11 Things Not to Say to Someone With Health Anxiety
When I published my last post on health anxiety , one reader very kindly asked if I had any suggestions for things people can say or do to help those of us who suffer from this condition to cope a little better – or, how to deal with a hypochondriac, in other words.
This is such an awesome question (Thank you, Emily, for asking!), but it’s actually a pretty hard one to answer. Something I heard quite recently is that health anxiety is almost impossible to treat, because the thing is, it’s not actually an irrational fear – even although it can definitely seem like it at times. No one, for instance, can guarantee to me that the things I fear most will never happen to me, or to the people I love: because I know perfectly well that they can, and they do. This, unfortunately, makes it a particularly difficult condition to deal with: for every positive story someone can tell me, there will one hundred other terrifying ones, and sometimes there’s absolutely no avoiding them.
So, what can people do to help? To be honest, I think all anyone can really do is listen. Try to understand. Don’t laugh, or belittle, or judge, no matter how tempting it might seem. Finally, if you can try to avoid making the following statements or observations to someone you know suffers from health anxiety, you’ll already be doing far more than you can ever know… (For more advice on how to deal with a hypochondriac, check out this article from mental health charity Mind)
How to deal with a hypochondriac
“Worrying won’t help, you know!”
Thanks, Capt’n Obvious, but I’m pretty sure that no one actually believes that worrying will help them, do they? The fact is, though, we’re not worrying because we believe it’ll help – we’re worrying because we’re terrified. And telling us it won’t help… won’t help.
“You’re being ridiculous/ you sound crazy / you’re such a weirdo!”
Want to know a secret? Most of us already know this. Just a few weeks ago, I decided to join a Facebook group for people with health anxiety, thinking I would finally get to connect with people who, like, totally understood me and stuff. </emo teenager> I left that group just a few hours after joining, because it turned out to be the most triggering experience of my entire life. It was just post after post from people listing their symptoms and fretting about it, and you know what? Those people sounded crazy even to me.
I’m not saying that to be mean: I know I’ve sounded exactly like them at various points in my life, so I’m in no position to judge anyone here. No, I’m saying it to illustrate the point that people with health anxiety don’t need you to tell them they sound ridiculous: THEY KNOW. They just can’t help it: if they could, and if their anxiety could be cured with just a few, well-chosen insults, there wouldn’t be anyone with health anxiety, would there?
It’s not quite that simple, though: you can’t bully or shame someone out of anxiety any more than you can do it with depression, or any other mental health condition, and calling someone “ridiculous” or “crazy” or whatever … well, that IS mean, isn’t it?
“Did you know that <insert totally normal food/other activity here> causes cancer?”
*CUE PANIC ATTACK*
This is one of the many, many reasons I don’t read the Daily Mail…
“Just go to see the doctor if you’re that worried!”
This sounds like a great idea in theory, but my particular brand of health anxiety comes hand-in-hand with a very real phobia of any situation in which I might be diagnosed with one of the things I fear most. It’s not like that for everyone with health anxiety (Some people take the opposite approach, and basically move into their GP’s surgery… which isn’t particularly healthy either, really), but, in my case, this particular advice is like telling someone who’s frightened of snakes to go and live with snakes: again, it’s not that simple.
“Oh, my friend’s sister’s cats mother had that, and it turned out to be brain cancer! She’s dead now.”
It honestly doesn’t matter if the cat you’re referring to was 102 years old and, you know, a cat – I’m now 100% sure I have whatever ailed it, and that I’m about to drop dead, too. It never ceases to amaze me how keen people are to share bad news, or provide you with the worst-case scenario: even when you’ve specifically asked them not to. I mean, I’m pretty sure that if I really did have a phobia of snakes, say, people would understand that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to share their scary snake stories with me: when my phobia is of hospitals, medical procedures, and various different diseases, though, people will talk about nothing else. WHY? I’m going to take a wild guess here that you’ve Googled the phrase ‘how to deal with a hypochondriac’ because you want to help, rather than to hinder, so, you know, DONT DO STUFF LIKE THIS>
“My sister’s boyfriend’s uncle’s second cousin’s ferret had a bit of a sore stomach last week: he thought it was just gas, but it turned out to be an abdominal aneurysm: how about that!”
