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Long specialist wait times can intensify health anxiety.

Sensitivity to anxiety and intolerance of uncertainty are top risk factors for health anxiety.

CBT, mindfulness, and exposure therapy are proven effective for treating health anxiety symptoms.

You are experiencing uncomfortable or painful symptoms you can’t explain, and they’re interfering with your life. Maybe your doctor has put in a referral for a specialist, but the earliest appointment is months away. For millions of us humans, this is our reality—and it’s a source of mounting anxiety and distress. It may feel like your life is “on hold,” and you are playing it safe until you get answers.

What is your mind doing while you wait for diagnostic clarity?

Maybe your mind fills the gaps with worst-case scenarios—not only do you imagine the worst possible thing wrong with you, but you worry that the delay is going to eliminate your medical options. Maybe you read a story or watched a documentary, or one of your relatives got diagnosed with something debilitating at a late stage, and by then it was too late.

You may become hyper-focused on symptoms, interpreting every sensation as a sign you are getting worse. The sense of helplessness can erode your trust in the healthcare system to understand your symptoms, and in your own mind to make sense of what is happening with your body.

Maybe you stop doing the things you know help you feel better (like exercise or socializing) and start doing things that contribute to hypervigilance and maybe even keep you up at night (excessive checking, reassurance-seeking, internet scouring).

Of course you are anxious! Anyone would be!

Health anxiety has become a problem when it is excessive, out of proportion with the realistic likelihood of having a serious medical problem, continues to be persistent despite negative test results and reassurance from doctors, or leads to significant distress and unhelpful behaviors that interfere with your ability to work, play, and love (Center for Clinical Interventions, ND).

How has waiting for care affected your thinking, your routines, or your sense of safety?

Risk Factors for Health Anxiety

A systematic review confirmed that anxiety sensitivity and........

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