Although the above conditions are the most frequently discussed by Health Anxiety sufferers, this list is by no means exhaustive.

I used to check myself constantly...

...every bump, lump or blemish, every snivel or cough... in my mind, they all added up to disaster. I wouldn't listen to advise or diagnoses - even when I was reassured by doctors, I would feel better momentarily but then go straight back to the thoughts and behaviours.

Why was that?

At the time, I didn't realise this and most sufferers don't know it... it's because I was systemically anxious.

Why was that? 

At the time, I didn't realise this and most sufferers don't know it... it's because I was systemically anxious.

What does this mean to you?

It's simple... like exercising creates 'systemic' fitness in which your entire body responds to exercise by adjusting itself to another level of ability, I was systemically anxious, which meant that despite what I consciously wanted or what would have been appropriate, my brain was set to behave in this anxious way... there was nothing I could do to control it.YOU are exactly the same.I now know that you can quickly reverse this process to become un-anxious, if you like... but it took me years to realise this and two days to erase my health anxiety completely.

Compulsions

Health anxiety sufferers carry out compulsive acts in reassurance. These might include:

- calling an ambulance
- repeatedly visit health practitioners
- taking their pulse
- taking their blood pressure
- checking blood sugar levels
- seeking constant reassurance about their health

What is the cause of Health Anxiety?

You know how your days are dominated by anxiety, panic attacks, obsessions, phobias or maybe a combination of these... well these are all indicators of an underlying anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorder is a condition that effects the emotion of fear.

Fear is a natural and necessary emotional response... it keeps us safe... but anxiety is a disorder, a condition that you can eliminate.

When fear activates the brain sends out messages to the senses to identify RISK. In anxiety disorders, as you know, there is no REAL risk present, so the search turns to your physical self and asks... "what inside of me could represent risk?" Your senses are then turned towards your body and mind as they search for ANYTHING that might cause you harm... your mind says "What if I have..." and then adds a condition... "what if I have cancer?" for example.

This is how Health Anxiety develops.

Your mind THINKS it's looking for real risk but in the absence of real risk, your mind creates 'flights of fancy'.

Are the thoughts real?

No, the thoughts you experience in Health Anxiety are fiction. Yes, they are thoughts around illnesses that exist but they are served up inappropriately by your mind because you are anxious.

Where REAL risk exists, these thoughts identify it and activate fight or flight to deal with it. We all know how that feels.

But in an anxiety disorder, no real immediate risk exists. These thoughts are just the figment of an incredible imagination.

What other symptoms do Health Anxiety sufferers experience?

Health anxiety not only creates inappropriate fears around illness and wellbeing, it also produces a wide range of physical symptoms and thoughts that can appear at any time, anywhere within the body or mind... BUT... they are also FICTION. They are the manifestation of inappropriate fear responses.

These may include some or sometimes all of the following...

So what is the solution?

"I know how it feels to have Health Anxiety - how to wake up each day checking and rechecking every bump, lump and symptom.

Trust me when I say to you that you do not have to live like this. For 25 years I focused on my health, ailments and frailties. I was obsessed with checking, researching and trying to discover what was wrong with me.

My health anxiety drove me to believe I was dying of every condition I could think of. Every time I heard someone was ill... I'd think I had that condition too. I hid away from illness.

In under three days, I erased it all. I never consider my health now. I just live my life and if I ever feel ill, I see teh doctor.

Charles Linden
Director LTE

Dr Romulo Valdez of Harvard Medical Centre says...

"As a psychologist that has been treating anxiety and depression for over 25 years, I can espouse the effectiveness of the Linden Method. I have been trained by the very best in the fields of Psychology and Psychiatry as you can see by my credentials, and I endorse the Linden Method with highest regard. The Linden Method will give you all that you need. Haven't you suffered enough? The cure is at your disposal. Why wait?" Dr Romulo Valdez Jr. Ph.D.


Dartmouth Medical School and Harvard Medical Schools - Psychologist at the Phillips Exeter Academy. NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) research project at the University of Pennsylvania, Psychotherapy Research Center. Center for Psychological Trauma at Dartmouth Medical School, Department of Psychiatry. Member American Psychological Association and the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. Fellow New Hampshire Psychological Association.