Seriously, my stomach started to hurt before you even got to the end of that sentence. I will not sleep tonight. I know this sounds pretty similar to the point above, but while the “cat” example is normally given in response to me voicing a specific fear, the ferret one is usually just a “fun” anecdote that someone will decide to share with me, apropos of absolutely nothing, but guaranteeing that, for the rest of my life, every time my stomach hurts, I will assume it’s an abdominal aneurysm. Or an Abominable Aneurysm, as I keep wanting to call it.
How to deal with a hypochondriac
(On a serious note, while stuff like this will obviously come up from time to time, and it’s not realistic to expect someone with health anxiety to be totally shielded from the harsh realities of life, if you know that someone has this condition, it’s nice to be aware of potential triggers, and to avoid them if you can. If the ferret in the story is someone close to me, then I obviously need to know about it, and I would never expect a ferret I knew to hide a health condition from me, just to avoid triggering me. If it’s a totally random ferret, though, that I would never even have known existed until you decided to tell me all about its abdominal aneurysm, I’m probably not going to thank you for the cool story…)
(Er, you all know I’m not talking about ferrets here, don’t you? Just checking…)
“Just stop worrying about it!”
Oh wow: almost two decades of health anxiety, and all this time I could just have stopped worrying: I wish I’D thought of that!
This is like telling someone with the flu to just stop having the flu: it doesn’t work that way, unfortunately. Health anxiety, like depression, is a complicated metal health condition, and it’s not something people can just “snap out of”: if only!
“I don’t mean to worry you, but…”
If you ever find yourself saying this to someone with health anxiety, you’re 100% about to worry them: please don’t. (And the same goes for any anecdote you’re planning to end with the sentence, “I hope that wasn’t triggering!” ) Because, when I say, “worry”, I don’t simply mean that whatever it is you’re about to tell me will make me pause for thought, or be a helpful heads-up to something I might want to investigate further, I mean I will literally be unable to function properly for the rest of the day – and hey, I guess I’m not getting any sleep tonight, either: thanks, friend!
People with health anxiety aren’t able to rationalise things the same way you can, so even although whatever you’re about to say wouldn’t worry YOU, it doesn’t mean it won’t scare the living daylights out of the HA sufferer you’re speaking to.
“Have you considered that it might be cancer?”
This question almost always follows on from the “don’t mean to worry you” comment, and, OK, I’m exaggerating by using cancer as the example (Although the answer to that is “yes,” by the way – no matter what the symptom is, YES, I’VE CONSIDERED THAT IT MIGHT BE CANCER…), but people do fairly often try to diagnose me with various conditions, normally based on a throwaway comment in a blog post, or on Twitter or something, and, no matter how helpful you’re trying to be, unless you actually are a doctor (And even if you are, if you’ve never met or examined me, you really aren’t in a position to diagnose me with ANYTHING), this kind of thing just isn’t kind, and it normally isn’t particularly helpful, either.
As proof of this, I’ve had numerous internet diagnoses over the years, and NOT ONCE have I actually had any of the conditions people have tried to diagnose me with: NOT ONCE. I have, however, spent countless hours worrying about the things internet doctors have “helpfully” tried to diagnose me with, though, which is why it’s always best to leave this kind of thing to the professionals.
“Oh, that happened to me [in reference to surgery/anaesthetics/hospital stays/whatever] and it didn’t bother me in the slightest!”
That’s awesome for you, seriously, but all it really tells me is that you don’t have health anxiety. I DO have health anxiety, so it’s highly unlikely that I’d just sail through whatever experience it is I’m terrified about without turning a hair: often, even THINKING about having to go through something scary will cause an anxiety attack (Every time I’ve had an ultrasound scan, I’ve been almost sick with fear before it, and knowing that other people don’t find them the slightest bit scary won’t stop that…), so while this is great for you, it’s not going to help me, as much as you might intend it to.
If you have any other tips on how to deal with a hypochondriac – especially if you ARE one – then I’d love to hear from you!
How to deal with a hypochondriac:
Health anxiety and coronavirus
9 things you only understand if you have health anxiety
Dealing with focal migraines when you have health anxiety
Erin
I’ve got nothing, but I’m sorry that this is a huge issue for you. I have depression and trying to help people understand that it doesn’t just mean I’m “sad” but instead sometimes feel “nothingness” is complicated. I don’t think a lot of people can empathize with things until they have actually experienced them <3 Sending all the good vibes to you and Terry.
