If there’s one thing that’s united the nation, it’s the pandemic. Covid has taught us to prioritise our wellbeing and be alert to signs of illness, while lockdowns have given us plenty of time to reflect on our health. In many ways this has been a good thing. Eating well, exercising regularly and practising good hygiene not only reduces our risk of disease, it also gives us energy and a sense of optimism. But what if you find yourself constantly worrying about every little cough and sniffle, every ache and pain? If concerns about your wellbeing are troubling you more than they should be, you could be suffering from health anxiety.
Signs and symptoms
Of course, it’s important that we look after our health, but how can we tell the difference between taking personal responsibility for our wellbeing and over-worrying about potential future illness? “A big marker of health anxiety is the degree of mental preoccupation you have over your health in the absence of having substantial symptoms or a diagnosis,” explains health psychologist Dr Sula Windgassen (healthpsychologist.co.uk ). Perhaps you frequently check your body for signs of illness or worry that you might develop a condition that runs in your family. Health anxiety can also show in the way you respond to GP appointments – while some people want constant reassurance from medical professionals, others doubt the accuracy of negative test results, or even avoid the GP altogether in case they receive a positive diagnosis confirming their fears. “Another tell-tale sign of health anxiety is if the focus of health concern jumps around or has jumped around in the past,” says Dr Windgassen. “For example, at one time you may have worried you had skin cancer due to a mole and now you are worried about having multiple sclerosis because you’ve felt faint and dizzy a few times.”
Where’s your focus?
Health anxiety has a huge effect on our sense of wellbeing. We may feel unable to concentrate on anything else and it can be hard to focus, according to Dr Windgassen. A further difficulty arises because, while we’re doing our best to manage our fears and anxiety, sometimes our efforts can be counterproductive. For example, we may seek reassurance from friends, the internet or even healthcare professionals, but this can fuel the anxiety. “What it ends up doing is heightening focus on our health,” she explains. Unfortunately, worrying about your health can also make you feel physically unwell, thereby giving you further symptoms to feel anxious about. “In the short term, anxiety increases your breathing and heart rate, concentrating blood flow to your brain, where you need it. However, if it gets too intense, you might start to feel lightheaded and nauseous,” cautions women’s health expert Dr Catherine Hood, from Dragonfly CBD (dragonflycbd.com ).
Take control
Fortunately there’s plenty you can do to help yourself. Finding activities and techniques that calm and relax you are an important part of coping with any form of anxiety so make time to build them into your day. “Understanding what soothes you is the first step. It might be a simple activity such as doing something creative, having a bath or reading a book,” says Dr Hood. You might also like to try yoga (especially calming styles such as yin or restorative) along with meditation, which has been shown to improve signs of anxiety such as high blood pressure. You could also try natural anxiety remedies. Research in the journal Neurotherapeutics found CBD at doses between 300-600mg helps with anxiety disorders (try Narrow Spectrum Dragonfly CBD Oil 500mg, £29.50, dragonflycbd.com ), while certain essential oils help balance your nervous system, as Professor James Goodwin, director of science and research impact at Brain Health Network (brain.health), explains: “The active constituent in lavender oil, linalool, may be an effective treatment for several neurological disorders, with the evidence showing anxiolytic [anxiety-reducing] and moodstabilising properties. This can help to counter low and medium anxiety.”
If you’d prefer to work in a more structured way, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective approaches for any form of anxiety, including health-related anxiety, believes Dr Hood. “When someone has health anxiety, they give their thoughts a lot of meaning and, therefore, a lot of power. If we challenge and change our thoughts or behaviour with CBT it can influence how we feel.” You can ask your GP to arrange CBT sessions or refer yourself to the psychological therapies service (IAPT) via the NHS website (nhs.uk). Alternatively, self-help book Overcoming Health Anxiety by David Veale and Rob Willson (£10.99, anxietyuk.org ) has a step-by-step CBT approach to help you develop effective ways to ease your situation.
Know your body
Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if you have something that will pass of its own accord, or whether you need to seek help, but there are some symptoms you should never ignore, according to women’s health expert Dr Hood. These include: unexplained weight loss; abnormal bleeding; lumps, bumps and swelling, and severe tummy pain. For any sudden onset of pain or discomfort in your chest or difficulty breathing call 999 immediately
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