245 5th Ave #311, New York, NY 10016
80 Park St., Montclair, New Jersey 07042
312.600.3775
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For New York, New Jersey, and 40 PsyPact state residents
Does any sign of physical duress make you panic?
Takeaway: It's Friday afternoon. You're about to close your laptop and get ready for the weekend when you notice a lump on your neck. You think: "Well that wasn't there yesterday"...before frantically reopening your laptop to search for what this mysterious bump could be. You try to keep calm, but all that goes out the window when our friend WebMD tells us that the bump is likely cancerous and there's a good chance we won't fare well. So much for a weekend filled with fun.
While your friends and family might think you're being dramatic, a hypochondriac, or just exaggerating, you know the stress, upset, and rumination that comes with having health anxiety.
At Authentically Living Psychological Services, our clinicians specialize in generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and health anxiety. We have experience working with illness anxiety disorder and somatic symptom disorder, and we understand the fear associated with serious illness, serious disease, cancer, and many of the unknowns associated with such conditions.
If physical symptoms, even minor symptoms, send you into a tailspin read on to learn more about how our services can help you overcome health anxiety.
About Authentically Living Psychological Services
Health anxiety, which often is treated through traditional cognitive behavior therapy, can be understood as a manifestation of deeper existential concerns. At Authentically Living Psychological Services our health anxiety treatment is a blend of mindfulness, stress reduction exercises, and confrontation of existential fears that are often at the root of our angst.
Fear of Dying: For many who experience health anxiety or a health anxiety "disorder," it's often exacerbated due to fears of death, dying, insufferable pain, or the possible chronic implications of an actual illness. Our services address fears of mortality towards accepting our aging process and how to manage bodily changes, disease, and demise.
Fear of the Unknown: Like having a fear of dying, many who experience health anxiety disorder may fear the unknowns associated with a symptom or possible condition. As humans, we are comforted with predictability. When we notice something different about our bodies, there is a period of unknowing, lack of predictability, and instability, igniting nervousness and a stream of questioning. Our services address how to sit with the discomfort of the unknowns and learn how to be still and more at peace with such life circumstances.
Desire for Control: Health anxiety can also be sparked by our innate human desire for control. We may seek and search for answers to our observed symptoms to feel more in control of our ever-changing bodies. Our services address when and how to relinquish control.
Avoiding Responsibilities: Focusing on a particular symptom or change in bodily functioning may be a way of avoiding responsibility. We can easily get wrapped up in scrolling the internet for the best treatment protocol for the toe fungus we think we have, instead of focusing on alternative life goals, major decisions, and our creation of meaning. Our therapy focuses on addressing our distractions and what it is we are distracting ourselves from, in an effort to face those worries and be an active participant in our own lives.
Who our health anxiety therapy services are for
Health anxiety therapy can be helpful for those who experience excessive and persistent worry about the state of their health, who, despite reassurance from medical professionals, continue to fear they are at health risks or will develop a serious illness. If you find yourself in any of the categories below, you may benefit from our health anxiety treatment.
1
You're already diagnosed with a health anxiety disorder.
If you already hold a health anxiety disorder, such as hypochondriasis, you may experience a chronic pattern of worrying about your health.
2
You experience high levels
of health-related anxiety
and distress.
Regardless of being formally diagnosed, experiencing stress related to health and wellness can become fatiguing and consuming.
3
You're diagnosed with a chronic illness or chronic pain.
Those who have illness or chronic conditions may develop anxiety around their health, due to fear of getting worse or developing complications.
5
You have a history of trauma.
If you've been in a near-death experience, observed a loved one pass, or taken care of someone with a serious illness, the trauma associated with these experiences may lead to health-related anxiety.
6
You are highly sensitive to bodily sensations.
As someone who is overly aware and sensitive to bodily sensations and changes, we may misinterpret a normal functioning as a sign of a serious illness, increasing health related anxieties.
4
You have a history of other anxiety disorders or mood disorders.
For those who have baseline levels of anxiety or depression, you may be more susceptible to additional anxieties, such as that involving your health.
7
You regularly schedule wellness visits.
If you find yourself looking for regular reassurance, requesting unnecessary medical tests, or spend significant time researching the latest medical procedures, this may be a sign you are struggling with health anxiety.
8
You're feeling stuck in life
If you're life is feeling meaningless, unsatisfying, and lonely, it is common for you to occupy your energy in your health. While this may seem positive, it is a form of avoidance.
9
You have fears of dying and future unknowns.
For those who struggle to accept that time is passing, we are aging, and there is a lot about the future that is unknown to us, it's common for us to be preoccupied with the state of our health, in efforts to avoid these inevitable experiences.
10
You have a hard time focusing and relying on distractions.
When tasked with other responsibilities in life, it can feel overwhelming. In efforts to protect ourselves from having to make decisions, focus on the present moment, and be the author of our life, we may rely on health as a means of distraction.
Overall, health anxiety can be helpful for anyone who experiences distress related to their health, those who are sensitive to bodily sensations and changes, those who struggle to accept aging and illness, as well as those who experience existential fears.
Understanding the process of health anxiety treatment
Learn how to feel more grounded and secure with health anxiety therapy.
At Authentically Living Psychological Services our therapists understand the weight of anxious thoughts and rumination, as well as the difficulties that come with accepting aging and illness, forming genuine relationships, and creating a life that is meaningful. Our services focus on grounding, understanding, building confidence, and letting go of worry. If you frequently visit the doctor, are afraid of falling ill, panic at any signs of illness, feel anxious about death and future unknowns, are constantly checking your blood pressure and other major vital signs, are easily alarmed by normal bodily sensations, have so much distress and worry excessively about your health status and whether you might have a serious medical condition then we encourage you to reach out today.