Health Anxiety (Hypochondria) is irrational and obsessive worrying about experiencing a serious physical health condition. It is also often referred to as illness anxiety. It’s generally nothing but someone’s imagination of physical symptoms that aren’t real. To put it in a nutshell, health anxiety is just imagination of normal body sensations as something serious. Even after getting assurance from the physical health provider, people who have health anxiety do not believe in them.
After getting reassurance, they still try to visit their physical health providers and generally spend a lot of time over the internet or in the books to find something relatable about their imaginary symptoms or possible health conditions. Indeed, health anxiety can disrupt someone’s personal and professional life. It can also interfere with daily activity, hit productivity at work, and can cause problems in their relationships with their partners, loved ones, or family members. However, the good news is that health anxiety is totally treatable and there are effective tips to overcome health anxiety. In this blog, we will be reading about tips to overcome health anxiety. So, let’s get started.
5 Effective Tips to Overcome Health Anxiety
1. Change your focus
People who experience health anxiety often feel difficulty in changing their focus to something else as their mind is always wandering towards their symptoms which are not even real. Since they focus a lot on their symptoms, parts of their body, and all of the physical sensations, it triggers anxiety and worry related to it. These thoughts and anxiety related to their physical health trigger health anxiety. At this point, people can try to change their focus in order to change the cycle of worrying and anxiety. In this way, you will be able to break the rumination that you have been doing for years. In order to change your focus to something else, you can always try activities that seek your attention like:
- Gardening
- Playing a new game
- Cleaning your room
- Spending some time in the kitchen
- Going for a walk
- Solving puzzles
- Going for a hike
- Enhancing your artistic side
- Spending time with your loved ones
- Socializing with your friends or family members
All you have to do is primarily focus on the activity so that you can enjoy its benefits as well.
2. Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness has its own therapeutic benefits. It is the practice of paying focus on the present moment, your thoughts, and your surroundings. Mindfulness is associated with meditation and you can imagine how beneficial it is! Mindfulness is all about focusing on the present moment physically, mentally, and spiritually. It is a form of therapy that can be used for overcoming any type of mental health issue you have been experiencing for years. Fact says that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is highly effective for people with health anxiety. Below are some ways to incorporate mindfulness in your everyday life:
● 5-4-3-2-1 Mindfulness Exercise
5-4-3-2-1 mindfulness exercise is all about:
- Focus on five things you see
- Focus on four things you touch
- Focus on three things you hear
- Focus on two things you smell
- Focus on one thing you can taste
This technique helps in grounding in the present moment. It also helps in overcoming the ruminating thoughts and additionally, this exercise can be done anywhere at any time.
● Practice Guided Meditation
Guided meditation helps in overcoming negative thoughts and in return guided meditation relaxes our bodies. A calm body and mind can help in alleviating symptoms of health anxiety. You can find guided meditations on YouTube or apps like Calm and Headspace.
● Listen to Music
By listening to music, you can practice mindfulness. While listening to the music, make sure you are listening to the music actively and visualizing the words and sounds in your mind. Listening to music is one of my personal favorite types of mindfulness techniques.
3. Challenge your worrisome thoughts
Thoughts drive our attention and one way to overcome your worrisome thoughts is to challenge them. In this way, we will be able to break the rumination cycle. Psychology states that we perceive reality on the basis of our thoughts. Meanwhile, cognitive defusion can help in identifying and challenging our negative thoughts.
4. Acknowledge your feelings
By acknowledging your feelings you will be able to acknowledge your emotions and feelings. Acknowledging your feelings helps in reducing the intensity of health anxiety. It is one of the best self-help techniques one could adapt for overcoming health anxiety.
5. Stop Googling or Reading about your symptoms
If you have been experiencing health anxiety for years, trust me to stop Googling everything. Google cannot be your friend. People who experience health anxiety might imagine worst-case scenarios on the basis of Google which is not even true. Therefore, whenever you feel something in terms of your physical health, stop googling it or reading about your symptoms and instead try to change your focus on something else.
6. Try to maintain a healthy routine
The fact is that a healthy mind and a healthy body will never attract any positivity. Therefore, try to maintain a healthy routine. When I say a healthy routine, try to sleep on time, try to wake up on time, try to have your meals on time, and do not forget to exercise daily.
I hope this blog helps you with effective tips to overcome health anxiety aka hypochondria.
Thanks for reading!
