Surviving the Pandemic: Health Anxiety

Welcome to the third post in my “Surviving the Pandemic” blog post series.

This series features posts about the current issues facing lots of us during the pandemic and lockdown.

I’m looking at how we can all stay social during these tough times – and what different bloggers think about online learning.

Today I want to talk about health anxiety. I want to discuss what it is, and how we can make sure we’re looking out for our mental and physical health.

Just a disclaimer that I’m not a medical professional – a lot of this blog post is common-sense or my personal experience.

What is Health Anxiety?

Health anxiety is a constant preoccupation with your health, such as anxiety about whether you have an illness or condition, or worrying about falling ill.

This can be a low-level worry, or it can turn into something more dangerous that may take over someone’s life.

Is Health Anxiety On the Rise?

I read a very interesting article about the increase in health anxiety among young people since the start of the pandemic – and a large part of this is due to the rise in conversation about our physical and mental health due to coronavirus.

Every little rash or cough is suddenly terrifying – and I can definitely see the correlation between the pandemic and health anxiety.

Everything in the news seems to be about our health – whether it’s the vaccine, the virus itself or how we’re building our immune system to stay healthy.

So it’s not surprising there’s been an increase in health anxiety during the current situation – and it can feel hard to escape the worry of illness during these difficult times.

Top Tips to Look After Your Physical Health

Health anxiety doesn’t help anyone!

Obsessing about your health isn’t going to help your mental health – and stress can even make some symptoms worse.

During the pandemic, there’s so little we can control – especially when it comes to our physical health, and this lack of control doesn’t help with your health or lockdown anxiety.

In this blog post, I’ve put together 5 simple tips to look after yourself during the pandemic. Hopefully, this can help to reduce your health anxiety!

Vitamin D

Early on in the pandemic, there were questions about whether vitamin D could help prevent coronavirus.

Now this has all been confirmed as speculation at this point, but taking vitamin D has so many benefits for your body and immune system – and if you live in the UK, chances are you’re not getting enough during the winter months.

vitamin D foods, such as salmon and eggs
Picture credits here

As with all vitamin supplements, it’s hard to tell how much difference they are making to your overall health, but I like to have control over a small part of my health – and I recommend checking out different supplements for your different needs.

You can also get vitamin D from the sun and certain foods – but it’s often a hard vitamin to get naturally.

Exercise and Good Food

Eating well definitely doesn’t mean eating healthy all the time – but it’s a great idea to keep your immune system strong by including healthy food in your diet whenever you can.

During lockdown I’ve tried to take a more active role in my health, exercising regularly and making conscious choices about what I’m eating.

While it’s perfectly natural to comfort eat or indulge, I also think it’s important to think about what we’re putting in our bodies at the moment.

We need to make sure our immune systems are in a strong position to fight any viruses or infections that might come along.

Staying active is also super important – and keeping fit can help speed up recovery if you do fall ill.

Improve Your Gut Health

I’ve taken some steps to improve my gut health, and eating probiotics can help your digestion and keep your body balanced and healthy – both mentally and physically.

Health anxiety - image of a drawn on gut on a stomach
Picture credits here

You can manage your gut health by eating foods such as yoghurt, fibre or even taking a probiotic or digestive supplement.

Wash your hands!

I think we’ve all started washing our hands a little more since the start of the pandemic, and it’s one of the easiest ways to look out for your health.

As a rule, try to wash your hands every time you come back into your house, and use hand sanitiser when you’re out and about.

As things start to open more in the next couple of months, we need to keep protecting ourselves and others.

Don’t forget to wash your hands, avoid touching your face and keep your distance from others.

Speak to a GP

If there’s something that’s bothering you, sometimes a conversation with the GP can put your mind at rest – and double-check whether there is anything to worry about.

I find the NHS website very reassuring for small niggles or worries, and it is the best place to find simple, accurate advice.

Do not search symptoms online unless you’re using a reputable website, and remember that most things can be treated or managed if it comes to that!

Stay tuned for the final post in this series – a positive post about hope for the future! How can we start to look forward to things again, and where is there hope for the future?

Have you noticed the increase in anxiety during the pandemic? What are your tips for staying fit and healthy? Have you started any new fitness or exercise routines during lockdown?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Happy reading x

70 thoughts

  1. I’ve had bouts of health anxiety, my mind often drifts to cancer. I’ve always worried that I might be a hypochondriac, but fortunately (or not), a load of health issues did pop up around the stuff I was worrying about as my symptoms went unexplained for years. But not cancer, thankfully

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  3. This are good tips and advice. Thank you for sharing. Btw, I also read an article about some people improve their mental health during this pandemic. It’s because they have less socialisation. And they are able to reflect themselves well.

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  4. I agree, yes I sneezed in the street the other day and everyone gave me a dirty look haha! Me too, I think taking vitamin D is a healthy habit to implement even if it’s not got a link to covid x

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  5. I’ve suffered from really bad health anxiety in the past – pre pandemic. I’ve written about it on my blog but it got so bad that I couldn’t do anything but lay in bed and stare at the ceiling for a whole weekend and ended up sobbing in the nurses office and being put on medication. I think people have to realise that it’s a really debilitating illness at times. I’m much better now and don’t worry nowhere near as much and I’m surprised the pandemic didn’t make it flare up for me but I can imagine a lot of people did start to experience some elements of HA during the pandemic.

