hi guys, i just wanted to let everyone know about a great book ive found. ive spent months trying to find a book specifically aimed at people with health anxiety, and i kind of stumbled across this one by accident, so i figured that lots of other people may have missed it too.
It is called It's Not all in your head - How worrying about your health could be making you sick - and what you can do about it),by Gordon J G Asmundson and Steven Taylor. It's £11.99 plus postage from Amazon.
From what i know about CBT i think it is pretty much based on this approach, there are 17 worksheets to do, and there are also relaxation techniques to help you.
There are loads of case studies covering just about every symptom you can think of. Before i read it i could see how some symptoms could be caused by anxiety (e.g. breathing problems or palipitations etc) but i couldnt really see how you can explain other symptoms (e.g. weird moles, lumps, pains etc) in this way. They make you realise that the more you focus on your body the more you notice anything that appears weird, and if you have HA you will most likely see it as a sign of a serious illness, even when the chances are it is not.
They give loads of suggestions on how to view symptoms differently, and also how your behaviour might be making your HA, and your symptoms worse e.g. repetitive checking of your body. Ive already managed to cut down on the checking which was driving me mad!
Theres also sections about how your family can help, and how to deal with doctors. oh, and theres no scary stuff e.g. no lists of symptoms which mean you probably are about to pop your clogs any minute!
sorry to make this sound like a boring book review, but i really think this book could help a lot of people, i will probably have to wait at least 8 months for CBT and i think this book will really help in the meantime.
let me know how you get on!
good luck,
mag
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