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Posts tagged "fear of disease"

How Anxiety about Health can Disrupt Someone's Life

Sep 27, 2023 Posted by: Brittney Chesworth anxiety, core beliefs, cycle of health anxiety, fear of disease, health anxiety, hypochondria, safety behaviors, symptoms

People with severe health anxiety hold dysfunctional or maladaptive beliefs about health and illness. Dysfunctional beliefs develop early in life and are strengthened through reinforcement. Dysfunctional beliefs enter one into a cycle of unhelpful thoughts and behaviors that worsens health anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy aims to interrupt this cycle by modifying maladaptive beliefs, thinking errors, and safety behaviors.

Fear of Death: How CBT Can Decrease Fears of the Dying Process

Sep 18, 2023 Posted by: Brittney Chesworth catastrophize, cognitive restructuring, death anxiety, fear of disease, fear of dying process, fear of unknown, health anxiety, socratic dialogue, thinking errors

When it comes to the dying process, people often fear being in intense pain, feeling humiliated, and burdening or hurting others. Many people have inaccurate assumptions about the dying process, making it important to evaluate and challenge those beliefs. Examining how palliative care might help with physical pain is one way to challenge one's assumptions about the dying process.

Why Watching Videos about Tragic Health Stories on Social Media Worsens Health Anxiety

Sep 11, 2023 Posted by: Brittney Chesworth biased information processing, confirmation bias, core beliefs, fear of disease, health anxiety, hypochondria, overestimating threat, thinking errors, threat bias

People with health anxiety hold dysfunctional core beliefs about health and illness.
One dysfunctional belief held by those with health anxiety is the overestimation of the probability and severity of disease. Core beliefs are reinforced by information processing, in which we pay more attention to data that confirms our belief.

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