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    1. Thank you for sharing, I think it definitely needs to be taken seriously when it comes to the effect it can have on other aspects of your health and life- especially mental health. I’m glad things have improved for you, it sounds like you got the help you needed which is good to hear x

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  6. I relate with this so much. At the beginning of the pandemic, but I think even from earlier, I thought that some symptoms might be life threatening or the beginning of something more complicated, luckily for now it’s much less. Thank you for sharing x

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  7. Health anxiety is a huge issue. It is something I see in my safeguarding role a lot and worryingly it is becoming a real issue. In some cases, with some families it is bordering on fabricated illness and in extreme cases, Munchausen by proxy.

    It is really worrying and is alarming how wide the effect of the pandemic is. Thanking for talking about this, its a worrying topic for us all and I think we probably all feel some anxiety about our health, especially those who may have avoided GP’s or missed treatment for something due to the pandemic x

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    1. That’s an extreme level, I get what you mean and I think it has got a lot worse during these tough times. Yes, we all have anxiety about it in one way or another, but it’s definitely the mood of society and the media at the moment- unfortunately there is quite a public preoccupation with our health and wellbeing x

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  10. Thank you for this! I’ve really been struggling recently. I managed to get into a habit of exercising when feeling all sorts of anxious and it really helped but I’ve really struggled finding the motivation to get back into it.

    Megan Elizabeth

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  11. These were some really useful tips and advices. I totally agree on the Vitamin D part having only begun taking supplements recently after my doctor prescribed them. I’m seeing a lot of changes health wise. I’ve been becoming quite anxious about health and my eating and have been trying to get things better. This post definitely did give me the motivation and advice I needed 😃

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    1. I think vitamin D is especially important if you live somewhere where you’re not getting much sun (or during the winter months) 🙂 I’m glad you’ve been looking out for your health, thank you for sharing stay safe x

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  12. I absolutely loved the post. These tips are very helpful. I am suffering from health anxiety ever since the pandemic started. Each time I feel something, my brain starts to race, and I keep waiting to check the evolution of the pain or disturb. I’m trying to be as healthy as I can be in order to eliminate any disturb but I always have some doubt in my mind. Thank you for sharing these tips I will definitely keep them in mind.

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  13. Thank you so much Ruth! Yes I agree, I think health anxiety has been on the rise just because of the situation and the public preoccupation with our health. I hope you found some help knowing that others are going through the same anxieties and worries x

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  15. This is such an extremely important topic. Governments (as far as I’m aware of) don’t campaign for good health and immune system (exercise, nutrition and supplements like vitamin d and zinc). Nice to see you take this on!

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  17. I can relate SO much. I’ve always been mildly anxious, but after the start of the pandemic by anxiety kicked into overdrive. I became so fixated on bodily sensations and fearful that any chest pain or discomfort was a heart attack. It’s been months of therapy, yoga, journaling, and meditation and I’m finally feeling a little more comfortable and accepting of my noisy body and trusting that I’m truly OK. I always recommend going to a doctor at first to rule out anything physical, and after speaking to my doctor and finding everything to be normal, I was blown away at how my anxiety could manifest so physically.

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    1. I completely understand that, and it can be so hard to trust yourself fully when it comes to your health. I’m glad you recognised there was an issue there, and it looks like you’ve done so well with your mental health to combat it 🙂 Yes that’s so true, speaking to a medical professional is a must x

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  19. I completely understand, that must be so hard. I think covid has brought out that fear in us- whether we’re scared of covid or just getting ill in general! I think all you can do is manage anxiety and look after yourself as best you can- I’m sure you’re staying safe and that’s what matters when it comes to covid! Thank you 🙂

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  26. Thank you for sharing these tips. Since the lockdown, I’ve been really stressed about my mental and physical health. I get paranoid over new moles or a small pain. I think it’s been helpful to have people to calm me down. Gut health is also really important to look after, especially when most of us are sitting in out houses for most of the day!

    Em x

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    1. I understand that, our health is such a huge pre-occupation at the moment! I agree, I think looking out for your health is a great long-term way to reduce anxiety and also look after yourself 🙂 thank you for sharing, stay safe x

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  27. Heightened concern about health issues has been a feature of the past twelve months for people of all ages. Of course, it doesn’t always develop into anxiety or depression.The problem for many people has been either the inability to get a face to face doctor appointment, or an unwillingness to engage with a doctor when so many are stressed out because of Covid. We feel guilty for bringing “little problems” in such an environment.
    Your points about good diet and exercise are absolutely right. One of the best remedies for moodiness, I find, is a healthy helping of the thing you most enjoy doing.

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    1. Yes I agree, it’s an issue for everyone. I think people need to realise the GP is still happy to discuss what may seem like a “small” issue” Thank you, I agree that staying fit and healthy can stop any small anxieties getting out of hand x

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  31. I’ve definitely found this post at the right time. I’ve been forgetting to look after myself. Vitamin D is so important and often overlooked. Thank you for sharing.

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