Psychological therapy, tailored to you

You may spend a lot of time checking your body, googling symptoms or visiting healthcare professionals.

Sometimes the health anxiety has an identifiable trigger or cause, often following a period of ill health in yourself or someone you care about. At other times the health anxiety can start as a more generalised anxiety with no identifiable trigger, but which then becomes focused on health issues over time.

It is common for people with health anxiety to misinterpret the symptoms of anxiety, such as a tight chest, heart palpitations or headaches, as meaning that they are seriously ill or dying. If you have health anxiety you may spend a lot of time checking your body for signs of illness, googling symptoms or visiting healthcare professionals. Whilst these reassurance seeking behaviours can sometimes feel helpful in alleviating the immediate anxiety, the reassurance is short-lived and the anxiety can quickly return.

Psychological therapy, tailored to you

Engaging in therapy can set you free from the distressing cycle of health anxiety

Here at Brightside we specialise in delivering interventions that help you to overcome health anxiety in the long term. We offer a range of therapies including EMDR, ACT and ERP, which can change your relationship with illness-related intrusive thoughts, reduce reassurance seeking behaviours and process any unresolved memories or grief that may be underlying the health anxiety. Engaging in therapy can set you free from the distressing cycle of health anxiety and enable you to engage in life again, free from preoccupation with health-related issues.

See Dr Sophie talking about Health Anxiety for the Counselling Directory