We love YouTube! From funny cat videos to helpful explainer videos to tear-inducing proposal videos…there’s no shortage of videos for everybody, on every subject. Luckily, that includes YouTube videos for hypochondriacs or for those who are struggling with health anxiety.
These types of videos are helpful to watch when you are in the middle of a health anxiety attack. Firstly, they can assure you that you are not alone. There are many other people who struggle with hypochondria and health anxiety, so that should provide some comfort when you are in the throes of obsessive thinking and worrying.
Secondly, these types of videos are helpful to watch because they provide actionable steps on what to do when you are essentially paralyzed by fear and/or worry. Sometimes, when you’re at the height of your hypochondria, it’s hard to do anything other than focus on your worries, even if there are other things you need (or want) to get done. In these circumstances, it’s sometimes helpful when somebody (or, in this case, a YouTube video) tells you exactly what to do. It will be easy for you to focus your efforts on following the instructions instead of expending the mental energy to think about what you should do.
In any case, here are our top seven helpful YouTube Videos for hypochondriacs:
How To Deal With Health Anxiety and Hypochondria
This twenty-minute video is hosted by Dr. Tracey Marks, an Atlanta-based psychiatrist who makes regular videos surrounding various topics focused on mental health. Dr. Marks does a great job of answering questions surrounding hypochondria and health anxiety, such as:
What does hypochondria and health anxiety look like?
What is the difference between generalized anxiety disorder and hypochondria?
How does one develop hypochondria?
Do pills and medications work for hypochondria?
Why is CBT considered the most effective treatment for health anxiety?
In this video, Dr. Marks explains that hypochondriacs regularly misinterpret bodily sensations as indicators of a serious disease – even after they have been told that they don’t have that disease. Many hypochondriacs believe that their doctor has missed something.
This video has some great self-talk ideas as to how you can begin to combat your hypochondria and health anxiety.
5 Ways to Stop the Health Anxiety Cycle
This fifteen-minute video is made by Emma McAdam, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who runs a popular YouTube channel (with over 750,000 subscribers) called Therapy in a Nutshell.
Emma McAdam delves into the fact that health anxiety can usually start with a particular body sensation or even just hearing about the illness that somebody else has. This video jumps into five things that can make your health anxiety worse (and what you should do instead) and how to break out of the health anxiety cycle.
Health Anxiety | How To Do Treatment
This twelve-minute video is a great explainer video if you’re at the beginning of your health anxiety/hypochondria journey. The owner of this video, a licensed clinical social worker, delves into the differences between health anxiety and real danger as well as some guidelines for how to complete health anxiety treatment. Some of the topics you can expect in this video are:
What Does Health Anxiety Look Like?
Health Anxiety vs Real Danger
Why Do I Have Health Anxiety?
Treatment For Health Anxiety
Health anxiety – 10 Minute CBT
This three-minute video is an excerpt from a longer, ten minute video entitled “10 Minute CBT.” In this clip, you will be able to watch a general practitioner demonstrate easy CBT strategies with a patient who is currently experiencing high health anxiety.
This is definitely the shortest video of the group, and worth checking out if you just need a quick video to help you if you don’t have a lot of time.
I’M SO AFRAID! | How I Beat Heath Anxiety Forever (ACTUALLY WORKS!!) (2022)
This five-minute video gets into the nitty-gritty of the brain being hardwired to survive, and why the nervous system is so intricately connected to the brain. If you’ve ever wondered why you are the way you are when you’re having so many health anxiety thoughts, this is definitely the video for you.
Then, the video delves into how to empower yourself and successfully challenge your thoughts. With a total five-minute run time, this video packs the punch full of what you need to know!
The #1 Most Powerful Health Anxiety Technique (Hypochondria)
This eight-minute video gives a brief introduction to mapping, which is a treatment commonly used for health anxiety and/or hypochondria. Mapping is the process of working with your unconscious mind to promote feelings of neutrality. Sufferers of health anxiety are quick to catastrophize and think the worst of their thoughts. Mapping tries to redirect hypochondriacs to the neutral, and even the positive, side of their thoughts.
Top 10 Rules To Crush Health Anxiety (Hypochondria)
This eighteen-minute video is a long one, but it goes extremely in depth. With a goal of moving you towards desensitization, this video will give you the building blocks toward overcoming your current hypochondriac state. The ten rules that are covered in this video are:
We Must Change The Way We Look at Disease
Which of these YouTube videos for hypochondriacs are your favorite?
We Must Learn to Replace a Bad Behavior with Another Behavior
See Yourself as a Magnet, and Be Uncomfortable with Anxiety Behavior
Get Uncomfortable With Anything Related With Anxiety
Replace Your Identity
Understand and Apply the Law of Substitution and the Law of Repetition
Wake Up and Go to Sleep with a New Routine That Encourages Progress
Train Your Subconscious to Understand that Change is Safe and Necessary
Eliminate all Negative Programming From Your Life
Look at Somebody That Has Been In Your Shoes
Which of these YouTube videos for hypochondriacs are your favorite?
