What is health anxiety?

Health anxiety is when you constantly worry about being ill or becoming ill. It’s characterised by an intense fear of illness, which can be debilitating and take over your life.

Here, I discuss what causes health anxiety and ways to manage it if you, or a loved one, has it.

Four calming yoga breathing exercises

These four calming breathing techniques are based on the ancient pranayama yoga practice of controlling your breath. Adding breathing exercises like these to your daily routine can help to reduce stress and anxiety.

Exercise 1: Connect with your breathing

Let’s start by placing ourselves in a comfortable seated position.

For the first exercise we’re going to connect with our breathing. Take a few moments to close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Start noticing your natural breathing. How does it sound? Is it fast or slow? How does it feel? Is it shallow or deep? Try and connect with the way you’re feeling and breathe in and out.

Now let’s deepen our breath by taking a long’ deep breath in through the nose, and exhale through the mouth with a ‘haaa’ sound.

Breathe in again, and out with the ‘haaa’ sound.

Continue this breathing exercise a few more times, breathing slowly in through your nostrils, and out through the mouth.

Relax and return slowly back to your normal breathing pattern.

Exercise 2: Ocean breathing

This next breathing exercise promotes relaxation. It’s called ocean breathing because each long, deep and controlled breath sounds like the ocean.

Once you feel comfortable try to keep your mouth closed as you exhale, while tightening the back of your throat to produce the sound. You should also be engaging your tummy area. See if you can maintain the sound, even with your lips closed.

Now relax and return back to your normal breathing pattern.

Exercise 3: Alternate nostril breathing

From here, let’s move into alternate nostril breathing. This exercise will aim to help you breath more easily through the nose and mouth, and let go of any stress and tension.

Let your left hand rest on your left knee. Exhale and then press your right thumb against your right nostril to close it.

Now inhale through your left nostril and then close the left nostril with your thumb or fingers.

Open your right nostril and exhale through your right nostril. Inhale through your right nostril and then close this nostril.

Next open your left nostril and exhale through this side.

You have just completed one round. Let’s keep going and repeat a few more rounds, alternating between your left and right nostril, and ending on your left nostril.

Repeat this exercise three times or for longer if you wish.

Relax, and return back to your normal breathing.

Exercise 4: Cooling breath

This last breathing exercise is very calming and great for cooling down the entire body. To do it, you need to be able to curl the sides of your tongue. Not everyone can do this, so If you can’t just skip this exercise.

Fold your tongue, curling the sides to form a tube. Close your mouth and stick the end of your tongue out between your pursed lips.

Inhale slowly through the tube shape of your tongue as if you are sipping air through a straw. Let your breath expand your chest and belly.

Now close your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose.

Repeat this exercise at least five to 10 times. Or try it for longer if you have the time.

Try these calming breathing exercises when you wake up in the morning to prepare you for the day ahead. You can repeat them for up to 15 minutes at other times of the day too, or before you go to sleep, to boost your physical and mental wellbeing.

Four calming yoga breathing exercises

These four calming breathing techniques are based on the ancient pranayama yoga practice of controlling your breath. Adding breathing exercises like these to your daily routine can help to reduce stress and anxiety.

Exercise 1: Connect with your breathing

Let’s start by placing ourselves in a comfortable seated position.

For the first exercise we’re going to connect with our breathing. Take a few moments to close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Start noticing your natural breathing. How does it sound? Is it fast or slow? How does it feel? Is it shallow or deep? Try and connect with the way you’re feeling and breathe in and out.

Now let’s deepen our breath by taking a long’ deep breath in through the nose, and exhale through the mouth with a ‘haaa’ sound.

Breathe in again, and out with the ‘haaa’ sound.

Continue this breathing exercise a few more times, breathing slowly in through your nostrils, and out through the mouth.

Relax and return slowly back to your normal breathing pattern.

Exercise 2: Ocean breathing

This next breathing exercise promotes relaxation. It’s called ocean breathing because each long, deep and controlled breath sounds like the ocean.

Once you feel comfortable try to keep your mouth closed as you exhale, while tightening the back of your throat to produce the sound. You should also be engaging your tummy area. See if you can maintain the sound, even with your lips closed.

Now relax and return back to your normal breathing pattern.

Exercise 3: Alternate nostril breathing

From here, let’s move into alternate nostril breathing. This exercise will aim to help you breath more easily through the nose and mouth, and let go of any stress and tension.

Let your left hand rest on your left knee. Exhale and then press your right thumb against your right nostril to close it.

