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What to Expect in CBT Treatment Series: Health Anxiety

2/3/2022

 
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What to Expect in CBT Treatment Series: Health Anxiety

Written by: Dr. Hillary Gorin, PhD, LCP

This blog series will help you understand what to expect in Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) for a variety of different anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD. No matter what you are seeking help for, it can be very scary to start treatment. I assume most of my patients enter their first appointment with me with anxiety. I assume this for several reasons. 1. You are taking a big first step in your life to change something that may feel impossible to change; 2. Most of my patients experience an abundance of anxiety on a daily basis and new experiences make us all feel anxiety.

My hope is that this blog series helps you to have a better sense of what to expect in your treatment if you choose exposure-based CBT interventions. First and foremost, the first appointment will be a lot of data collection. In order to determine how I can be helpful, I must determine what your problem looks like. You can plan on me asking you a ton of questions. My goal is to determine what diagnoses you meet criteria for (to ensure I can treat those diagnoses) and to instill some hope in you that I can help you. Just like we would hope our doctors would evaluate what is broken before treating a broken bone and then tell us how they can be helpful, I want to use a scientific approach in my practice and give you some hope that the science works. Although a one size fits all approach does not work for everyone, I apply all evidence-based techniques or techniques that have been supported by ongoing research. In this series, you will find the general what’s and why’s of treatment with me. Also, if you are struggling with the motivation to get started, I include some information on why it may be worth it to take a chance on this treatment.

Health Anxiety Treatment


What is Health Anxiety? 

Health anxiety (or Illness Anxiety Disorder) is anxiety about your health (simply put). It involves a fear of getting or having a serious illness. This anxiety often drives patients to either repeatedly check their bodies for health or illness or avoiding evaluating their health, as seen by avoiding doctor appointments all together (Abramowitz & Braddock, 2011). Recently, I have seen specific COVID-19 related anxiety which similarly presents as anxiety about acquiring, having, or contracting COVID-19. 

What will we work on? 
  • Exposure therapy: Instead of running away from medical fears, I will encourage you to “sit with” them (Abramowitz & Braddock, 2011) . What does this mean? If you are afraid of going to the doctor, you will think about going to the doctor. If you are afraid of cancer, you will think about cancer. If you are afraid of medical procedures, you will watch videos on medical procedures. If you are afraid of having a heart attack, you will read about having a heart attack. I will assist you with repeating such exercises until the fears start to subside. In addition, I will teach you strategies on how to approach, rather than avoid, such fears. Avoidance fuels anxiety. 

  • Cognitive Strategies: I will ask you to become a scientist (Abramowitz & Braddock, 2011). What evidence do you have for and against the medical fear coming true? If the fear does come true, would you survive it? How so? These are questions we will process in treatment. 

  • For some patients with medical anxiety, they are very aware of every sensation or abnormality in their body (Abramowitz & Braddock, 2011). For instance, they may pay close attention to their heartrate and breathing patterns to ensure they are not having a medical emergency. I may ask my patients to engage in exercises that mimic these sensations so that they can learn to tolerate them when they occur, without believing they are a sign of a serious medical illness. For example, I may ask you to engage in physical exercise while thinking about a medical illness to realize that thinking of illness does not equate to having it. 

Why Engage in this Treatment? 

Consider the ways your life has been negatively impacted by your health anxiety (Grayson, 2014). Can you prevent medical problems by thinking about them or researching them? Does your medical anxiety impact your ability to care for yourself, to go to your appointments, to manage the COVID-19 pandemic?  Does it impact your ability to enjoy your life? If so, you may want to give treatment a try. 

Why this treatment works? 

We can’t predict the occurrence of medical problems, for the most part. However, what I can predict is your ability to learn to tolerate this reality. We all will face medical problems at some point. By facing this fear, we can stop thinking about this reality and start living in our present reality again. 

References

Abramowitz, J. S. & Braddock, A. E. (2011). Hypochondriasis and Health Anxiety: Advances in Psychotherapy Evidence-Based Practice. Hogrefe.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596

Grayson, J. G. (2014). Freedom from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A personalized recovery program for living with uncertainty. Berkley Books.



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    OakHeart 
    ​Center for Counseling, Mediation, and Consultation

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    Vanessa Osmer, MA

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Phone: 630-570-0050
Fax: 630-570-0045
Email: Contact.OH@OakHeartCenter.com
North Aurora, IL Location
​66 Miller Drive, Suite 105
North Aurora, IL 60542
phone: 630-570-0050
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1950 DeKalb Ave, Unit E
Sycamore, IL 60178
phone: 779-201-6440
  • Home
  • Counseling
  • Specialties
    • COVID-19 Related PTSD and Anxiety >
      • COVID-19 Resources
    • Depression
    • Bipolar Disorder
    • Grief and Bereavement
    • ADHD
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
    • Social Anxiety Disorder
    • Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia
    • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (Worry)
    • Health Anxiety
    • Specific Phobias
    • Maternal Mental Health
    • Infertility, Miscarriage, and Neonatal Loss
    • Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI)
    • Eating Disorders
    • Substance Use Disorders (SUD)
    • Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
    • Anger Management
    • Insomnia
    • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
    • Trauma
    • Divorce Recovery
    • Relationship Concerns and Couples Counseling
    • Self-Esteem
    • Therapy for Therapists
    • LGBTQA+ Support
    • Faith-Based Counseling
  • Providers
    • Erin Mitchell
    • Pamela Heilman
    • Katie Sheehan
    • Hillary Gorin
    • Lee Ann Heathcoat
    • Adam Ginsburg
    • Megan Noren
    • Sarah Williams
    • Christina Bieche
    • Bridgette Koukos
    • Laura Lahay
    • Annette Cisneros
    • Kate Nash
    • Anna Perkowski
    • Elizabeth Grzan
    • Samantha Koder
    • Jackie Anonales
    • Vanessa Osmer
    • Kat Harris
  • Locations
    • North Aurora, IL
    • Sycamore, IL
    • Telehealth Online Counseling
  • Contact
  • Employment
  • FAQ and Notices
  • OakHeart Blog
  • Administrative Team
  • Mental Health Resources
  • Divorce Mediation
  • Professional Consultation