Anxious people, with a tendency to worry, can easily become "hypochondria"-cal about illness. They might interpret various body sensations as indications of a serious medical condition, or they may notice one symptom, become fearful, and then self-generate a host of others simply by dwelling on the condition they fear. If you ever saw the movie "The Sixth Sense", you'll remember the little boy saying "they see what they want to see". That's a good description of a person experiencing health anxiety. If you start to believe you have some sickness, you'll have no trouble finding more evidence to support the belief. Anxiety itself can cause a plethora of physical symptoms, such as headaches, nausea, dizziness, diarrhea, chest pain, and many others. If you, like many anxious people, have a tendency to imagine the worst, you might be thinking "heart disease, brain tumor, cancer, and so on."
Of course, if you really think that you're developing a health problem, or if the symptoms persist, you should see a doctor. But otherwise, imagining such catastrophic circumstances is most likely just making you more aware of the symptoms and will only create a lot of unnecessary health anxiety and stress. Repeat the following:
• I take care of my health but do not worry about my health.
• I no longer let worry and stress ruin the life that I have available
to me now.
• When fear of illness elevates, I perform self listening with that fear
• I can handle any inner sensation. If fear arises, I let myself feel
it.
• I will always be there for myself. I give myself supportive thoughts.
• If I develop an ailment, I will deal with that. Until then, health anxiety
is pointless.
