Just the Facts: Health Anxiety

Health anxiety is when you spend a lot of time worrying about your health, even when there’s no clear reason to.

You might be worried about being ill, developing a serious condition or not being taken seriously if something is wrong. These worries can become overwhelming and affect your daily life.

It’s normal to worry about your health sometimes but when these worries happen all the time and stop you from doing the things you enjoy, it might be health anxiety.

Health anxiety is a treatable form of anxiety that many people experience.

Health anxiety can sometimes be linked to conditions like Generalised Anxiety or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

What Causes Health Anxiety?

There isn’t one single cause. A few things might make someone more likely to experience health anxiety:

• Going through a lot of stress, anxiety or low mood
• Experiencing illness yourself or seeing someone close to you become unwell (especially in childhood) – if you have a consultant, doctor or nurse that you see because of a health condition, please discuss this with them.
• Having a family history of anxiety or health worries
• Being exposed to a lot of health-related news or information (especially on social media)
• If you’re neurodivergent (e.g. autistic or have ADHD), you might experience worry in a different or more intense way

What Are the Signs of Health Anxiety?

Signs can vary, but might include:

• Constantly worrying that something is wrong with you – even if you feel fine.
• Checking your body for signs of illness (like lumps, rashes, or pain)
• Thinking normal body sensations (like a tummy gurgle or headache) mean something serious.
• Spending a lot of time looking up symptoms online
• Not believing doctors when they say you’re okay.
• Asking friends or family if you look unwell.
• Avoiding activities like sport because you’re worried you’re not well enough.
• Going to the GP or hospital frequently or avoiding it completely because you’re scared they’ll miss something.

These signs often begin in the teenage years or early adulthood.

How Does Health Anxiety Feel Physically?

Anxiety can create physical symptoms like:

• A racing heart.
• Fast, shallow breathing
• Feeling dizzy or sick
• Tense muscles
• Sweating
• Feeling tired or switched off
• Avoiding joining activities you would ordinarily enjoy, in case it triggers your symptoms

These symptoms are common in anxiety but can be mistaken for signs of illness, which can make the health worry worse.

How is Health Anxiety Treated?

There are things you can try to manage health anxiety:

• Distract yourself with an activity that takes up your attention—like drawing, talking to a friend, or going for a walk.
• Avoid searching symptoms online—try reading a book or listening to music instead.
• Use mindfulness or breathing techniques to calm your body and mind.

If things still feel difficult, speak to your GP. They might:

• Offer a referral to Talking Therapy which can help you manage thoughts and behaviours and explore and understand reasons behind your experiences.
• Talk to you (and your parent/carer) about medication to help reduce anxiety.
• Refer you to my Self Referral if you need more specialist support.

How to get help with health anxiety

If you think you might have health anxiety, that’s okay. It’s not your fault and you deserve support. You can:

• Talk to a parent, carer, teacher, or school counsellor.
• See your GP (family doctor) to talk about how you’re feeling.
• Ask your school nurse or mental health lead for help.
• CAMHS might be involved if your health anxiety is affecting school, relationships or your mood.

If you ever feel overwhelmed or unsafe, tell someone you trust. In an emergency, call 999 or go to your nearest hospital.

How to get help

If you have any more questions on this area or would like to speak to somebody about this topic, search for your local services in the blue box below. Alternatively you can always contact your school nurse.

• w: Anxiety UK
  
• w: Royal College of Psychiatrists - Anxiety for young people
  
• w: Psychology Tools