Amber
“I don’t think a lot of people can empathize with things until they have actually experienced them”
This is so true. I also think with something like health anxiety, it can be hard for people to understand, because it’s something we’ve all dealt with to some extent – i.e. I think most people who find themselves faced with some kind of medical situation/illness probably feel at least a little bit worried about it, and because they are able to rationalise and deal with that worry, they genuinely can’t understand why someone like me can’t do the same. I’d imagine it’s a similar thing with depression, where people think that because they’ve felt sad, or a bit low, at times, then they understand what it’s like, when it’s actually something completely different from that!
Anonymous
If you want to meet the best human in the world at dealing with a family member that is hypochondriac I would humbly say it is my brother. He releases nothing but love to my mother which has suffered from this for most of our lives, at least 15-20 years. He doesn’t feel offended or upset by any of her concerns, he does not belittle her but rather empowers her. I love my brothers approach and wish I could also embody it, to be nothing but a source of love to everyone… However the struggle for me is different. I live with my mom and thus it’s been a daily thing for 15+ years that I would rather not say: ‘How are you’ to her, there has not been one day in which she doesn’t complain about something, and I’m no doctor or medical expert, I shouldn’t be bothered but it starts my day feeling negative…. If your mom doesn’t feel well, it’s hard to feel well… I shouldn’t be like that but I don’t say anything back because I’ve learned that any of my researched suggestions are met with hostility and I am hurt by it. What can I say? I don’t say anything, sometimes I can muster up may God help you, hope you feel better… I just thought of trying to say “sorry to hear that” from now on.
For example, today she was checking her blood pressure as she always does and she noticed that it’s been low for the past few days…. She calls her heart doctor and of course they can’t say anything other than go to the emergency room for liability reasons….
Got her rushing to the emergency room in which she was told after four hours and countless tests that there is no problem… Well she came home and I told her thank God there’s no problem and it’s seems like she is disappointed to hear this good news… Im faced with hostility from her because I didn’t have any dinner ready when I’m never the one that cooks because she doesn’t like my food. I asked her if you want me to cook you anything let me know, was faced with a rude response and ridicule…..
Hey it’s a mental disorder like my mental disorders, I try not to feel any pain from her but I’m struggling to just stay alive… And I recognize that my mental illness causes an inconvenience to those around me and so I try to be very appreciative and grateful….
I hope one day we are all cured… The world is a difficult place for some of us and those who find a cure are just lucky.
Best regards
Emerald
I remember asking doctors about an operation. I asked the same question of twenty different health professionals. My very sensitive mother said “Oh, that’s silly! I wouldn’t have asked.” My father is similarly-minded. What some people don’t get is that what’s a walk in the park for some is a dangerous hike for others. Saying things like they’re silly to be feart of something you’re not is unhelpful.
Jenny
As someone who has been suffering from bad anxiety for the last few years, I can really empathise! I get fed up of people telling me to ‘stop worrying’. Oh how I wish it was that simple! I’ve also heard that someone very close to me has told people that I need to just get over it. It’s pretty upsetting, but I guess if people haven’t suffered with something themselves, it must be hard for them to understand how hard it is to deal with x
LuxeStyle
Myra Boyle
I can’t remember if I’ve said this before, so if I have forgive me. I had a terrifying fear of cancer for over ten years (I won’t tell you what triggered it) but realised that I had wasted those years being in fear that was worse than the actuality of what I was afraid of.
I now have a very different outlook on life, and having been very ill at one time (not cancer) I now believe it will be ok. I believe in angels and am now an angelic healer, although can’t seem to do it on myself or family. But others will and do send healing and this is a great comfort. It calms the mind and soul and makes me feel better.
Myra Boyle
I also believe let God’s will be done
Lindsey
A dear friend once said something wonderful to me when I was pregnant with my daughter and terrified that SOMETHING terrible would happen. Unfortunately I knew all too well what could go wrong. She said, “The odds are in your favor.” She was right, and for some reason, that helped me calm down. Of course that would not be a helpful thing to say when the odds are not in one’s favor. But I’ve told myself that a few times since, and it helps. Good luck, Amber!
Abbie
Have you tried CBT? It has very good evidence based outcomes for health anxiety. I was miserable and confined to a room not enjoying anything a couple of years ago but diligently practising the strategies I’ve pretty much overcome it, although I have to maintain it. I feel like it’s a part of me that will always be there, waiting for an opportunity to rear its head!
An issue that remains a little is how much to worry – there’s a balance between taking care of yourself (appropriate) and panicking over nothing (inappropriate and just awful), and I never knew when I should book to see doc or not. But I have much better perspective now.
