Overcoming Health Anxiety: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioural Techniques

by David Veale, Rob Willson

Stop worrying about your health and enjoy life.

Many of us have a tendency to worry unnecessarily about our health. This can be worse in a time of global panic about pandemics. For some, the anxiety becomes chronic, and they may spend many hours checking for symptoms, seeking reassurance from others, surfing the internet for information about different diseases, or repeatedly visiting the doctor. It is distressing for them and for everyone around them.

In fact, health anxiety can be very successfully treated with cognitive behavioural therapy - the approach taken in this self-help guide. Using a structured, step-by-step approach, the authors explain how the problem develops, how to recognise what feeds it and how to develop effective methods of dealing with it.

- Includes questionnaires, case studies and exercises
- Based on proven CBT techniques
- Includes a chapter on fear of death and fear of vomiting

Genres: Psychology, Self Help, Nonfiction, Mental Health

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2009

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

COVID-19 absolutely did not help anyone who already had some kind of health anxiety. I borrowed this guide from the library as it's a new 2022 edition, which I hoped would be updated to cover the pandemic. Only very brief mentions are included, which is disappointing. The examples used are almost all anxiety about non-infectious illnesses like cancer, motor neurone disease, heart attacks, and schizophrenia. The advice is still largely applicable to fear of COVID-19, I think. There's not much need to design exposure tasks for it, though. They happen whether you want them or not!

I'm giving the book four stars as it is a very readable, well-explained, and clearly structured guide to CBT techniques. For me it was a reminder of the CBT approach and that I don't have classic health anxiety. Ways in which health fears can overlap with phobias and disordered eating aren't covered. Thus it seems like a potentially very helpful book to some but I don't think it will really work for me. (I've already given CBT a try on three previous occasions.) I found reading it calming, though, and the chapter on fear of death is particularly good.

[Suzie Grogan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Health anxiety has blighted the last five years for me. It is common amongst cancer sufferers and possibly understandably so. I should have recognised that I was prone to worrying about my health even before my diagnosis and basically finding out my worst fears were realised compounded earlier issues.

I came to this book via the kindle store and I have two main concerns.1) The solutions it offers are not right for everyone with health anxiety, but they do rather make it sound as if to face your worst fears - eg visiting an oncology ward, reading books about people who are terminally ill etc is always a positive way forward. I have had cbt and the effect was temporary and all those memories are still stored in the old anxiety box somewhere and 2) the editing of this ebook is awful. Mis-spellings abound and the charts are almost impossible to read on a kindle - they are far too small to be useful.

I have given it three stars as there is some useful information in this book that will be helpful to many. But if you don't find it so, please don't think you are beyond hope.

[Scott Gregson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a long time to read. It hit home and was probably the most helpful book I’ve ever read.

[Alp Turgut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sağlık anksiyetesiyle ilgili oldukça yararlı bir eser olan "Overcoming Health Anxiety: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioural Techniques", yerinde örnekleri ve uygulamalı egzersizleriyle her alandan okuyucuyu içine alan bir kitap. Yeri geldikçe ilgili bölümü açıp yararlanabilecek bir başucu kitabı özelliği taşıyan kitap özellikle sağlık kaygısının önüne geçmek isteyenler için etkili bir başlangıç niteliğinde.

17.03.2022
Londra, Birleşik Krallık

Alp Turgut

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful resource. I binge-listened to the audiobook on Spotify, but I am seriously considering getting the hard copy as a reference. There are some great reflection questions/exercises in here. And as anyone with health anxiety knows, it’s a constant struggle and even though everything in this book makes perfect sense and intellectually is logical, anxiety isn’t — especially health anxiety that has elements of OCD traits driving it. It needs constant work to break through the intrusive thoughts, so this isn’t a one-and-done resource. It requires revisiting.

(Note: I read the second edition, which isn’t on goodreads. I did find a copy of the first edition, which seems much different when I thumbed through it, so I cannot review that version).

[Polygenics · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has long understood that they have health anxiety, but was never really motivated to do anything about it, actually dipping into a CBT approach for dealing with this has been both interesting and rewarding. Having had good results from CBT approaches to insomnia in the past, going through this book is a great way to start to tease apart the roots and effects of health anxiety.

Very approachably written, very easy to read, not overly long, and with a great appendix of sheets to monitor your improvement and refer back to.

A damn sight cheaper than therapy, and an eye opener if you're the kind of person who thinks they might have health anxiety, and just 'sucks it up' on a daily basis.

[Niwee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who had been following a rigid diet for almost a year – the diet restricts tea, coffee, oranges, every curry, every snack, and everything spicy or acidic – after self-diagnosing an ulcer (the symptoms were actually the discomfort caused by acidity and gastritis), this is one of the most relatable books I have read in my whole life. I did actually see a gastroenterologist, and he was sure I had no ulcer, and I was sure he had missed a point.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really thorough and well written book. Loved the narrators voice in this one (sounded like David Attenborough). I think some thought needs to be given towards SSRI's though and some of the new research thats come out about the long term use of them and how that can affect the brain.

Overall recommend, albeit a bit long.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you have had a cancer diagnosis, health anxiety can spiral out of control and be extremely debilitating. I couldn’t face doing most of the exercises regarding CBT for cancer - they seemed too extreme.

[Anthony Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

CBT in your hands

A great complement to therapy and full of practical tools and exercises. Sadly the book is also riddled with typos and missing words.

[Emma Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading this book to find help for my daughter who struggles with Health Anxiety. There seem to be lots of practices to work through which is encouraging.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very useful and informing book

[Stephanie Nullmeyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great recommendation. The exercises are really helpful. I recommend buying the paperback so you can fill them out over the kindle version.

[DevinelyBookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started off smacking me in the feels. I literally cried when I started reading it. I had never felt so heard and seen and it hurt to listen to my thoughts and processes being spoken out loud by somebody else.

It was a bitter-sweet release of not feeling alone and having my deepest thoughts brought to the forefront and knowing I will have to address it.

I had to read it in small doses because it overwhelmed me otherwise.

I think some of the information can be useful and helpful. But for some reason, I ended up disengaging from the book. Maybe it's because I felt like some of the exercises would suit me. Or I couldn't apply them to my life.

I started skipping bits or listening to it after towards the end because it didn't feel useful to me.

I think if you're a health anxiety sufferer like me then I'd try reading this book. But I wouldn't call it a substitute for professional help (it doesn't try to be either). There might be some activities that might help, but not everything will apply and sometimes it can be a bit boring to listen too.

If nothing else, the book has helped me realise I am not as bat-shit-crazy as I seem. But I didn't love the book. I probably wouldn't read it again.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

Find this book at Hillingdon Libraries

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of these days I'll learn not to waste my time with CBT.