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Self help guide for Health Anxiety, using effective CBT strategies. Make sense of the problem, then learn how to make positive changes
Health Anxiety can make us worry about and have an obsessive preoccupation with being seriously ill.

If someone believes they have a serious illness, such as cancer or a brain tumour, then any innocent or normal physical sensation can be seen as a symptom of that serious illness, and serves to confirm that they 'MUST' be seriously ill.

This is turn, causes them to check for other symptoms, read up and find out more about the illness, focus their attention on their body sensations, and continually scan their body for sensations or more symptoms.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy focuses on challenging the unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, and gradually changing our behaviours (the checking, reassurance seeking, avoidance etc). We therefore discover that it is anxiety and worry about our health that makes us feel the way we do, rather than having a serious illness.

Example of a vicious cycle of Health Anxiety

Self Help for Health Anxiety - video

Self Help For Health Anxiety

To break the vicious cycle of health anxiety, we need to action each "cog" of the Health Anxiety machinery, by changing the way we think, and changing what we do.

Complete thisRead theRead about how

- practise this effective and simple skill at least twice daily. THINKING DIFFERENTLY: Focus of attention Learn about how a Health Anxiety focus of attention works by learning more about theWhen we focus on one particular part of our body for a while, we start to notice different sensations. Try thinking about a part of your foot or throat (swallow) right now, and really focus on noticing any feelings there. What do you notice? You are probably noticing sensations that you hadn't noticed before. That is what happens with our focus of attention in health anxiety. The more we think about a part of our body, the more we notice - which then triggers worrying thoughts about our health.

We can learn to notice where our focus of attention is, and learn to take more control with attention exercises or learningMindful Breathing

You could include a set time of doing a mundane activity with your full attention, initially for 3 minutes twice a day, then gradually increase. For example, when doing the washing up, you can practise using your senses to shift your focus and notice:

the temperature of the water and how it feels on your skin

the texture of the bubbles

the sound of the bubbles as they softly pop continuously

the sound of the water as you move the crockery about

the smoothness of the crockery

the texture of the sponge

the smell of the washing liquid etc.

The more we practice, perhaps the more, initially at least, we will notice those thoughts intruding, and that's ok. The only aim of mindful activity is to continually bring our attention back to the activity, noticing those sensations, from outside and within us.

THINKING DIFFERENTLY:Challenging the worrying thoughts

Thoughts are not facts, they are just thoughts and we don't have to believe everything we think! The problem is not that we are seriously ill, the problem is that we THINK we are seriously ill. That's a big difference! So if we are not seriously ill, but just think we are, then constantly worrying and thinking about our health isn't going to be helpful at all - but it will have an adverse affect on us. Thinking we're ill when we're not, is making us more ill.

Do you know for certain that you have this serious illness?

Do you want to spend the rest of your life worrying about illness, or do you want to get on with your life?

We can look for evidence - facts - that tell us we are not seriously ill, so that when the thoughts about being ill come back, we can be better prepared and challenge them. The more we challenge them, the weaker and less powerful the thoughts become.Learn to challenge the distorted thinking by using theYou might alsoPostpone your worry or set Worry Free Time

You might notice an immediate reduction in your anxiety, but it can sometimes take a few weeks before you start to notice a difference - after all, you've been thinking this way for a long time, and it can take a while to change a long-term habit. Stick with it!

Learn and use !

Doing Differently

- When we worry about our health, we notice that part of our body, and we check it - by looking, by feeling, or by thinking about it. We do this lots of times, but all it does is keep us thinking about it, and increase our worrying thoughts, and therefore our anxiety - which stimulates adrenaline, which will make us feel worse. - You can use the same reducing approach to looking up information (internet, books etc) about the health problem. In seeking more information, you will worry more and feel more anxious, so we need to reduce it in the same way as we reduce the checking behaviour. - we might repeatedly ask our family and friends, or visit our doctor often, in order to hear the words "everything is ok - there's nothing wrong". This seems helpful....for a short while...until the worrying thoughts come back again, then we start all over again. So the reassurance seeking helps to keep the anxiety going, in the long term.
Checking

So we need to reduce the checking. You can aim to do this over a period of several days. Write down how many times you check your body every day, and reduce it every day - and then you will start to notice that you worry less. You might agree to check just once a day - thereafter tell yourself that you have checked already and don't need to check again (because it's extremely unlikely to have changed in that short period).

Information seeking

Aim to reduce visiting your doctor or asking others for reassurance. If you usually ask your partner 30 times a day, then aim to reduce over the period of a few days, as much as you can. You might write down the number of times you ask, because writing it down helps us notice, and also helps us think twice about doing it! You can also notice your success at reducing the reassurance over time.Avoidance Reassurance seeking

Whilst your doctor can do tests and tell you that you don't have a particular illness, we have to accept that, we can never be certain that you will never have that or another serious illness. The chance is a lot smaller than we imagine, and perhaps there are things we can do to reduce the risk.

Is there anything I can do that will help me feel healthier? (e.g. stop smoking, change my diet, exercise more) If so, then do it!

