I personally don’t like using the words ‘health anxiety tips,’ however today is an exception.
The ideas I mention below are not meant to be read and put aside. Rather, they are meant to be read, reflected upon in terms of how it applies to your health anxiety, and applied consistency not only until inner peace is achieved but beyond.
We must understand that there is no finish line, you will always be ‘healing.’
Therefore judging how far we’ve come based on how you feel would be wrong. Wrong because there is much more to us than just feelings. There are core beliefs held in the subconscious mind, there are perceptions that happen at an unconscious level, there is a relationship that needs building up with our lower self/inner child.
A change in feelings are good, however true healing only comes when all the parts of you are working in unison with each other.
Back to health anxiety though…
Health anxiety can lead to:
- Complete mental fixation over trying to prevent a catastrophic result
- An inability to be present with what is taking place in the now
- Feeling like our bodies are weak and fragile
- Making is believe that we ARE hypochondriacs
- Feeling like anxiety in general will never let up, ever
- Bad habits, morning, afternoon, and evening
- Automatic mental patterns that make us believe that what we think is true
And much much more.
I won’t want to make it sound like health anxiety sufferers are victims, however to a large degree they are. They are victims of parental programming, victims of their innocence that have been taken advantage of, victims of fear based on just a few life experiences, and victims of their own unconsciousness.
The last line is important; unconsciousness, as this is the driving force behind further health anxiety.
On an opposing side, awareness can lead us back on the path to putting health anxiety behind us for good. Yes, this is possible even for you, trust me. So what must we become aware of?
- Awareness around what you fear and why
- Awareness around the earliest memories that hav provoked this fear in you (cellular memory and anxiety)
- Awareness around how your mind and body work together to keep health anxiety alive
- Awareness around which ‘bad’ habits you’ve allowed for too long
- Awareness around how you currently see your future in mind, emotions, and physical body
Awareness is a starting point, it reveals to us what we need in order to begin healing. This is why I believe a certain degree of reflection is vital for health anxiety sufferers, not just in mind but written down on paper regularly. Without reflection we cannot ‘peel the onion’ around hypochondria, this is truth.
Let’s now get into my 5 health anxiety tips, the main reason you are here:
Number 1: End the fear over your bodily sensations.
The first thing that may come to mind is the idea of ‘easier said than done Dennis.’ I’ve been there, I understand. However, understand this:
Those thoughts are a defense to seeing you change from an anxious person to a peaceful one. And these defense mechanisms are the only thing keeping you back.
Believe in them and they will run your entire system day after day.
Reject them, and you open yourself up to possibility. Yes, it is possible to stop fearing your bodily sensations, and NO, things will not get worse physically for you in the long run. Worry does not protect you from harm it only sucks away the enjoyment of this very moment.
Number 2: Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve suffered from health anxiety, as long as you begin believing in a new idea with relentless faith, you will heal.
However, you mustn’t look for a result too quickly as this will bring you right back to irrational fear. There are no results, there is only a new idea. Like a seed that needs watering, nourishing, growing, you are doing exactly this with the idea that you are not a victim, you are a peaceful warrior deep down.
Number 3: Play pretend more often.
Anxiety is using your imagination in a way that harms you.
However, we can begin using that exact same imagination for a better purpose starting today. When you were a young child do you remember what you would pretend to be from one moment to the next? Was it:
- A super hero
- A professional athlete
- A rock star
- A bus driver
- A doctor
What did you play pretend as (comment below)?
Starting today, I want you to pretend that in relation to health anxiety all your desires have already come true. You are clear in mind, you are cleansed in body, you are joyous in feelings, and you are free in spirit. Is there someone you know that reminds you of this kind of free spirit? Play pretend, and do it with all your heart.
Yes, your ‘lower self’ will look to pull you back into health anxiety, you can simply anticipate this going forward.
The only difference is you now understand that this part of you just wants to make sure that you don’t do anything too risky. Risky in the eyes of the lower self is anything that feels like it’s too big of a change. So expect a certain degree of defensiveness as you begin playing pretend.
Number 4: Learn to live more than you look to fix some part of you.
Inner healing is a beautiful and worthwhile pursuit. However, it mustn’t become obsessive. You must live more than you look to fix some aspect of your health anxiety. This is where true wisdom lives, within the process of living.
Remember also that there is really nothing to ‘fix’ about you, you’re simply coming back to what has always been within you and making that voice louder over time.
You may be saying ‘how can I possibly live the way I want if I’m always feeling this way?’
I understand, and to that I must remind you that it is not the feeling that is holding you back but rather the meaning that you give to the feeling that keeps you stuck. Tiredness can also mean calmness, anxiousness can mean excitement. Also, worry can be seen from a humorous perspective, like a little child tugging at you looking for attention.
You see, these health anxiety tips work! You simply have to take your time with them and invest into them daily.
Number 5: Become curious over the rapid changes in your anxiety symptoms rather than frantic.
Curiosity is a necessary ingredient in the process of healing health anxiety. Your symptoms and sensations change in location, strength, and duration. So why not become curious over them, like a scientist that is hired to analyze a physical body.
Curiosity can overtake fear, and once this happens we begin projecting safety signals to the nervous system.
If this is a brand new concept for you however initially you will not be great at it until time passes and you master it. Just like all of these health anxiety tips, our goal is mastery. Not to see them as a quick solution for aspects of health anxiety that have potentially been there for years.
In conclusion, these health anxiety tips will take you to new and exciting inner places. It is up to you to make friends with the unknown that is quickly approaching into your life and understand that irrational fear holds no value within it at all. You can do this, you are more than anxiety.
Dennis
You are doing such great work Dennis. Your passion to helping us all heal is a Godsend. Thank you so much.
So very welcome and thank you for sharing your kind words.
Amazing blog! Thanks for sharing such valuable content with us.
Very welcome and thank you for the comment.
I’m so grateful to have come across your channel on YouTube and your website! You make anxiety make sense! What hit me the most was number 4! Changing the belief as to why I’m feeling certain sensations (after seeing the truth of it first) and making everything a bit less scary. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and reminding us we’re not alone.
#Warrior 🩷
Very welcome Jayha and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, much love.