Knowra Health anxiety Health anxiety Health anxiety is persistent worry about having or developing a serious illness, often despite limited medical evidence. It can involve distressing bodily monitoring, repeated reassurance seeking, and difficulty accepting medical reassurance.
Cognitive behavioral therapy : A structured psychotherapy that changes unhelpful patterns of thinking and behavior. It targets catastrophic interpretations and checking behaviors that maintain health anxiety.
Illness anxiety disorder : A mental disorder marked by preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness, with absent or mild somatic symptoms. It is a diagnostic category closely associated with persistent health fears.
Cognitive behavioral therapy for health anxiety : A form of cognitive behavioral therapy tailored to fears about illness and bodily sensations. It directly addresses illness interpretations, checking, avoidance, and reassurance seeking.
Healthcare utilization : The use of healthcare services, including consultations, tests, and treatments. Health anxiety can lead to frequent consultations or repeated investigations.
Interoception : The sensing and interpretation of signals arising from within the body. Heightened attention to internal sensations can make ordinary bodily changes feel threatening.
Somatic symptom disorder : A disorder involving distressing physical symptoms and excessive thoughts, feelings, or behaviors related to them. It differs from illness anxiety disorder in the prominence of physical symptoms.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor : A class of medicines that increases serotonin signaling by inhibiting its reuptake. These medicines may be considered when health anxiety is severe or occurs with other anxiety disorders.
Avoidance coping : Attempts to reduce distress by avoiding feared situations, thoughts, or information. Some people avoid appointments or health information because these cues intensify fear.
Reassurance seeking : Repeatedly seeking confirmation that feared outcomes are absent or unlikely. Medical reassurance may briefly reduce fear but leave the underlying doubt intact.
Generalized anxiety disorder : A disorder involving excessive, difficult-to-control worry across multiple areas of life. Its worries span many domains, unlike health anxiety's focus on illness.
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