Anxiety. When we consider anxiety, most people think of job interviews, driving tests, being on the first day of something new. We feel anxious, and the feeling itself differs from person to person, so what one person perceives to be anxiety, another person would feel something entirely different. Anxiety differs for us all, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not real. One of the branches of anxiety includes health anxiety, and understanding what it is could be the first step to understanding how to cope when you need to see the doctor.
A lot of people are afraid of going to see a dentist, a doctor and even an optician. The body is a sacred place and having someone poking and prodding around on yours? That’s not always easy to cope with. In fact, it can be difficult for someone with health anxiety to function in any of these environments without the symptoms of panic. Health anxiety can also be looked at as hypochondria; obsessing over the body and the way it works, believing every pain and niggle is a tumor, a cancer, a heart attack. They manifest symptoms and believe that they’re real. It’s frightening and getting through that is exceptionally hard.
Someone with health anxiety can be treated by a doctor and not believe that what the doctor has told them is true. Some people refuse to be examined at all when they have health anxiety, believing that the doctor won’t be able to help them at all. They are repeatedly reassured that there is no serious illness, but the relief from that reassurance doesn’t last and the intrusive thoughts that something is wrong will return. A person with health anxiety will be frightened of general appointments, so while they may be desperate for a smile makeover with FY Smile, their own worries prevent them from going to get what they need. The problem with health anxiety is that it doesn’t have a specific trigger.
The misinterpretation of discomfort and things in the body that are entirely normal is terrifying. They believe their bodies are dangerous and something is going to go wrong, and then the panic can feel like a heart attack and all the things that once felt okay no longer feel that way! Changes in vision, a headache and even something as simple as a toothache can trigger someone with health anxiety.
Often, health anxiety is down to experience. The person lost someone close to them to a specific illness so now they believe that will happen to them, too. It’s terrifying for them and it’s not something that is easy to get over. Time, therapy and in some cases – medication – can help. Health anxiety takes time and effort to get through, and it means everything to that person to be well and not panicked about their own health anymore. Taking the time to help those with health anxiety will mean a lot to that person, and you can ensure that you are there for them and supporting them every step of the way.
This is a collaborative post
