In Kerala , we have an advanced health care system and deep seated culture of looking out for health. Knowing the difference between Health anxiety disorder vs Real Illness is critical. The readily available information on internet even though beneficial can cause a cycle of worry where normal bodily sensations like pulse, heartbeat etc. are misinterpreted as symptoms of severe illness.
Real illness is characterized by specific symptoms and can be verified with appropriate medical tests.
In this blog we make you understand the difference between Health anxiety vs real illness, the symptoms and overcoming health anxiety and the health anxiety treatment in Kerala.
What is Health Anxiety?
Health anxiety disorder or Hypochondria or Illness Anxiety Disorder is the constant worry or fear that you have a serious medical condition or you are at risk of developing a life threatening disease like cancer, heart attack etc.
Symptoms of Health Anxiety
Symptoms of health anxiety includes:
- Constantly worrying or preoccupied with having or acquiring a serious illness.
- Frequently checking the body for signs of illness like pain,numbness,abnormal heartbeat.
- Always asking people for reassurance that you’re not ill.
- Excessive doctor visits ,doing medical tests and taking too much medicine .
- Avoiding medical checkups and medications for fear of being diagnosed seriously ill.
- Obsessively checking online for health information on the internet and social media.
- Not going out and meeting with people for fear of health risks.
How Health Anxiety Differs from Real Illness
| Features | Health Anxiety | Real Illness |
| Symptoms & Duration | Intermittent and vague | Persistent, specific and progressive |
| Excessive worry & behavior | Excessive worry is a primary feature and disproportionate to actual signs. | Worry is a secondary feature, managing actual symptoms is the focus. |
| Emotional vs physical impact | Predominantly emotional toll – main source of suffering, stress ,fear | Predominantly physical impact e.g. severe fatigue |
| How the body responds | No clear medical evidence of physical symptoms | Medical evaluation finds evidence of particular illness |
The Psychology Behind Health Anxiety
The Role of Fear and Worry
In people with Health Anxiety, the psychological process begins with a trigger – internal : a minor ambiguous or normal bodily sensation like a stomach ache or rash. It can also be external , like while using social media,or someone in family or friend getting diagnosed with an illness. Since they also have heightened selective attention to their bodies , they also constantly monitor themselves, detecting symptoms that others ignore.
Cognitive Distortions in Health Anxiety
This anxiety leads to misinterpretation and overestimation of the symptom as a serious illness.
Safety Seeking Behavior: Here someone with health anxiety frequently visits the hospitals, do a number of tests , seek assurance from different doctors even though all the results are negative for chronic illness.
Avoidance : Sometimes they will avoid going to hospitals, seeing sick people as they remind them about diseases.
Impact of Social Media and Self diagnosis
Social media platforms and health apps ,nowadays contribute a significant part in health anxiety, as people tend to self diagnose themselves based on the interpretations of the influencers without seeking professional help.
How to Differentiate between Health Anxiety and Real Illness
Recognizing Signs of Real Illness
Real illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus have symptoms like excessive thirst, hunger ,frequent urination ,fatigue.These definite symptoms slowly develop and persist for a longer duration. There is always a key symptom in real illness.
Role of Medical Professionals
In case of Real Illness when new or persistence of symptoms occur like weakness of one side, slurred speech, difficulty speaking immediate attention is needed.
While in Health Anxiety, the severe anxiety disrupts your daily life, causing relationship issues, hindrance in work you should seek help. Also when it is causing long lasting worry, avoidance of activities, hospital visits or social gatherings .Similarly when you go doctor shopping or seeking continuous reassurance.
Treatment Options for Health Anxiety
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Treatment of Health Anxiety mainly includes Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), its key role is to break the vicious cycle of catastrophic thinking and maladaptive behavior like (avoidance or excessive checking of symptoms, doctor shopping etc.).
- It includes psychoeducation to help understand how your body works and how the anxiety cycle functions.
- It gives a new way of thinking to the patients and moves their thoughts away from bodily sensations and worries.
Medication Options
SSRI (Selective Serotonin Uptake Inhibitors ) is the first line of medication in many anxiety disorders. They may boost the amount of serotonin available to the brain and turn down the anxious thoughts.
How to manage Health Anxiety
You can overcome health anxiety by changing the lifestyle :
- Eat healthy – whole grains, leafy vegetables
- Practice yoga and meditation
- Do regular exercises
- Stay hydrated and limit caffeine intake.
- Sleep at regular time and limit screentime.
Use of techniques like mindfulness ,relaxation exercises can be given to reduce stress and bring down anxiety.
When to Seek Professional Help
Recognizing Red Flag in Health Anxiety
When Health Anxiety becomes severe enough like having constant worry
- Disrupting your daily activities
- Going to hospitals and doing tests even with reassurance from doctors.
- Searching continuously about a symptom and getting anxious.
- Also co-occur with other mental health conditions like depression, panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorders(OCD).
- In severe cases, it can lead to suicide related thoughts.
It’s better to never overlook these red flags and give medical attention .
Types of Professionals to Consult
You can consult a psychologist who provides psychotherapy, CBT etc.. If you require medication along with counseling, psychiatrists can prescribe medicine. Also a counselor or therapist who can provide talk therapy, methods for relaxation.
How MindcareDoc Supports Patients with Health Anxiety in Kerala
Here in MindcareDoc we provide tailored services for Kerala residents dealing with Health Anxiety.
Online Consultation for Convenience
We also provide online consultation allowing patients from different parts of the country and patients from abroad to have access to effective treatment. You can reach out to us and book your appointment with our expert doctors.
Personalized Treatment Plans
We apply techniques such as CBT, NLP, Hypnotherapy, Deep Relaxation techniques and also with our ayurvedic medications and treatments like abhyanga , virechana, sirodhara etc we bring a holistic approach in treating Health anxiety and other mental problems.
Seek Help, Don’t Suffer in Silence
The Importance of Addressing Health Anxiety Early
- Health anxiety is treatable and that getting help sooner leads to better outcomes. It improves one’s quality of life and overall well being.
- Early treatment prevents complications like depression, substance abuse, panic attacks.
- Treatment of health anxiety manages your anxiety about bodily symptoms.
- Health anxiety therapy prevents the extra financial burden of visiting hospitals, and improves social life.
Conclusion
If you or someone you know is struggling with health anxiety, reach out to MindcareDoc’s experienced professionals in Kerala for a comprehensive evaluation and personalized treatment plan.”
Our clinic incorporates psychotherapy and the wisdom of ayurveda to provide essential care. Reach out to us on our branches at Kochi, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala(in-person) or visit our website for appointment or WhatsApp( online in English/Malayalam)
Frequently Asked Questions
Health anxiety is marked by excessive and persistent worry about having or developing a serious, life-threatening illness, also performing unreasonable health behavior like screening the body for disease over and over.
Real illnesses have definite symptoms ,and are verified with particular tests.
Health anxiety disorder, the symptoms itself are caused by worry over having a serious illness, it may be mild or fluctuating which cannot be verified by medical tests.
Yes. We can treat health anxiety with psychotherapy like CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy), relaxation techniques.
No, medication is not necessary. CBT is the first line of treatment. When health anxiety is accompanied with depression ,anti- depressants are prescribed.
Yes. Surely you can receive online treatment for health anxiety from anywhere in India or abroad. In our clinic we provide both in person sessions and online counselling treatment for health anxiety.
