Health Anxiety Support
Hypnotherapy for health anxiety and fear of illness
Health anxiety can be deeply distressing. When worries about health take hold, even normal bodily sensations can feel alarming. A small ache, change, or symptom may trigger repeated checking, reassurance-seeking, or fear that something serious is being missed.
Hypnotherapy offers a gentle, nervous-system–based approach to health anxiety, helping reduce the constant sense of threat rather than trying to reason fears away.
What is health anxiety?
Health anxiety involves an ongoing fear of illness or serious health problems, even when medical reassurance has been given. It can show up in many ways, including:
heightened awareness of bodily sensations
frequent checking or monitoring
repeated internet searching for symptoms
difficulty trusting medical reassurance
fear that symptoms will worsen or be missed
anxiety that spikes after illness, stress, or medical experiences
Health anxiety is not a character flaw or overreaction. It is often the nervous system doing its best to protect you — just in an unhelpful way.
Why health anxiety feels so real
The brain is designed to detect danger. When the nervous system becomes sensitised — often through stress, illness, trauma, or prolonged uncertainty — it can start interpreting neutral sensations as threatening.
Once this cycle begins:
attention becomes focused on the body
anxiety increases physical sensations
reassurance provides only temporary relief
fear returns stronger than before
Hypnotherapy works by calming this cycle at its source.
How hypnotherapy can help with health anxiety
Hypnotherapy does not try to convince you that “nothing is wrong”. Instead, it helps the nervous system step out of constant alarm mode.
Sessions can support you to:
reduce fear responses to bodily sensations
calm hypervigilance and scanning
rebuild trust in your body
reduce reassurance-seeking and checking behaviours
feel more grounded and present
respond to uncertainty with less distress
As the nervous system settles, thoughts about health tend to lose their urgency and emotional charge.
Health anxiety and previous experiences
Health anxiety often develops after:
illness or injury
medical procedures or investigations
caring for someone who was unwell
prolonged stress or burnout
traumatic health-related experiences
Even when the original event has passed, the nervous system may continue acting as though danger is imminent. Hypnotherapy can help resolve this learned pattern.
A compassionate, collaborative approach
You will never be dismissed or told that symptoms are “imagined”. Hypnotherapy respects that your experience is real, while gently helping your body respond differently.
This work complements medical care and does not replace medical assessment where needed. The focus is on reducing suffering, fear, and nervous system overload.
Online and in-person support
Health anxiety sessions are available:
online, and
in person in Chichester and West Sussex
Many people prefer online sessions, particularly when anxiety makes travel or appointments feel stressful.
Considering support for health anxiety?
If worries about health are taking up mental space, affecting sleep, or stopping you from living fully, hypnotherapy may offer a calmer way forward.
You are welcome to book a free initial consultation to talk things through and see whether this approach feels right.