Recognize Your Ability to Cope with Illness

Jan 01, 2024 Posted by: Brittney Chesworth all or nothing thinking error, anxiety, catastrophize, cognitive behavioral therapy, fear of disease, health anxiety, hypochondria, underestimating coping

Health anxiety can lead us to have rigid views when it comes to our health. We assume that getting an illness is equivalent to serious, debilitating illness and death. But what if we learn to see ourselves as strong, resilient and capable of coping with any physical challenges that come our way?

If you want to take the first step toward improving health anxiety, grab my free guide!

Health Anxiety & the Black-or-White Thinking Error

Dec 01, 2023 Posted by: Brittney Chesworth all or nothing thinking error, anxiety, biased information processing, cognitive behavioral therapy, cognitive restructuring, fear of disease, health anxiety, hypochondria, socratic dialogue, thinking errors

People with health anxiety tend to engage in thinking errors when it comes to their health. One type of thinking error is black-or-white thinking or seeing health as dichotomous instead of on a spectrum. You can improve dysfunctional thinking patterns through challenging thoughts through socratic questioning.

Safety Behaviors to Cope with Health Anxiety

Nov 09, 2023 Posted by: Brittney Chesworth anxiety, cognitive behavioral therapy, coping mechanisms, cycle of health anxiety, excessive checking, fear of disease, health anxiety, hypochondria, preventive behaviors, reassurance-seeking, safety behaviors, socratic dialogue, symptoms, thinking errors

There are 3 common safety behaviors that people with health anxiety engage in. It is important to identify these unhelpful behaviors in order to learn how to refrain from them. One can learn to not refrain from these behaviors through CBT, including exposure and response prevention.

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Recognize Your Ability to Cope with Illness

Health Anxiety & the Black-or-White Thinking Error

Safety Behaviors to Cope with Health Anxiety