Health Anxiety & Health-Related Worry
Worry about health can take up an enormous amount of space. You might notice a sensation in your body and immediately fear the worst, find yourself repeatedly checking symptoms, searching online for answers or seeking reassurance from other people. Reassurance might help for a little while, only for the worry to return again.
Understanding Anxiety About Symptoms & Illness
For others, health-related anxiety isn't based on an imagined possibility. You may be living with a health condition yourself, waiting for tests or results, adjusting after an illness or trying to cope with uncertainty about what the future might hold.
You might also be caring for or supporting someone you love whose health requires you to be alert. This could be a child, partner, parent or someone else important to you. When someone you love has a serious allergy, chronic illness or other ongoing health needs, being prepared and vigilant can be an important part of keeping them safe. Carrying that responsibility, however, can also feel exhausting and overwhelming. At times, it can become difficult to know where necessary vigilance ends and anxiety begins.
Whatever your experience, your worries deserve to be understood in the context of what is happening in your life. Therapy can offer a space to explore the impact that health concerns, uncertainty and responsibility are having on you, while finding ways to feel more able to manage the worry they can bring.
Taking the first step
You don't need to decide whether what you're experiencing is “health anxiety” before getting in touch. If health worries, uncertainty or the responsibility of caring for someone are taking up more space in your life than you would like, we can begin by understanding your experience together. I offer a free 15–20 minute introductory call where you can tell me a little about what has brought you to therapy, ask any questions you may have and see whether working together feels like a good fit.
How Therapy Can Help With Health Anxiety
Therapy can give us space to slow things down and understand what happens when health-related worry appears — what you notice, where your mind goes, how your body responds and what you find yourself doing to try to feel safe. For some people, this may mean exploring patterns such as checking symptoms, searching online, seeking reassurance or avoiding situations. Understanding these patterns can help us make sense of why worry keeps returning, even when reassurance brings some relief in the moment.
For others, particularly when health concerns are very real, our work may look different. You may be living with uncertainty, adjusting to changes in your own health, or carrying the responsibility of caring for someone you love. Therapy can offer space for your experience too — including fear, exhaustion, frustration, guilt or anger that you may not always feel able to express elsewhere. Together, we can explore ways of responding differently to worry and uncertainty, develop greater trust in your ability to cope, and make space for self-compassion and your own emotional wellbeing.
If you're living with a genuine health concern or caring for someone who is, the aim isn't to remove the appropriate vigilance that helps keep you or someone you love safe. It's about finding a balance where necessary care and responsibility can remain, without anxiety taking up more of your life than it needs to.
What we focus on will be shaped around you, your experiences and what feels most meaningful to you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety & Health-Related Worry Therapy
Concern about our health is a normal and sometimes important response. Health anxiety can become more difficult when worry is persistent, reassurance doesn't seem to last, or thoughts about health begin taking up significant time and affecting everyday life. Therapy isn't about ignoring symptoms or genuine medical concerns. Instead, we can explore how anxiety may be affecting the way you interpret and respond to uncertainty.
Yes. Living with a genuine health condition doesn't mean you can't also experience anxiety about your health. Medical appointments, symptoms, uncertainty and changes to everyday life can understandably have an emotional impact. Therapy can provide space to explore that impact while you continue to seek appropriate medical care for your physical health.
Caring for a child with a health condition, severe allergy or other ongoing medical needs can bring a level of responsibility that other people may not always see. You may find yourself constantly anticipating what could go wrong, finding it difficult to switch off, struggling to trust others with their care or feeling that you always need to be prepared. Therapy isn't about taking away the appropriate precautions that help keep your child safe. It can give you space to explore the emotional impact of carrying that responsibility, understand when anxiety may be adding another layer to it, and find ways to care for your own wellbeing alongside caring for your child.
Health-related anxiety isn't limited to worries about our own health or our children. Supporting someone you love through illness, ongoing health problems or medical uncertainty can bring fear, responsibility and a sense of helplessness. Therapy can provide a space for your experience too — including feelings you may find difficult to share when much of the attention understandably feels focused on the person who is unwell.
When we're frightened, reassurance can bring immediate relief. Our brain can then begin to learn that reassurance is needed whenever uncertainty appears. Over time, you may find that the relief doesn't last and that you need reassurance more frequently. Understanding this cycle can be an important part of finding different ways of responding to uncertainty.
No. Therapy doesn't replace appropriate medical assessment, and I won't diagnose physical symptoms. What we can explore together is what happens emotionally when symptoms or health concerns arise, the meaning you find yourself attaching to them and how anxiety may be affecting the way you respond.
A frightening diagnosis, medical emergency, hospital admission or experience involving someone you love can continue to affect you afterwards. Even when the immediate danger has passed, you may notice that you remain more alert to signs that something could go wrong again. Therapy can provide space to make sense of what happened and explore the impact the experience has had on your sense of safety, confidence and wellbeing.