There are a few things to think about when dealing with health anxiety, check them out!
There’s not much worse than being ill, the stress on your body isn’t fun…let’s face it. But there is a possibility that you can cause yourself extra stress by spending too much time worrying about being ill, this can also be known as health anxiety.
According to Healthline, health anxiety is an obsessive and irrational worry about having a serious medical condition. It can also be an individual’s misinterpretation of minor or normal body sensations as serious disease symptoms despite reassurance by medical professionals that they don’t have an illness.
Anxiety is a totally natural response to what your body knows or thinks is a threat and living in a time that is so focussed on health and the avoidance of catching an illness, it’s natural to feel a bit more on edge than usual. In this article, we’ve compiled a few handy tips to help you cope with and combat health anxiety.
Like we’ve just said, coping with health anxiety during this current period may be that little bit harder. With health news covering headlines and our screens nearly every day, it might do you a world of good to take a break from reading about it. Whilst it’s obviously important to keep up with current affairs to a certain extent, your mental health should take priority over all else. You could do this by only letting yourself check news outlets once a day or a couple of times a week from trustworthy sources.
Sometimes, Google doesn’t know best. If you suffer from anxiety surrounding your health, typing your symptoms into the search engine is not productive and it’s guaranteed that your anxiety will convince you of the worst possible scenario. While you run the risk of misdiagnosing yourself, delaying getting real help and scaring yourself, you could also be basing it all on incorrect information. The quality and reliability of information online isn’t a guarantee, so make sure you check your sources.
Of course, if it feels serious, you can call 111 if you need information about a health issue and speak to a professional.
One of the most productive things to do when you’re feeling anxious is to simply sit with the feelings for a little bit. Acknowledging your emotions and realising what you’re feeling is one of the first and most effective steps to reducing the intensity of them. Once they are recognised, you can then take the next step to combat your anxious thoughts.
Amid an anxious state, it’s easy for us to convince ourselves that our thoughts are facts. It could be useful to find a method that works for you in order to combat these negative and anxious thoughts. While thinking rationally in this state may be hard, there are some ways you can begin to rationalise your stress-inducing thoughts.
To help combat negative thoughts, you could try writing down each thought you are having and then write a contradicting statement that simply rationalises the anxious thought. Ask yourself if there are any facts that prove your anxious thoughts and if feeling that way is making the situation any better. By doing this exercise, you gain some perspective, and you will hopefully slip out of your anxious state.
In times of uncertainty, unpredictability and stress, keeping a routine can allow for one form of stability. By taking control over your day, you not only improve your focus, but you can limit your distractions, giving your anxious thoughts less time to manifest. Stress can take form in many physical ways and by minimising stress, you could eliminate symptoms that could be causing you anxiety.
If there are any activities that your health anxiety has stopped you from doing, try and challenge yourself, it may be a great way to incorporate some healthy habits into your life, such as sports or socialising.
These are just a few ways you can cope with and challenge any feelings of health anxiety. If you feel like you need professional help, do not hesitate to find the help you need. Also, remember that being prepared, should the worst happen, is something that can not only help with your stress but also your loved ones. Looking for a life insurance policy to reduce your anxiety? Look no further!