Crouch End and Muswell Hill
Health anxiety is a deeply distressing way of living with constant fear about your body and your health. It is not about being dramatic or imagining things. It is about feeling responsible for spotting danger before it is too late, and never quite being able to relax.
If you struggle with health anxiety, much of your attention may be focused on your body. You might scan for changes, notice every sensation, and wonder what it means. Minor symptoms that others would dismiss can feel loaded with threat. Even when you try to reassure yourself, the worry often returns.
People with health anxiety often live with a background fear that something serious is being missed.
Thoughts such as these are common:
• What if this is something serious
• What if the doctor has missed something
• What if it is too late
• What if I ignored an important warning sign
Everyday physical sensations can feel alarming. A headache may raise fears of a brain tumour. A twinge in your chest or abdomen can quickly turn into worries about cancer or heart disease. Searching for information often makes things worse, as it is easy to find frightening stories that reinforce the fear.
Alongside the mental strain, health anxiety often creates a strong physical response. You may feel tense, on edge, or hyper alert to your body. Unfortunately, the emotion of anxiety itself can create sensations that then seem to confirm your fears.
Health anxiety is exhausting because it pulls you into a cycle that is hard to escape. Fear leads to checking, monitoring, or seeking reassurance. You might visit your GP, ask loved ones for reassurance, or look for answers online.
Reassurance can bring short term relief, but it rarely lasts. Doubt creeps back in, often in a new form. You may begin to question whether the tests were thorough enough, whether something was missed, or whether this symptom is different.
Over time, this cycle can begin to dominate your life. Instead of feeling safer, you may feel more frightened and less able to trust your own body.
Therapy offers a way to understand and gently loosen the grip of this cycle. The focus is not on convincing you that nothing is wrong, as that doesn't work very well, but on helping you relate differently to fear and uncertainty.
Together, we look at:
• What triggers your health fears
• Why certain thoughts feel so compelling
• How checking and reassurance keep anxiety going
• How to respond to fear without being controlled by it
As understanding grows, many people find that anxiety begins to soften. Confidence in your ability to cope increases, and your attention can slowly move back towards living rather than monitoring.
The aim is to help you change how health worries affect you, so they no longer take over and limit your life.
If health anxiety is affecting your wellbeing, you do not have to face it alone.
I offer a free 15 minute phone consultation where we can talk things through and see whether I might be able to help. There is no pressure or obligation, just a chance to explore what support could look like for you.
You are welcome to get in touch.