Overcome Health Anxiety with Online Therapy

Category: Health Anxiety Online Therapy | Last updated: September 20th, 2025 | 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 4324 reviews and the average rating is 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"My experience with my second therapist was a better fit. She is very dedicated, well informed and focused on helping me build better life habits"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Forward thinking."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Thank you so much for this service. The worksheets really made me dig in and sort out some of the difficult emotions.
My therapist, Dana, was excellent and really challenged me to keep up the work to get over the hurdles.. the constant contact helped me to have a continuous healing conversation. The videos were very informative and I have a whole new toolbox to use moving forward.
I feel like a new person in just a few weeks and am moving forward with new insights for the next season of my life and many tools to use when issues arise in the future.
I’m very glad I made the choice to log in and start healing. Thank you so much..:)
Happy Camper"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I was paired with a wonderful therapist who helps guiding me through my struggles with so much respect and care. Being able to text her and have two sessions per week is truly helpful and relieving. Would 10/10 always recommend!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Marisa has been fantastic and the service has offered a streamlined way to book sessions and talk."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Amazing support all around!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I just got switched to therapist called Tania, she started off with encouraging a live session to know about me first and has provided some very insightful information about me already. This made me feel heard and safe, looking forward to our next live session!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"So far, the process has been straightforward to use and helpful with any inquiries I had"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Great platform"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Awesome site with practical teachings and excellent therapists."

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