What triggers health anxiety?

Symptoms and Causes

Childhood trauma, such as child abuse or neglect. Extreme stress. Health anxieties or other anxiety disorders in your family. Childhood illness or serious illness in your family during childhood.

What causes sudden health anxiety?

A time of major life stress. Threat of a serious illness that turns out not to be serious. History of abuse as a child. A serious childhood illness or a parent with a serious illness.

How can I stop my health anxiety?

What are the symptoms of health anxiety?

Can something trigger health anxiety?

Examples of potential triggers for health anxiety include: Experiencing a serious illness when you were a child. A family member having a serious illness. You or a family member being prone to anxiety or being a 'worrier'

5 Ways to Stop the Health Anxiety Cycle

Is health anxiety a form of anxiety?

Health anxiety is an anxiety condition that is often housed within the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) spectrum of disorders. Those affected by health anxiety have an obsessional preoccupation with the idea that they are currently (or will be) experiencing a physical illness.

Can health anxiety create false symptoms?

People with health anxiety often misinterpret normal or benign physical symptoms and attribute them to something more serious. For example, if they were to compress an arm while asleep, instead of rolling over and shaking off the numb feeling, they might worry they were having a stroke.

How long does health anxiety last?

From the time of diagnosis, an anxiety disorder can last from a few months to many years. Most people will have symptoms of an anxiety disorder for a long time before seeking professional help, sometimes up to 15 years³.

What medications treat health anxiety?

Benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are a type of sedative that may sometimes be used as a short-term treatment during a particularly severe period of anxiety. This is because they help ease the symptoms within 30 to 90 minutes of taking the medication. If you're prescribed a benzodiazepine, it'll usually be diazepam.

Can health anxiety go away on its own?

Because it's a part of your being, anxiety won't go away completely. But you can lessen its grasp through understanding and self-awareness.

What is obsessive health anxiety?

Common Compulsions in Health Anxiety OCD

Repeated visits to multiple doctors. Requests for unnecessary (and/or repeated) tests. Excessively checking your own body to look for new symptoms or changes in symptoms. Reassurance seeking from multiple sources (professional and non-professional)

What age does health anxiety start?

Doctors and mental health experts said the 50s, 60s and up can be when symptoms provoke more anxiety than they once did. This is when many first experience serious illnesses like diabetes and heart disease. Even if they don't have a chronic illness, people are more aware of their mortality.

How serious is health anxiety?

Many people with health anxiety are often unable to function or enjoy life due to their fears and preoccupations. They obsess over bodily functions (breathing, heartbeat), physical oddities (skin blemishes), and physical discomfort (headaches, stomach aches, lightheadedness).

How do you calm down a hypochondriac?

Keep busy with other things. For example, when you get the urge to check your body, distract yourself by going for a walk or calling a friend. You could also try these relaxation techniques: breathing exercises.

Is health anxiety intrusive thoughts?

Health Concern Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a sub-type of OCD that causes a person to have obsessive thoughts about developing a serious medical condition. The intrusive thoughts that a person with Health Concern OCD experiences are irrational and exaggerated, which create the need to perform compulsions to cope.

Is health anxiety a form of OCD?

Health anxiety is not a form of OCD, but it can look similar. Illness anxiety disorder and somatic symptom disorder, however, have very different diagnosis criteria compared to OCD. Both health anxiety and OCD are treatable. These conditions can be managed through therapy and self-care strategies.

Why do I feel like something is medically wrong with me?

People with illness anxiety disorder -- also called hypochondria or hypochondriasis -- have an unrealistic fear that they have a serious medical condition or fear that they're at high risk of becoming ill. They may misinterpret typical body functions as signs of illness.

How do you know if your body is fighting something?

If you start to feel sudden or excessive fatigue, exhaustion or just generally run down, it could be a sign that your body is fighting off a bug.

How do you know if you're a hypochondriac or is something wrong?

Hypochondriac Symptoms

Being preoccupied with having a serious illness because of body symptoms that last for at least six months. Having a history of going to multiple doctors (also called “shopping around” for a doctor) to find one who will diagnosis the serious illness.

What is at the root of hypochondria?

Hypochondriac comes ultimately from the Greek word hypokhondria, which literally means “under the cartilage (of the breastbone).” In the late 16th century, when hypochondriac first entered the English language, it referred to the upper abdomen.

What supplements for hypochondria?

A daily multivitamin, containing the antioxidant vitamins A, C, E, D, the B-complex vitamins, and trace minerals such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, and selenium. Omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish oil, 1 to 2 capsules or 1 to 2 tablespoonfuls oil daily, to help reduce inflammation and improve immunity.