Overcome Health Anxiety with Online Therapy

Category: Health Anxiety Online Therapy | Last updated: February 1st, 2022 | Reviewed and approved by:
Dr. Steven Gans, MD
Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD

Are You Health Conscious or Health Anxious?

Almost every one of us gets concerned about our health and well-being. And that concern can motivate us to try to optimize our eating, sleep and to lead a healthy lifestyle. Being health conscious can be great. It helps a lot in leading a healthy, happy, successful and meaningful life.

However, problems arise when this health consciousness gets transformed into “health anxiousness”. If you become too obsessed about your health and if you get too apprehensive that you are suffering from a severe illness (without the presence of such medical symptoms), then you may be experiencing health anxiety. In the past, psychologists referred to this as “hypochondria”. However, it is now called Illness Anxiety Disorder.

Illness Anxiety Disorder is a somatic symptom disorder in which the person suffering from it gets overly anxious or obsessed over his/her physical conditions. They see even a minor problem as an exaggerated severe illness. People suffering from Illness Anxiety Disorder often require continuous care, support and assurance from health service providers, family and acquaintances.

See if you recognize yourself in the symptoms of health anxiety:

Being preoccupied with having or developing a serious disease or health condition
Worrying that minor symptoms or body sensations mean you have a serious illness
Being easily alarmed about your health status
Finding little or no reassurance from doctor visits or negative test results
Worrying excessively about a specific medical condition or your risk of developing a medical condition because it runs in your family
Having so much distress about possible illnesses that it's hard for you to function
Repeatedly checking your body for signs of illness or disease
Frequently making medical appointments for reassurance — or avoiding medical care for fear of being diagnosed with a serious illness
Avoiding people, places or activities for fear of health risks
Constantly talking about your health and possible illnesses
Frequently searching the internet for causes of symptoms or possible illnesses

What’s more, people with Illness Anxiety Disorder can also experience additional mental health issues, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Clinical Depression, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Treatment Procedures

The good news is that Illness Anxiety Disorder can be treated. Effective methods of treatment include Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Exposure Therapy and support. You can receive these types of treatment here at Online Therapy.

Reviews

Our online therapy services have received 3572 reviews and the average rating is 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Easy smooth sign up"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Easy website to use and good therapist."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I am very happy with the services I have received so far and with my interactions with Janice Burnham. I am feeling much better about the situation I originally signed up to talk about and plan to continue for about another month."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Vanessa An (MNCPS(acc,) MBacp (accred), DipCouns) is an amazing counselor! I had to switch counselors ( was an effortless process through this website) and I’m so glad I did and found Vanessa. Had I known that processing the past, validation and reflection would have been so beneficial I would have not hesitated before. The new ground I’ve gained through this website and through Vanessa for my mental and emotional health was worth every penny!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I tried another service in the past, however it did not go so well. I'm glad we signed up with this one, even more that we got Catherine, she has been great. While there's still a lot to work on, I'm happy this has given us the opportunity to have an open dialogue about our issues."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"It is a great service. It is very suitable for my schedule and I can write at weekends and get a reply on Monday."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"My therapist allowed me to give myself grace with how my mind works."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I highly recommend my assigned therapist, Stephanie Korchynski.

Her response times are great. She walks the line between keeping our video sessions personable, while maintaining professional boundaries with great skill. Her suggestions will feel slightly generic initially, but once you reflect on which aspects of your situation you wish to prioritize, her feedback is insightful and expertly tailored.

I'm grateful to have finally invested in myself, and to have been gifted with Stephanie's guidance. Having that external impartial lens has been very grounding."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I love this therapy platform so much.
It has features many other online therapy services don’t provide, like yoga videos and messaging between appointments. I love being able to see the chat history with my therapist because sometimes they document important realizations. I had an issue where I missed one week of therapy due to holidays and customer service added the missed session to my package for no extra charge. I have already recommended this to so many people. My therapist, Tessa, makes my recovery a priority and I trust she has my best interests in mind. I loved being able to choose a therapist based on my needs. Everything about this platform is so easy and helpful. I love it and it’s helping me so much."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Easy to choose the right plan for me"

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