What Is Health Anxiety?

Understanding excessive health worry and how your GP can help

What health anxiety means

Health anxiety refers to persistent and distressing worry about having or developing a serious illness. The concern is not simply being careful about health. It is the intensity and persistence of worry, despite reassurance or normal test results, that distinguishes health anxiety. The worry often focuses on bodily sensations, test results, or medical information and can dominate daily thinking.

How health anxiety can show up

Health anxiety varies between people. You might notice repeated checking of symptoms, frequent online searches about illness, difficulty feeling reassured after appointments, or ongoing fear that something has been missed. Some people avoid medical care out of fear, while others seek repeated reviews for reassurance. Both patterns can increase distress rather than reduce it.

Why reassurance does not always last

In health anxiety, reassurance often brings only short-term relief. The brain stays on high alert for threat and quickly finds new sensations or information to worry about. Normal bodily sensations—such as palpitations, headaches, bowel changes, or fatigue—can feel alarming and are easily interpreted as signs of serious disease, even when they are common or harmless.

Common triggers and maintaining factors

Health anxiety may follow illness, injury, bereavement, or a significant health scare in yourself or someone close to you. Ongoing stress, poor sleep, and frequent exposure to alarming health information—especially online—can intensify worry. Repeated checking, reassurance seeking, and avoidance of uncertainty can unintentionally keep the cycle going.

How health anxiety affects daily life

Over time, health anxiety can interfere with work, relationships, sleep, and enjoyment of daily activities. It often leads to repeated appointments, tests, or scans, which may increase stress rather than resolve it. Importantly, health anxiety does not mean symptoms are imagined. The distress is real, even when serious illness is not present.

How your GP approaches health anxiety

Your GP’s role is twofold. First, to assess symptoms carefully and safely, so that genuine medical conditions are not missed. Second, to help you understand when worry itself has become part of the problem. A GP can help explain bodily sensations, reduce unnecessary investigations, and guide you toward strategies that address the anxiety driving the concern.

What support can help

Health anxiety responds well to structured care. Psychological therapies that focus on managing uncertainty, reducing checking behaviours, and changing unhelpful thought patterns are often effective. Medication may help some people, particularly when anxiety is severe or long-standing. Ongoing GP support provides continuity, reassurance grounded in evidence, and coordination of care.

When to talk with your GP

Consider seeing your GP if health worries feel constant, interfere with daily life, or persist despite repeated reassurance. Early support can prevent anxiety from becoming entrenched and can significantly improve quality of life.

This article provides general health information only and does not replace medical advice. Please speak with your GP for personalised care.