Health anxiety disorders: a cognitive construal

Abstract

The features of severe health anxiety, intense and persistent anxiety about one's present and future health, are described. In common with other anxiety disorders such as GAD, PTSD and OCD, the core of HAD is distressing, uncontrollable anxiety, and is classifiable as an Anxiety Disorder, Health Anxiety Disorder (HAD). The cognitive construal of HAD proposes that health anxiety is caused by catastrophic misinterpretations of the significance of sensations and/or changes in bodily functions and appearance (such as swellings, pain, loss of energy, dizzy spells). The nature, causes, triggers, persistence, assessment and treatment of HAD are reviewed, and the present status of the cognitive model is appraised. Suggestions are made for future research and clinical applications, and the need for incisive evaluations of the main premises of the model is emphasized.