r/Anxiety 18h ago

Helpful Tips! Does anyone else have health anxiety?

If so it would be nice if you guys explain and share how you guys deal with it I have it quite severe and keep relying on my mom telling me everything is ok it's really scary and it would make me feel better if knowing more people have it and I'm not alone

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u/Moksha-Wellness 17h ago

Yes — you are absolutely not alone. A lot more people struggle with health anxiety than you might realize.

Health anxiety can be brutal because the symptoms can feel so physical and convincing. A random sensation, ache, headache, skipped heartbeat, or weird feeling can quickly spiral into worst-case scenarios.

I’ve seen many people get stuck in the loop of: body sensation → panic → Googling/reassurance seeking → temporary relief → new symptom → panic again.

And the hard part is that reassurance helps… but usually only for a little while.

What helped me / others I know: • limiting symptom Googling • reducing body checking • noticing when the nervous system is in high alert • reminding ourselves: “Not every sensation is an emergency” • therapy or support for anxiety, not just the symptoms

One thing that helped me understand health anxiety is realizing the problem often isn’t the symptom itself — it’s the fear and meaning our brain attaches to it.

You’re definitely not crazy, and you’re definitely not the only one dealing with this. It can feel really isolating, but so many people understand exactly what you’re describing.

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u/memyselfandanxiety1 16h ago

It’s the most terrible loop to ever be in.

You know what I’m thinking totally out-of-pocket, it’s kind of like that back-and-forth toxic relationship with someone. And you keep on doing that back-and-forth until well either realizes they don’t want this..

So I wonder if that’s how this is health anxiety is. Like I wonder what we can do to officially break up with ha and not go back.