Health anxiety - how to deal with it? Health anxiety is defined in the quote below. A person suffering from it may mistakenly believe certain fluctuations in bodily sensations to be dangerous or a sign of impending critical illness, and this may cause them to become anxious. When they become anxious, they may get symptoms of anxiety (like rapid heart rate and chest discomfort) which may lead to a positive feedback loop, resulting in a panic attack, where they may think that they have a heart attack and go to the ER. That's the worst case. The best case is frequent unnecessary visits to the doctor.

Based on Buddhist techniques, what could a health anxiety sufferer do to help himself or herself?

On the other hand, if he really did have some critical illness, but convinces himself that it's not really the case, then it's not good for his health. So, how could Buddhist techniques help him find the balance?

According to this article on health anxiety:


  The False Alarm
  
  Health anxiety is the misinterpretation of normal bodily sensations as
  dangerous. Healthy bodies produce all sorts of physical symptoms that
  might be uncomfortable, painful, unexpected, and otherwise unwanted —
  but not dangerous. Picture a car with an alarm system. It’s useful if
  your car alarm goes off when a criminal is breaking in, but it’s
  problematic if it goes off every time someone walks by. Your car alarm
  would be misinterpreting innocent pedestrians as dangerous criminals.
  
  Normal physical symptoms that often produce fear and worry include
  changes in visual acuity, heart rate and blood pressure, saliva
  levels, depth of breathing, balance, and muscle tone, to name a few.
  These are normal and harmless. But when a person misinterprets them as
  symptoms of some terrible disease, it creates undue worry. This
  explains why medical tests come out negative: The physical sensations
  are real, but they are not symptoms of a disease.
  
  Overestimating Danger
  
  Misinterpretation may be due to assumptions about health and illness,
  such as, “My cousin died of cancer, so it’s only a matter of time for
  me.” Or, “Viruses spread quickly. Since people in Africa are dying of
  Ebola, it could easily spread to the United States.” People with
  health anxiety might hold rigid definitions of good health, perhaps
  believing that any discomfort means bad health.
  
  If they hear a news story about a few cases of a serious virus, people
  with health anxiety might start scanning their own bodies for symptoms
  of the virus. Looking for symptoms makes you notice subtle sensations
  that you might otherwise ignore. With uncertainty, the imagination has
  room to create stories. And that’s when your body’s alarm sounds off
  as you imagine the worst.
  
  It Gets Tricky
  
  Symptoms of anxiety produce very real physical symptoms: Dizziness,
  stomachaches, rapid heartbeat, tingling in the hands and feet, muscle
  tension, jitteriness, chest pressure, and the list goes on. These
  symptoms add fuel to the fire. Now you have real evidence that
  something is seriously wrong. Or do you? Perhaps it’s anxiety. So how
  do you know if these symptoms are serious? You go to the doctor… and
  then to a therapist.
  
  Health anxiety persists despite reassurance from the doctor. Seeking
  reassurance from doctors, insisting on repeated medical tests, and
  visits to the ER and urgent care are common if you have health
  anxiety. This habit leads you to rely on such reassurance to obtain
  relief from health worries. A vicious cycle develops of noticing a
  sensation or learning of an illness in the world, misinterpreting it
  as threatening, then becoming anxious, and finally going to the doctor
  for reassurance. Reassurance from the doctor reduces the anxiety and
  brings relief temporarily. Soon the cycle starts again.
When the patient feels sensation, he can practice Kayanupassana(mindfulness of the body) and Vedananupassana(mindfulness of feelings). When the thoughts of worry come to the mind the patient can practice Cittanupassana(mindfulness of mental activities) and Dhammanupassana(mindfulness of realities).

This technique will reduce the worry that leads to anxiety.