I can’t stop worrying that something is wrong with my health

You might notice a pain, a change in your heartbeat, a lump, a headache or another sensation and find that your attention keeps returning to it. Perhaps you compare one side of your body with the other, take photos, monitor a device or search several websites for possible explanations.

You may ask a partner, friend, pharmacist or GP what they think. Even when the answer is reassuring, another possibility can quickly appear:

• What if something was missed?
• What if I explained it badly?
• What if the symptom has changed?
• What if the test did not cover the illness I am worried about?
• What if I wait and it becomes serious?

This can become exhausting. You may struggle to concentrate, sleep or make plans. Some people avoid exercise, food, travel or medical information because these trigger more fear. Others become intensely alert to every physical change.

The distress is real, regardless of what eventually explains a particular symptom. You deserve to be taken seriously without being pushed towards either extreme: assuming every sensation is dangerous or deciding that nothing physical could ever be wrong.

Checking or reassurance can feel necessary because it promises a definite answer. Sometimes it provides useful information. At other times, relief is short-lived and uncertainty soon returns.

An internet search can lead from a common symptom to a frightening possibility in minutes. Checking the same area repeatedly may make it feel more noticeable or tender. Asking several people can produce slightly different answers, creating more questions rather than fewer.

This does not mean you should simply stop monitoring symptoms or avoid healthcare. Some people have been specifically asked by a clinician to record changes, attend reviews or watch for particular signs. Keep following that advice.

If searching, checking or seeking reassurance has become repetitive, consider discussing the pattern with your GP or another relevant clinician. They can help you distinguish clinically advised monitoring from checking driven mainly by an urgent need for certainty. Together, you may be able to agree what to monitor, when to seek review and which changes require action.

Health-focused worry can emerge in different circumstances. It may become stronger after an illness, an unexplained symptom, a frightening experience, a bereavement or seeing someone else become unwell. Constant access to health stories and symptom information may also make rare possibilities feel close and immediate.

For some people, the pattern grows during a stressful period. Physical tension, disrupted sleep or changes in appetite can then provide more sensations to notice. Others have felt dismissed in the past and now believe they must stay highly vigilant to be heard.

These are possible influences, not conclusions about what is happening to you. You do not need to identify one cause before taking a useful next step.

If a symptom is new, changing or worsening, contact an appropriate healthcare professional. If symptoms are severe or urgent, use emergency services as appropriate.

It can help to give a clinician a concise account:

• What you have noticed.
• When it began and whether it has changed.
• What makes it better or worse.
• Any medicines, existing conditions or relevant clinical advice.
• What you are most worried the symptom could mean.
• How much time you are spending checking or researching it.

You can also ask what follow-up is appropriate. For example: what should you monitor, how long should you monitor it, what changes should prompt another appointment, and what should you do if the symptom remains?

A clear follow-up plan cannot remove all uncertainty, but it may be more useful than repeatedly trying to reach complete certainty on your own. Continue prescribed medicines, planned investigations, reviews and clinician-advised monitoring unless the relevant professional tells you otherwise.

Without trying to diagnose yourself, you can observe the sequence surrounding a difficult moment.

You might write down:

1. What you noticed in your body.
2. What your mind predicted.
3. What you did next.
4. Whether that action gave useful information.
5. How long any relief lasted.

The aim is not to prove that a symptom is harmless. It is to see whether a repeated response—such as searching the same question, examining the same area or asking several people—actually resolves the concern or mainly restarts it.

If changing a checking routine feels unsafe, or if monitoring was recommended by a clinician, speak to that clinician before changing it.

When there is no immediate medical action to take, a short pause may help you choose your next step rather than acting automatically.

You could place both feet on the floor, loosen your shoulders and breathe at a comfortable pace. Name what is happening plainly: “I have noticed a sensation, and I am frightened about what it could mean.” Then ask:

• Is there a new or worsening symptom that needs healthcare now?
• Am I following an agreed medical plan?
• Have I already checked this in the way my clinician recommended?
• Would another search give me new, reliable information?
• What could I do for the next ten minutes while the uncertainty is here?

This is not a method for deciding that symptoms are imaginary. It is a way to respond more deliberately while remaining open to appropriate medical care.

Health concerns can gradually occupy time that once belonged to work, relationships, rest or ordinary routines. Reclaiming a small activity is not the same as ignoring your body.

You might return to making dinner, take a gentle walk if this is medically appropriate for you, call someone about an unrelated subject or continue a familiar task. Choose something manageable rather than using activity to force the worry away.

The goal is not to feel perfectly calm before living your day. It is to prevent uncertainty from making every decision for you.

Consider speaking to your GP if the worry is persistent, checking or searching takes up substantial time, reassurance never seems to last, or the pattern is affecting sleep, work, relationships or daily activities.

A GP can consider your physical concern, advise on appropriate follow-up and discuss support for the distress. Depending on where you live in the UK, available NHS routes and access arrangements differ.

Counselling or therapy is another optional form of support. An independent counsellor or therapist may help you explore how you respond to bodily uncertainty, what happens before and after reassurance, and how fear is affecting your life. Therapy is not a substitute for necessary medical assessment, and seeking it does not mean your physical symptoms are unreal.

LynnMatch offers guided matching rather than therapy itself or a public directory. Any counselling or therapy is provided by independent practitioners. You do not have to decide on therapy simply because you recognise yourself in this page.

Seek healthcare when symptoms are new, changing or worsening. For severe or urgent physical symptoms, use the appropriate emergency service.

If distress is urgent but not an immediate emergency, contact your GP urgently or use the relevant local urgent or crisis service for your part of the UK.

If you need urgent mental-health support but there is no immediate danger, the following services can help:

• England: Call NHS 111 and select the mental health option.
• Scotland: Call NHS 24 on 111 and choose the mental health option.
• Wales: Call NHS 111 and press 2 for urgent mental-health support.
• Northern Ireland: Call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 for crisis support.

If life is at risk, or you cannot keep yourself or someone else safe, call 999 or go to A&E. Samaritans can also be contacted on 116 123 for listening support, but it is not an emergency medical service.

You do not have to dismiss a symptom to notice that worry, checking and reassurance have become difficult in their own right. A balanced response can include appropriate medical care, a clearer follow-up plan and support with the uncertainty surrounding your health.

One modest next step may be enough for today: prepare what you want to tell your GP, write down the advice you have already received, or learn more about whether talking support might be useful.

Source: NHS information about health anxiety

Medical assessment remains important for new or changing symptoms. If worry and repeated reassurance-seeking are taking up more of your life, talking support may also be useful. LynnMatch can help you explore independent, verified counsellors and therapists based on your needs and preferences, where suitable practitioners are available.