Self Help: How to MANAGE HEALTH ANXIETY
How to Manage Health Anxiety
This is the exhausting cycle of health anxiety:
Every little sensation in your body feels like a warning sign.
A headache must mean something serious.
A racing heart must be the start of a heart attack.
That ache in your stomach must be something life-threatening and cannot be ignored.
You check your symptoms over and over. You can’t not think about it. You tell yourself it’s getting worse right? You Google late into the night. You dread doctor appointments but also can’t stay away from them. On the surface, you might seem “fine,” but inside you feel trapped in a loop of repeating fear.
And here’s the thing: it feels so real - because your body believes it. This is the strength of the mind-to-body link.
Why Health Anxiety Feels So Overwhelming
Anxiety isn’t ‘made up’. It’s your body’s natural defence system working overtime. When your subconscious perceives a threat (even if it isn’t there), your mind-body link kicks in and your nervous system goes into high alert. Racing thoughts, a pounding heart, tightness in your chest and a sensation of ‘this time it’s real’.
Ultimately, your body is trying to protect you - but when the system gets stuck and is using outdated information, it becomes your jailer instead. Restricting your mind & body from being free.
Health anxiety thrives in the unknown part of the brain. The “what ifs.”
“What if this pain is serious?”
“What if I collapse?”
“What if nobody helps me?”
Those questions feed the anxiety loop and keep your body locked in fear/survival mode.
The First Step: Understanding Fear Isn’t Your Enemy
Here’s what I want you to know - fear isn’t out to get you. It’s a signal. It’s your subconscious way of saying to the conscious mind “I don’t feel safe. Please help me.”
So that means relief is possible! By addressing the subconscious mind and updating these overactive threat messages we can truly feel calmness again.
Calming the Mind-Body Loop
When I work with clients, we focus on:
Soothing the nervous system - Discovering the root of the issue. Shifting the body out of ‘alarm’ mode so the brain can calm down.
Reframing anxious thoughts - teaching the mind a new ways to respond to the “what ifs” and building residence to future threats.
Reconnecting with the body safely - so these sensations no longer instantly trigger panic, but feel neutral and considered again.
This isn’t about ignoring symptoms or just “thinking positive.” It’s achieved through specific therapeutic techniques - addressing the root cause, and changing the ‘threat level’ in your subconscious around these thoughts so the body no longer treats every twinge like a high threat.
Simple Tools You Can Start With
Here are two gentle and safe techniques you can try right away to help when health anxiety spikes:
Breathing to Signal Safety - You brain listens to the way you're breathing to help judge the severity of a situation. So mindful-calm breathing really can reduce anxiety in the moment.
Breathe in for 4, hold for 2, breathe out slowly for 6.
Repeat for 2–3 minutes while reminding yourself:
“I am safe. My body can let go. I choose to let go”
Grounding in the Present
Look around and name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear. This helps anchor you back in the moment, rather than being lost in “what ifs.” Reconnect with your body and your surroundings to allow that ‘spike’ to pass and get your feet back on the ground.
With practice, these tools can be very powerful, help calm the nervous system and break the cycle in the moment.
Finding Lasting Relief
While tools help in the moment, lasting change comes from addressing what’s keeping your subconscious stuck in fear/protection mode. Together, we can gently resolve the root cause, so your body no longer needs to sound the alarm. You don’t have to have all the answers, just be brave enough to take the first step.
You deserve more than just surviving. You deserve to feel safe in your own body, free from the constant loop of worry.
I hope you found this blog useful and know that you're not alone in how you're feeling and if you’re ready to take that first step, I’d love to guide you through it.
I’m just one message away.
The Wellness Coach
