Health anxiety can be paralysing for those who experience it. Our health is our greatest asset and when we perceive that it’s at risk, it is natural to experience symptoms of anxiety. But it is important to remember that there are tools that can prevent it from escalating and, in turn, minimise the overall hold that health anxiety has over us.
Calm the body to calm the mind
We need to calm the body to affect any thought change, as our ability to think logically is compromised when in this heightened state. This is all about developing coping strategies that work for us when we are in the moment. Breathing techniques, grounding, and affirmations can all be very helpful, especially any activity that focuses on the connection between our sense of touch and breathing. By engaging our senses and bringing our attention to the present moment, we can shift our current thought patterns. Hence, doing something creative or something active can also be helpful.
Look for the root cause
For many of us, it can feel like our anxiety came out of nowhere, but it can be triggered by a whole range of factors. It might originate from childhood fears, messages that we have internalised from our early caregivers (Mum and Dad, teachers), or it can develop in response to medical treatment that we have received. In the long-term, it’s helpful to do some work around the root cause of our anxiety to prevent episodes of panic. If we can figure out where it originates from, and what it’s trying to tell us, then we can try to change our behaviours. With health anxiety, it’s helpful to acknowledge that these fears and worries are there for a reason, they are valid. While it might seem counterintuitive – particularly when our thoughts are distressing – these thoughts have developed as “a mode of defence”, part of our threat response. If we explore the reasons behind them, then we can start to address the problem accordingly.
Understand negative thought patterns
People who suffer from health anxiety tend to catastrophise, magnifying a perceived threat, and overestimating the seriousness of its potential consequences. There is a relationship between what we think, what we feel and what we do – so it’s logical that this negative thought pattern will impact our actions which, in a lot of cases, can lead to compulsive behaviours and obsessive thoughts. To alter this type of thinking, we need to first acknowledge it. Keeping a thought diary can be a helpful tool to track the thoughts and feelings that we experience around health anxiety, making it easier for us to notice patterns and triggers, and to look back to see if our catastrophic fears really did materialise (they rarely do).
Avoid self-perpetuating behaviours
If we find ourselves stuck in a loop of negative thoughts or behaviours then we can, without thinking, keep ourselves stuck there. If we become obsessed with Googling symptoms or seeking reassurance from others, we are only further fuelling our anxious thoughts. Receiving medical attention will provide a brief sense of relief but only serve as a temporary solution to the problem because by engaging in these practices, you are only reaffirming the existence of a threat, and relying on external validation that one doesn’t exist. Instead, we need to think about healthier coping strategies that might offer distraction, and a sense of perspective.
Acceptance
It is said the Buddha once asked: “If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful? If the person is struck by a second arrow, is it even more painful?”. In life, we can’t always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. It’s optional. Instead of arguing with our thoughts, we can forge a different relationship with them – one based on acceptance. If we can accept anxiety as something that everyone experiences, it can help us to normalise it and its true purpose.
