Freedom from Health Anxiety , livre ebook

202

pages

English

Ebooks

2022

Écrit par
Lynn Cassiday Karen

Publié par
New Harbinger Publications

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202

pages

English

Ebook

2022

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Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

New Harbinger Publications

Date de parution

01 mars 2022

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9781684039050

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Discover essential skills to liberate yourself from persistent anxiety about your health.

Are you constantly worrying about your health, or the health of a loved one? Do you frequently check yourself for lumps, bumps, tingling, or pain? Do you find yourself endlessly looking up symptoms on the internet? Perhaps you find yourself asking others for reassurance or validation that you’re okay, obsessing over health scares in the media, or monitoring your blood pressure on an hourly basis? No matter how your health anxiety manifests, it can be a crippling psychological burden. Endlessly ruminating about illness and death can affect all aspects of life—at home, work, school, as well as the doctor’s office. And if you’re obsessing over the health of a loved one, that can put tremendous pressure on the relationship.

In Freedom from Health Anxiety, nationally recognized anxiety expert Karen Lynn Cassiday teaches you skills to conquer health anxiety, once and for all. You’ll learn to switch from focusing on worst-case scenarios to appreciating the joy of the present moment—regardless of health status. Using a blend of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), positive psychology, and the author’s “learned inhibition” model, you’ll finally acquire the tools you need to take charge of your fear and break the cycle of stressing over your—or your loved one’s—well-being. You’ll also learn effective methods for tolerating health uncertainty, getting in touch with your body’s cues, and rediscovering the pleasure of the present.

It’s time to find freedom from the obsessive fears that stand between you and true happiness. If you’re ready to trade endless hours of online self-diagnosis (Goodbye, Dr. Google!) for a life filled with a genuine appreciation for each moment, this book will show you the way.

Voir

Publié par

New Harbinger Publications

Date de parution

01 mars 2022

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9781684039050

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

FREEDOM HEALTH ANXIETFYREEDOM from f r o m HEALTH ANXIETY C A S S I D A Yand Understand Overcome Obsessive Worry and about Your HealthorSomeone Else’s Find PeaceofMind

K A R E N L Y N N C A S S I D A Y, PhD F o r e w o r d b y S i m o n R e g o , Ps yD

“As a health anxiety specialist, I applaud Karen Cassiday for helping readers understand that the illness they fear is not the illness they have. If you worry about fatal diseases,Freedom from Health Anxietyis a must-read. Cassiday pro-vides real-life examples, captures the torturous inner dialogue of people who suffer needlessly, and then provides a way out with exercises and tools.”

—Ken Goodman, LCSW, board member of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), and creator ofThe Anxiety Solution Series

“Karen Lynn Cassiday is one of the leading experts in the anxiety field, not only because she is knowledgeable, but because she has a way of translating informa-tion for health anxiety sufferers to understand and use immediately in their lives.Freedom from Health Anxietyis packed with success stories, specific strate-gies, and meaningful ways to change how you respond to your health worries. This book is exactly what you need to take back your life from health anxiety!”

—Kimberly Morrow, LCSW, anxiety therapist, author, national speaker, and co-owner of www.anxietytraining.com

“Karen Cassiday compassionately outlines a clear blueprint for dealing with anxiety about illness, dying, and death. Read this wonderful book to learn from a master clinician how to live a happy life even with medical uncertainty.”

—Elizabeth DuPont Spencer, LCSW-C, co-owner of Anxiety Training

“Karen Cassiday has written a helpful book on how to incorporate creative exposure and response prevention (ERP) exercises into the treatment of health anxiety. The guidance offered throughout is straightforward and easy to imple-ment. Readers will learn how to use gratitude to counterbalance the negative chatter that anxiety injects into one’s unfolding experience. I will be recom-mending this book to my clients looking for additional support working on moving past health anxiety.”

—Debra Kissen, PhD, MHSA, CEO of Light on Anxiety, author of Rewire Your Anxious Brain,andcoauthor ofThe Panic Workbook for TeensandBreak Free from Intrusive Thoughts

“This is an incredibly timely resource from such a talented clinician in our field. What a gift this is to the professional community, as well as to those who suffer with health anxiety. Karen shares her expertise in a validating and relatable way, and those who need help can now get it from one of the best. Thank you, Karen Cassiday!”