Of course, there are still going to be times when you should visit your doctor. You could discuss this with your doctor and agree what is appropriate. Generally, over-the-counter medications suggest visiting your GP if your symptoms are still there after a week. You might agree to extend this to two weeks. However, you must seek medical attention if you have a high temperature, severe pain or your physical condition worsens.

UseSTOPP! skill to incorporate all these strategies

STOP! - just pause for a moment

Take a breath - one slow deep breath

- there's that health worry again. My body and mind is reacting to that body sensation and I feel anxious. Observe Notice the super scanner

- this is just the health anxiety - my thoughts are reacting to the Pull back super scanner. Don't believe everything you think! Let's stick with the facts - these thoughts are just opinions (Fact or Opinion). I don't have to react right now. There's another explanation for this...(normal body sensation etc). What's the bigger picture?

Practise / Proceed - What can I do right now? I don't need to check or seek reassurance. I can use these strategies:

MASTER ALARMING ADRENALINE mp3
(Panic & Health Anxiety version)

Female voice, with music.

26 mins 2.50

More Self Help MP3s

MASTER ALARMING ADRENALINE mp3
(Panic & Health Anxiety)

Male voice, with music.

33 mins 50s 2.50

THE MIND BULLY mp3
(for dealing with intrusive / distressing thoughts)

Female voice, with music.

25 mins 30 2.50

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Health Anxiety Self Help | Get.gg - Getselfhelp.co.uk

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Self help guide for Health Anxiety, using effective CBT strategies. Make sense of the problem, then learn how to make positive changes Health Anxiety can make us worry about and have an obsessive preoccupation with being seriously ill.

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Browse our resources for working with health anxiety, including our ‘Understanding Health Anxiety’ psychoeducation guide.

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Grief Resources for Kids, Parents, & Supporters | Dougy Center

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Dougy Center offers a wide range of resources for people of all ages who are grieving before and after a death. Find help you can access anytime here.

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The five stages of grief model was developed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, and became famous after she published her book On Death and Dying in 1969. Kübler-Ross developed her model to describe people with terminal illness facing their own death. But it was soon adapted as a way of thinking about grief in general.

Do the five stages happen in order?

The five stages - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance - are often talked about as if they happen in order, moving from one stage to the other. You might hear people say things like 'Oh I've moved on from denial and now I think I'm entering the angry stage'. But this isn't often the case.

In fact Kübler-Ross, in her writing, makes it clear that the stages are non-linear - people can experience these aspects of grief at different times and they do not happen in one particular order. You might not experience all of the stages, and you might find feelings are quite different with different bereavements.

What are the five stages of grief?

Denial

Feeling numb is common in the early days after a bereavement. Some people at first carry on as if nothing has happened. Even if we know with our heads that someone has died it can be hard to believe that someone important is not coming back. It's also very common to feel the presence of someone who has died, hear their voice or even see them.

Anger

Anger is a completely natural emotion, and very natural after someone dies. Death can seem cruel and unfair, especially when you feel someone has died before their time or you had plans for the future together. It's also common to feel angry towards the person who has died, or angry at ourselves for things we did or didn't do before their death.

Bargaining

When we are in pain, it's sometimes hard to accept that there's nothing we can do to change things. Bargaining is when we start to make deals with ourselves, or perhaps with God if we're religious. We want to believe that if we act in particular ways we will feel better. It's also common to find ourselves going over and over things that happened in the past and asking a lot of 'what if' questions, wishing we could go back and change things in the hope things could have turned out differently.

Depression

Sadness and longing are what we think of most often when we think about grief. This pain can be very intense and come in waves over many months or years. Life can feel like it no longer holds any meaning which can be very scary.

Acceptance

Grief comes in waves and it can feel like nothing will ever be right again. But gradually most people find that the pain eases, and it is possible to accept what has happened. We may never 'get over' the death of someone precious, but we can learn to live again, while keeping the memories of those we have lost close to us.

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What are the five stages of grief? And are they still a good way of understanding how we feel after a death?

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Speaking Grief | Understanding Grief: Childhood Bereavement Resources

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Childhood bereavement is one of society’s most overlooked, least understood, yet pervasive social issues

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Winstons wish is a charity for children and young adults up to the age of 25 ... book lists, advice for parents whos child is going through grief.

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Winston's Wish is the UK's childhood bereavement charity. We support children and their families after the death of someone important.

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Shock and Testing: Two More Twists on the Road to Grief Recovery? - GoodTherapy.org Therapy Blog

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Grief is often less linear than the stages of grief model portrays it to be. Where do shock and testing, new additions to the model, fit into the healing process?

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Muddles, Puddles and Sunshine offers practical and sensitive support for bereaved children. Beautifully illustrated, it suggests a helpful series of activities and exercises accompanied by the friendly characters of Bee and Bear. This book offers a structure and an outlet for the many difficult feelings which inevitabl

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Supporting bereaved children and young people

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Online training | 3 hours | Dates available