Resource · ~7 min read
Health anxiety: what it is and how to ease it.
In short
Health anxiety is persistent worry that you have, or will get, a serious illness, often driven by checking your body, searching symptoms and seeking reassurance. Those habits bring brief relief and then more doubt. Always have new physical symptoms checked by your GP; then the skills are to cut back checking and googling, limit reassurance, postpone worry and practise living with uncertainty.
Rose Markotic · Anxiety Skills Coach
Rose’s path here runs through more than a decade of clinical training and practice — graduate training at Santa Clara University and years inside Dr. David Burns’ TEAM-CBT group at Stanford, the home of the measurement-driven framework.
First, the important part:if you have a new, changing or worrying physical symptom, see your GP. Never assume a symptom is “just anxiety”, and nothing on this page can tell you whether it is. Coaching doesn’t assess symptoms.
What is health anxiety?
Everyone worries about their health sometimes. Health anxiety is when the worry takes over: it’s frequent, hard to switch off, and doesn’t settle for long even after a doctor has checked you. It often flares in stressful periods, after an illness in the family, or after a big change such as a move abroad, when you’re far from the doctor who knew you.
Common signs of health anxiety
- —Frequently checking your body for changes, lumps or sensations
- —Searching symptoms online, often late at night
- —Seeking reassurance from doctors, family or friends, and feeling better only briefly
- —Avoiding anything health-related (news, doctors, hospitals) because it sets the worry off
- —Interpreting normal sensations, like a skipped beat or a headache, as signs of something serious
Why checking makes it worse
Health anxiety runs on a loop: a sensation, a frightening thought about what it might mean, anxiety, then a check, a search or a request for reassurance. The relief is real but short, and it teaches the brain that the sensation was dangerous and the check was necessary, so the next sensation sets off the loop faster. Breaking the loop means changing what you do after the thought, not just arguing with the thought.
How to stop health anxiety taking over
1. Get it checked once, then follow the plan
If you have a new or worrying symptom, see your GP. That is always the right first step, and nothing here replaces it. Once you've been checked, agree a plan with your doctor (for example, when to come back) and stick to that instead of re-checking on your own.
2. Cut back on checking and googling
Each check or search brings a moment of relief and then more doubt, which is what keeps health anxiety going. Notice the urge, delay acting on it by 15 minutes, then 30, and gradually reduce how often you check. The urge rises and then falls if you don't feed it.
3. Reassurance once, not on repeat
Asking "do you think it's serious?" again and again works the same way as checking. Agree with the people close to you that they'll answer once, kindly, and then help you move on to something else.
4. Give the worry a time slot
Health worries tend to arrive all day. Postpone them to a daily 15-minute worry window, not near bedtime. Write them down when they appear; in the window, look at each one and ask whether there's a concrete step, such as a booked appointment, or whether it's a "what if".
5. Practise living with uncertainty
No test or doctor can promise you'll never be ill, and health anxiety demands that certainty. The skill is noticing "I can't be 100% sure" and choosing to carry on with your day anyway. Small, repeated practice makes uncertainty easier to bear.
These skills come from CBT; the TEAM-CBT toolkit explains the methods behind them. For worry loops in general, see how to stop overthinking.
When to see a licensed professional
If health anxiety takes up hours of your day, keeps you from work or sleep, leads you to avoid medical care altogether, or comes with panic or low mood, please talk to your GP about it directly. Persistent health anxiety is very treatable, and clinical CBT with a licensed professional is the established route. Coaching can teach everyday skills; it is not a substitute for clinical care. In a crisis, see the crisis resources page.
Frequently asked
Common questions
- What is health anxiety?
- Health anxiety is persistent worry about having or developing a serious illness, which doesn't settle for long even after a doctor has checked you. It's often kept going by checking your body, searching symptoms online and seeking reassurance.
- What are the symptoms of health anxiety?
- Common signs include frequently checking your body, searching symptoms online, repeatedly seeking reassurance, avoiding health-related things, and reading normal sensations as signs of serious illness. Anxiety itself can also cause physical sensations, but never assume a symptom is anxiety: new or worrying symptoms should always be checked by your GP.
- How do I stop health anxiety?
- Get any new symptom checked by your GP once and follow the agreed plan. Then gradually cut back checking and googling, limit reassurance to once, postpone health worries to a daily worry window, and practise carrying on despite not being 100% certain. If it's persistent or severe, clinical CBT with a licensed professional is the established route.
- Can a coach help with health anxiety?
- For everyday health worry, a coach can teach and practise the skills: cutting back checking, postponing worry and tolerating uncertainty. A coach never assesses symptoms. If health anxiety is persistent, severe or takes over your day, see your GP or a licensed professional.
Next step
Less checking, more living.
Rose teaches these skills online, in English, across the UK and Europe. A free 20-minute call sorts whether coaching fits; anything about symptoms goes to your GP.
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