Now inhale through your left nostril and then close the left nostril with your thumb or fingers.

Open your right nostril and exhale through your right nostril. Inhale through your right nostril and then close this nostril.

Next open your left nostril and exhale through this side.

You have just completed one round. Let’s keep going and repeat a few more rounds, alternating between your left and right nostril, and ending on your left nostril.

Repeat this exercise three times or for longer if you wish.

Relax, and return back to your normal breathing.

Exercise 4: Cooling breath

This last breathing exercise is very calming and great for cooling down the entire body. To do it, you need to be able to curl the sides of your tongue. Not everyone can do this, so If you can’t just skip this exercise.

Fold your tongue, curling the sides to form a tube. Close your mouth and stick the end of your tongue out between your pursed lips.

Inhale slowly through the tube shape of your tongue as if you are sipping air through a straw. Let your breath expand your chest and belly.

Now close your mouth and exhale slowly through your nose.

Repeat this exercise at least five to 10 times. Or try it for longer if you have the time.

Try these calming breathing exercises when you wake up in the morning to prepare you for the day ahead. You can repeat them for up to 15 minutes at other times of the day too, or before you go to sleep, to boost your physical and mental wellbeing.

Keep a diary

Keep a diary and note down things to do with your health and worries. You could include:

what you notice in your body
if and when you ask for reassurance from people
how often you check your body
what health information you look at and for how long
anything that triggers feelings of worry or anxiety about your health

Keeping a diary can help you notice patterns of behaviour. This may help you rationalise them (put into perspective) and reduce them.

Reduce the time you spend looking for reassurance

It’s important to seek medical advice from time to time. But repeatedly looking for reassurance or information about your symptoms can be unhelpful. In fact, spending too much time looking at information can make you more convinced you have a physical illness.

Try to reduce how often you seek reassurance. Instead, build-up a sense of confidence in your own wellbeing. Create space for more positivity in your life.

Every time you have the urge to go on the internet, distract yourself or do something you enjoy. Make a cup of tea, call a friend or go for a brisk walk, if you can. Other things that may help include the following.

Put your phone or tablet away during times of feeling anxious.
Keep devices out of your bedroom so you’re not tempted to search online during the evening or if you wake at night.
Avoid TV shows about medical emergencies or illness, as these may trigger feelings of worry.
Focus on something you get enjoyment from, such as drawing, exercise, cooking or baking.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

CBT is a type of talking therapy that can help to improve your mental health. It aims to change negative thoughts and beliefs you may have that can affect how you feel and behave.

CBT is an effective treatment for any form of anxiety, including health anxiety. Your therapist may help you explore the reasons why you first developed health anxiety. For example, if it began when a friend or family member suddenly became ill.

Learn more about how CBT works in our animation.

CBT technique for unhelpful thoughts (animation)

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that can help to improve your mental health. It aims to change negative thoughts and beliefs you may have, that can affect how you feel and behave.

Hundreds of automatic thoughts pop into our head every day. Sometimes these are negative and unhelpful. But thoughts are not facts, so it’s helpful to challenge our thinking. A ‘thought record’ is one CBT technique that can help you look at negative thoughts in a more balanced way.

This exercise works well if you have a notepad and pen to write down your answers.

Step 1. Think about the situation that’s upsetting you. What emotions and feelings do you have?

How intense are they? Rate the intensity from one to 10, with 10 being the most intense.

Step 2. What is the negative thought?

Try and be specific about the thoughts running through your mind and write them down. Perhaps something hasn’t gone as well as you’d have liked. Your thoughts start spiralling and you start to think that everything always goes wrong and maybe even that you’re a bad person.

Step 3. Now it’s time to put your thoughts on trial. Focus on the facts – is there any factual evidence that this thought is true?

Does everything always go wrong? Are you really a terrible person? Was what happened your responsibility entirely? Would you say the same things to someone you cared about who was in this situation?

Step 4. Now, what is the evidence that this thought is not true?

Can you think of a time when something you did went well? What about your friends and family and how much they care and value you? What are the good things in this situation?

Step 5. Weigh up the evidence. Is there an alternative thought? A more balanced and realistic way of looking at things?

Perhaps alternative thoughts could be: Things didn’t go as well as I’d liked, but that’s ok. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I am a good, kind person. I am human and doing the best I can.

Step 6. Check back in with yourself. How do you feel now? Rate the intensity again from one to 10.

Remember, the way that you think about a situation affects how you feel. Try this exercise next time automatic negative thoughts start to affect you.

If you are worried about your mental health, please see your GP for help and support.