I would recommend the books on prescription ‘overcoming health anxiety’ book and also looking into CBT, if you haven’t already and/or if you feel up for it!
Amber
I have, but it didn’t work for me, unfortunately ?
Abbie
sorry to hear that 🙁 I hope you find your own strategies to cope.
Porcelina
Hi Amber,
I read this post a few days ago and have been mulling it over. The sentence I think that was playing on my mind was this one:
“Something I heard quite recently is that health anxiety is almost impossible to treat, because the thing is, it’s not actually an irrational fear”
I am not sure where you heard this, but it’s simply not true. The thing is with all kinds of anxiety is that it is ALL completely rational. You may board the plane and crash. Your partner may leave you for a younger model. You might be embarrassed in public with people laughing at you. These are all things that might actually happen (and one of the things that separates anxiety from psychosis).
There may be some differences in how people with health anxiety seek treatment, but that’s a different issue. The way treatment works is along the same main principles, regardless of what the anxiety is about. The thing that I’d really like to get across is that people are helped everyday from this kind of thing. People who haven’t left their house in 12 months are finally able to step outside their door. People who have never been able to travel by plane are able to deal with a transatlantic flight. Psychological treatment is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I myself have benefited from it and am now able to lead a relatively ‘normal’ life without my fears and anxieties stopping me from living my life the way I’d like to. I hope this comes over as a message of hope. x
Lindsay Davison
I have always been a really anxious person, but a family tragedy meant I spiraled into a really really bad case of Health Anxiety a few years ago. It was honestly the worst time of my life, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. HA almost cost me my marriage 🙁
Lindsay | http://www.lindsaydavison.co.uk
Anne
This is the first time i have ever seen anyone (ANYONE!) describe exactly what I experience with my health anxiety. I can experience “symptoms” for years, but my absolute terror of being diagnosed with what I think I might have, leaves me in a horrible limbo. I feel you, and it is such a relief to know that I am not alone.
Holly
My grandma was a hypochondriac and my family would make fun or joke and say “god you sound like your gma” they never take me seriously when I bring stuff up and my health anxiety has gotten SO bad.. I hold it all in bc people don’t wanna hear it and they let me know that. Ugh I feel trapped in this body sometimes… ;( idk if I should see a psychiatrist or what.. my brain tells me over and over I have a disease or I contracted a disease in a bathroom or whatever it is…I go to the doctors and get tests everything comes back fine and I don’t believe it.. it’s really affecting my quality of life 🙁 idk what to do..
Dena simons
You know what you just helped me majorly and saved me from a all nighter at the er …
I am stuck on I’m sick of this and that then I google it and I have every sign of EVERYTHING that is life threatening..
Hearing that I’m not alone here really just put my stress at ease and the entire article seemed to break my fever…
If you can relate then I hope this helps you too..
Will
What I desperately wished people understood about my hypochondria is that the anxiety is actually quite insignificant compared to the GRIEF I experience. When I’m in the throes of a hypochondriac episode, I am totally, wholly convinced I am dying. I know how absolutely bonkers-yonkers ridiculous that sounds – it’s ridiculous to me! Hell, I’ve even been accused of being insensitive to actually terminally ill people. But the grief is so, so, so real. I cannot stress this enough. For me, it isn’t “I’m scared I might be dying,” or even “I think I might be dying” – I KNOW I am dying. I don’t need the “but you’re healthy and young!” or the “why don’t you see a doctor?” speech. If I need a reality check, I’ll ask for a reality check. But what I need from people is a little dignity and a little sympathy. Not pity. I could do without pity. But I want people to know that on top of every little thing the average person deals with on a day-to-day basis, I’m dealing with essentially living my life as if I’m terminally ill. I am SO convinced I’m going to die young. I’ve thought about how I’ll tell my family and friends I’m dying. I’ve created a list of songs for my funeral, I’ve written a will. As morbid as it sounds, these things actually give me a little bit of control over my anxiety. When people find out they’re dying they tend to think, why me? – but I can’t help but think, why NOT me?
Joss
Amber, I appreciate that this post is over 5 years old now but I’ve only just found it. Do you have any advice on how to support someone who doesn’t recognise that they have health anxiety and fully, genuinely believes they are dying, even in the face of medical professionals telling them otherwise? Nothing I or anyone says has any impact on their belief that there is something terminally wrong. Seeing the level of worry, panic and even terror they have is breaking my heart and I can’t seem to do anything to help.