Phil Lane > Quotes

“Anxiety, in a generalized sense, is a fear of “what if.” From a cognitive behavioral therapy perspective, to the anxious person, the fear that it could happen is as real as if it is happening.2 In the case of IAD, “I feel like I’m dying” can quickly and easily become “I am dying.” In a nutshell, this is how anxiety works: it ignores the present and often obscures the facts that might keep an individual feeling safe and secure.”
― Phil Lane, Understanding and Coping with Illness Anxiety

“We live in a culture that has monetized and commercialized “well-being” and “health” to such an extent that concern for our physical health has grown into an often unmanageable worry. We seek answers, diagnoses, and treatments from questionable sources, such as the omnipresent “Dr. Google.” We stress and fret about our health, which ironically, has a negative impact on the very part of ourselves that we are trying so diligently to protect.”
― Phil Lane, Understanding and Coping with Illness Anxiety

“In learning to tolerate discomfort, we neither react immediately or impulsively to an uncomfortable feeling, nor do we completely ignore it. Rather, we acknowledge and accept that it is there. Often, within this acceptance, we reach a peaceful and still point where we are not overwhelmed or driven by anxious or catastrophic thoughts. An IAD patient can learn to accept their feelings without needing to analyze them or draw anxious conclusions from them.”
― Phil Lane, Understanding and Coping with Illness Anxiety

“When we heal from IAD, we also heal from anxiety-induced behaviors of hypervigilance, constriction, and numbing. We regain our ability to focus and be present; we are less fixated on physical symptoms, their meanings, or on trying to analyze them. We broaden our worlds and lives once again, letting go of avoidant behaviors and isolation. We rediscover healthy ways to cope when we are feeling uncomfortable or triggered. These rediscoveries culminate in a return to our previous level of daily functioning. Without hypervigilant fixation, we once again have room and capacity for our work, families, and social lives. When we no longer constrict ourselves, we open ourselves up to previously avoided opportunities and positive experiences. When we replace unhealthy numbing with healthy coping, we develop adaptive means of managing when things get overwhelming.”
― Phil Lane, Understanding and Coping with Illness Anxiety

“Illness anxiety disorder is not and should not be treated as a disorder of manipulation, narcissism, or attention-seeking, though it can often be misinterpreted as such. The person with IAD is severely anxious, not narcissistic, delusional, or self-centered.”
― Phil Lane, Understanding and Coping with Illness Anxiety