All of us deal with a level of health anxiety at times, but for some people it devolves into full-blown hypochondria.

This can be so stressful that people do get sick – experiencing symptoms that can’t be explained by tests or scans.

The internet only exacerbates the issue, enabling them to Google their symptoms all hours of the day.

It's a cycle that can go on for years. But there is hope for people wanting to pull themselves out of this state of constant hypervigilance.

Guest/s

• Emma Mannering
• Professor Jill Newby, clinical psychologist at the Black Dog Institute and University of NSW
• Dr Cathy Andronis, GP and psychotherapist

References

• Health anxiety in Australia: prevalence, comorbidity, disability and service use | The British Journal of Psychiatry
• The global economic burden of health anxiety/hypochondriasis- a systematic review
• Increase in the prevalence of health anxiety in medical clinics: Possible cyberchondria
• Cognitive behavior therapy for health anxiety: systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical efficacy and health economic outcomes
• A clinician’s quick guide to evidence-based approaches: health anxiety

• Health anxiety information and workbook