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 3447 reviews and the average rating is 4.8 out of 5 stars.

Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"This has been a very positive experience. The live sessions combined with the worksheets really help you dig deep and realize exactly what you feel and need. Getting feedback from my therapist on the worksheets and in session has been very helpful."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Really good session with my counsellor. They showed clear effort in trying to understand my problem and helped shed some light on the issues I brought forward."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"I absolutely love my therapist"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Have only had two sessions so far with Mina but have found each super helpful. I do the weekly calls but check in on the online worksheets when I need a boost inbetween. These have also been a great help."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Dr. Vicki Coleman was fantastic. She very quickly understood my issues and my goals. In our short time together, I was amazed at how much progress I made starting from our first session. I gained confidence in my ability to deal with challenges I had already identified plus ones that I hadn't considered as issues. Now I just need to practice and continue to remember her insightful advice. She is also a delightful person with a beautiful smile. Just talking to her is calming and reassuring.

The On-Line Therapy service worked well and was easy to navigate."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"This service has been great and so helpful even in just a few weeks"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"My experience has been life changing in all respects. I am forever grateful to my therapist and the ease this program made finding the right therapist and getting the help I needed just how I needed it."

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Great doctor!"

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Rating: [5 out of 5 stars!]

"Was an amazing experience I enjoyed every part of it. This experience help me discover different parts of myself, and the support for my therapist Bernadette Eze was very helpful for what I was going through this time

I’m really glad that I did it and committed to the process"

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Rating: [4 out of 5 stars!]

"My one on one session with Lee was very good. The worksheets are ok, the overall philosophy of the program seems good."

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