety which include chest pain, headaches, rapid heart rate and shortness of breath. We may experience these symptoms because we’re stressed and anxious and mistake them for a physical illness.
What is CYBERCHONDRIA?
Cyberchondria which is also known as ‘compucondria, is specifically the fear of illness exacerbated through internet searches. This describes the rapid escalation of anxiety that occurs when we ‘validate’ our health anxiety by confirming our symptoms are indeed related to a fatal illness, virus or infection. We more often than not inaccurately diagnose ourselves but our anxiety will latch on to any confirmation and it can feel really distressing.
Symptoms of health anxiety
Worrying daily about health issues despite being generally well
Fear of dying
Regularly checking your body for signs of illness; feeling panicked over a lump, pain or another unusual sensation
Scanning your body throughout the day, focussing on particular areas of concern to check if they’ve changed or developed
Compulsive online checking of symptoms you believe to be dangerous
The need for constant reassurance from friends, family and medical professionals and sometimes this isn’t even enough to stop your worrying
You avoid tv shows, films or conversations about medical issues or illnesses because they make you too anxious
A common virus, infection or medical epidemic reported on the news is terrifying to you and you find it difficult to cope
You believe you should restrict your activity to make sure your ‘illness’ doesn’t worsen
What causes health anxiety?
Just as with any other anxiety issue, the cause can be different for everyone. It is common to develop health anxiety if we experienced a serious illness or injury as a child. It’s also very common to develop if we grew up with someone who had health anxiety or was overbearingly worried about our health to a point where we grew to have the same concerns.
Treatment for health anxiety
Hypnotherapist Sue Jeffery explains this in her article, ‘Exhausted by anxiety?’; “Our fear is exaggerated. Our thinking distorted. We see everything through the filter of possible danger. Fear becomes the lens through which we see the world.”
Health anxiety is considered a complex anxiety disorder with similarities to OCD. As with other anxieties in this category, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), hypnotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming are effective treatments. These techniques focus on changing the way we interpret and react to fear. Health anxiety is complex and the focus of treatment is to offer long term coping mechanisms rather than ‘cure’. It is an inevitable part of life that we will need to cope with health issues first hand or second hand through our loved ones and it’s important to make sure we can do this without becoming overwhelmed.
Hypnosis for health anxiety
Hypnotherapy is a great technique for anxiety because it focuses on changing your perspective. Your therapist will work with you to change your thought patterns around the fear, replacing these with more positive suggestions. Your therapist will also teach you relaxation techniques, self-hypnosis and breathing exercises to manage your anxiety day to day and soothe yourself when anxiety becomes overwhelming. If appropriate to you, your therapist may also use a technique called hypnoanalysis which helps to discover and address the root cause of your anxiety to enable you to make a permanent mindset change.
*Professor Peter Tyrer quoted for the Guardian.
