Health Anxiety

What do we know about health anxiety?

Health Anxiety is one of many manifestations of anxiety which causes increased focus on physical sensations and symptoms, and leads to fears of possible serious illness or disease.

Health Anxiety can occur with or without a pre-existing illness or condition, but causes increasing distress in and of itself.

Health Anxiety can also be triggered by other mood conditions, including childhood separation anxiety, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, OCD, Panic Disorder, or trauma resulting in PTSD, and forms of depression as well.

Some personality types may be more prone to anxiety about their health, if they tend towards worrying in general.  Other times a tolerable baseline amount of worry can be increased by life stressors, whether health related or not.

Health Anxiety can result in over focus on health, seeking diagnoses and treatment, by researching online or making multiple medical appointments.  Or the reverse can happen, resulting in medical avoidance.

What are the treatments for Health Anxiety?

Exposure Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

• learn what seems to make the symptoms worse
• develop methods of coping with the symptoms
• keep yourself more active, even if you still have symptoms"

PTSD Treatment (if Comorbid) "If you have PTSD, it might feel like you’ll never get your life back. But treatment is available -- certain kinds of psychotherapy and medications can work very well. PTSD therapy has three main goals: to improve your symptoms, teach you coping skills, and bring back your self-esteem. Most PTSD therapies fall under the umbrella of cognitive behavioral therapy. That involves trying to change the thought patterns that are disturbing your life. This might happen through talking about your trauma or concentrating on where your fears come from." http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-are-treatments-for-posttraumatic-stress-disorder#1 Trauma 101 Recommended Treatment Modalities https://trauma101.com/?pID=26

Trauma: Dissociative Experiences Scale Traumatic Stress Inventory EFT Tapping Technique EFT on Dr. Mercola Considering EMDR EMDR and Children EMDR list of Negative and Positive Cognitions RESOURCE RECORDING: The Container RESOURCE RECORDING: Comfortable Place RESOURCE RECORDING: Nurturing Figure Resourcing "Tapping In" Trauma & PTSD Trauma Timeline Worksheet Timeline Therapy (create Timeline) How to create a Timeline

Anti-depressant Medication

"Antidepressants may be helpful if you have a mental health condition such as depression. For some people, these may work better than CBT. Your GP can directly prescribe antidepressants or refer you to a mental health specialist for treatment."

• Psychotropic Medications
• Antidepressants that are not Antidepressants
• Read more about medication for OCD here
• Medical Rule Outs, 
• Mental Health and Supplements
• Medical Causes of Mental Health

Worried Sick?

"The therapy program for health anxiety instituted at the White Plains Anxiety and Phobia Center revolves about six principles. The patients are instructed:

 1. A. Learn the truth about yourself—the particular physical symptoms you characteristically develop, over and over again, in the face of stress. For example, fatigue, back pain, panic attacks, palpitations, etc. These accustomed complaints are not likely to reflect some new physical disorder.

 B. You need to learn about the illnesses you fear. Knowing a little is scary. Knowing a lot is reassuring.

 2. Confront your fears. Thinking the unthinkable diminishes fear. (This is an allusion to the “Nightmare Fantasy” in which patients are asked to imagine, in detail, the worst case scenario of their fears. It is possible to desensitize to a fear of illness and death by fantasizing.)

 3. Avoid checking and the search for empty reassurance. (Patients are not allowed to ask the same question twice.)

 4. Think of the odds against being desperately ill rather than the stakes. (“Wouldn’t it be awful if I died suddenly from a ruptured aneurysm?” “Yes, but what are the chances of that happening?”)

 5. Do not seek absolute certainty or safety.

 6. Live in a healthy way. (Including principles of eating properly and exercising.) These summarize to certain “dos” and “don’ts”

Things to do  Research diseases.  Construct and dwell on the Nightmare (at the prescribed time)   Exercise.

Things to avoid doing  Do not examine yourself.  Do not ask M.D. s for reassurance   Do not ask your doctor to do tests or prescribe drugs he does not think to do on his own initiative."

Cognitive Distortions Characteristic of Patients with Excessive Worry

Intolerance for uncertainty:
	“If I think about this enough, I should feel a sense of certainty.”
Intolerance for discomfort:
	“If I can just think this through, I won’t have to feel this way.”
Inflated sense of culpability:
	“If bad things happen, it is my fault.”
Distorted risk assessments/emotional reasoning:
	“If it feels likely, it is likely. If it feels dangerous, it is dangerous.”
Perfectionism about mistakes:
	“Mistakes mean I screwed up because I was not in control.”
Pessimism/presumed incapability:
	“Bad things will happen to me and I will not be able to deal with it.”
Misconstrued virtue:
	“Worry shows how deeply I care about my children.”
Overvaluation of the thought process:
	“Because I have a thought, it is important and I must give it my full attention.”
Implicit magical beliefs about worry:
	“Worry prevents bad things from happening. It keeps me from being blindsided. It keeps loved ones safer.”
Worry about worrying too much:
	“I am out of control. I am making myself sick. I have got to stop worrying.”

http://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/0315/p1049.html

HOOD RIVER DBT - EMOTIONAL EMPOWERMENT

MONDAYS 4-5:30PM @ TURTLE DOVE COUNSELING
http://www.hoodriverdbt.com/2011/01/dbt-calendar_17.html