—Beth Salcedo, MD, psychiatrist and medical director of The Ross Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, with offices in DC, Northern VA and New York City, NY; and board member of the ADAA

“This book is an amazing gift in times such as these. I know too well how debili-tating health anxiety can be, and this is exactly what I needed thirty years ago. Cassiday clearly and compassionately presents valuable context, personal accounts, and science-based therapies to help those struggling build resilience and cultivate peace. This book is the key that will unlock a happier and health-ier mindset for countless readers.”

—Wendy Tamis Robbins, speaker, anxiety coach, attorney, and best-selling author ofThe Box

“An essential resource for anyone overwhelmed by illness concerns,Freedom from Health Anxietyis loaded with evidence-based suggestions to help you step away from avoidance, reassurance seeking, and other tactics that counterintui-tively make anxiety more difficult to manage. The powerful concepts in this book will help you understand and work through persistent patterns of worry, tolerate the difficult emotions driven by uncertainty, and selectively respond to health concerns in new, more productive ways.”

—Joel Minden, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist, and author ofShow Your Anxiety Who’s Boss

FREEDOM f r o m HEALTH ANXIETY

and Understand Overcome Obsessive Worry and about Your HealthorSomeone Else’s Find PeaceofMind

K A R E N LY N N C A S S I D A Y, PhD

New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Publisher’s Note

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the pub-lisher is not engaged in rendering psychological, financial, legal, or other professional services. If expert assistance or counseling is needed, the services of a competent pro-fessional should be sought.

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

NEW HARBINGER PUBLICATIONS is a registered trademark of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

Cover design by Amy Daniel

Acquired by Ryan Buresh

Edited by Teja Watson

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Cassiday, Karen, author. Title: Freedom from health anxiety : understand and overcome obsessive worry about your health or someone else’s and find peace of mind / Karen Cassiday, PhD. Description: Oakland, CA : New Harbinger Publications, Inc., [2022] | Includes bibliographical references. Identifiers: LCCN 2021047413 | ISBN 9781684039043 (trade paperback) Subjects: LCSH: Anxiety. | Worry--Prevention. | Stress (Psychology) | Peace of mind. | Mental health. | COVID-19 (Disease) Classification: LCC BF575.A6 C375 2022 | DDC 152.4/6--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021047413

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing

This book is dedicated to everyone who longs for peace of mind as they journey through a life that includes both the potential for great beauty and meaning alongside the certainty of bodily suffering and death.

Chapter 1

Foreword

Contents

When Is Illness Anxiety a Problem?

Chapter 2Why Can’t I Stop Worrying about My Health?

Chapter 3Dealing with Your Fears of Illness, Dying, and Death

Chapter 4Giving Up Reassurance-Seeking

Chapter 5saeceerHgiehareloTrUfoecnintaerncDanCty Your Anxiety

Chapter 6Dealing with Real Health Risks

Chapter 7

Enhancing Your Recovery

Chapter 8metsySeraCthalHerouYenohWotDahtWAccidentally Promotes Anxiety

Chapter 9Express Gratitude to Build Joy and Resilience

Chapter 10What About Other Treatments?

Acknowledgments

Resources

References

vii

104

119

141

165

177

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181

Foreword

As I write this in July 2021, the world is approximately eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, which has to date affected 220 countries and territories, with more than 191 million cases and 4 million deaths reported worldwide. In addition to its staggering impact on physical well-being and mortality, large-scale disasters like these are almost always accompanied by increases in mental health disorders, with the mental health footprint typically eventually exceeding the medical one. Prior to this pandemic, studies on the epidemiology of health anxiety suggested that it is a relatively common condition that, unlike other anxiety disorders that are more prevalent in women, appears to affect men and women equally. There were also already suggestions that rates of health anxiety were increasing, in part due to a more intense focus on monitoring health via smartphones and other connected health devices (activity trackers, Bluetooth-enabled scales and chest-strap heart rate monitors, sleep tracking devices, etc.) and in part due to an increasing use of the Internet to search for medical information for self-diagnosis of con-cerning symptoms. With this backdrop in mind, it is easy to imagine health anxiety taking center stage amongst the many medical and mental health conse-quences of COVID-19. People with health anxiety prior to the pandemic may have experienced an exacerbation in their symptoms, and people without health anxiety prior to the pandemic may now have been primed to interpret bodily sensations and symptoms, no matter how small, as dangerous or potentially even lethal. While both scenarios may be justi-fied and even considered reasonable during this time, we know that once established, health anxiety leads to continued vigilance and is often asso-ciated with constant scanning of the body, repeated requests for reassur-ance, and increased browsing on the Internet, all of which may fuel the

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