Health anxiety is persistent fear of having or developing a serious illness that begins to dominate daily life. The person may focus intensely on normal body sensations or minor symptoms, even after appropriate medical reassurance. The distress is genuine and is not deliberate.
Common signs
- repeatedly checking the body for lumps, pain or other changes
- frequently seeking reassurance from clinicians, family or friends
- worrying that tests or professionals have missed something
- searching health information for long periods
- avoiding medical information, appointments, exercise or other activities because of fear
- feeling briefly reassured, followed by renewed doubt
Anxiety can itself cause physical symptoms such as palpitations, muscle tension, dizziness, nausea and headaches, which may then reinforce the worry.
Assessment
A clinician should take new or changing physical symptoms seriously and assess them appropriately. Health anxiety is considered when the pattern of worry, checking, avoidance and reassurance-seeking is persistent and disproportionate, and affects functioning. It can occur alongside depression, panic disorder or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Treatment
Cognitive behavioural therapy adapted for health anxiety is an effective treatment. It helps identify feared interpretations, reduce repeated checking and reassurance, and gradually return to avoided activities. Guided self-help or digitally supported CBT may be suitable for some people. Medicine used for anxiety or depression may also be considered.
Steps that may help
- Record how often you check, search or ask for reassurance.
- Reduce these behaviours gradually rather than trying to stop everything at once.
- Write a balanced alternative explanation for feared symptoms.
- Return gradually to normal activities that have been avoided.
- Use one agreed clinician or care plan when possible to reduce repeated investigations.
The aim is not to ignore health changes. It is to respond proportionately while breaking the cycle that keeps anxiety active.
When to seek urgent help
Seek immediate help if you may harm yourself, cannot keep yourself safe or have severe confusion. New severe chest pain, sudden weakness, fainting, major breathing difficulty or another acute warning sign should receive urgent medical assessment and should not be dismissed as anxiety.
Sources
Reviewed: 28 August 2026