Health anxiety

At one in the morning, Mehedi, a marketing head at a telecom company, is reading about brain tumours again. The headache started after a long day of meetings. Last month it was his heart; the month before, a mole on his arm. Three specialists, two scans, all clear. Each time he felt relief for a day.

An illustration drawn from common experience. The person is invented; the pattern is not.

Understanding health anxiety

Health anxiety, called hypochondriasis in ICD-11, is a persistent fear of having or developing a serious illness, despite medical reassurance. Ordinary sensations, such as a headache, a skipped heartbeat or a twinge, are read as signs of disease. Checking the body, searching online and seeking tests bring brief relief, and then the worry returns, often stronger. ICD-11 groups it with OCD and related disorders.

Signs and symptoms of health anxiety

• Worry about a serious illness that returns soon after normal results
• Checking your body many times a day
• Hours spent searching symptoms online
• Either repeated medical visits, or avoiding doctors entirely out of fear

Treatment for health anxiety

Good care starts with one doctor who takes the symptoms seriously and coordinates tests, so that investigations are done when needed and not just for reassurance. Cognitive behavioural therapy has good evidence for health anxiety: a 2019 review of 19 trials found about two in three people responded to it, and the gains largely lasted 12 to 18 months. It helps people reduce checking and searching and live with uncertainty. Medication can help where anxiety or depression is severe.

What getting better can look like

Mehedi’s sign might be a headache after a long meeting that stays just a headache, and a night’s sleep with the phone in another room.

Common questions about health anxiety

Why do I keep thinking I have a serious disease even after normal tests?

This may be health anxiety, called hypochondriasis in ICD-11: a persistent fear of having a serious illness despite medical reassurance. Ordinary sensations are read as signs of disease, and checking or testing brings only brief relief. It is a recognised condition, and it responds to treatment.

Does googling symptoms make health anxiety worse?

Searching symptoms online usually brings brief relief, and then the worry returns, often stronger. Cognitive behavioural therapy helps people cut down checking and searching; in a 2019 review of 19 trials, about two in three people responded to it. New or changing symptoms should still be checked by a doctor.

When to see a psychiatrist

If fear of illness is taking hours of your day, a consultation can help. New or changing symptoms should always be checked by a doctor.

Care here is personal: built around your history, your health and what you want to change, and reviewed with you as it goes.

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.

Sources

• Axelsson and Hedman-Lagerlöf, Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2019