Avoiding Avoidance

Breaking Free from the Cycle of Health Anxiety

Health anxiety is the constant rumination about your body—obsessing over a lingering cough, a new bruise, or a minor ache.

It’s an exhausting loop of worry, fear, and seeking reassurance that can feel impossible to escape.

For me, health anxiety shaped my daily life. It wasn’t just about my own body; it extended to my loved ones. I found myself avoiding TV shows and movies that triggered anxiety or fueled my fears. Avoidance became my coping mechanism—avoiding doctor’s appointments, avoiding certain conversations, avoiding anything that might reinforce my worst fears.

But at other times, reassurance was the only thing that seemed to work. I would doctor shop, visiting multiple physicians weekly, searching for confirmation that I was okay. If I wasn’t seeking reassurance from medical professionals, I was turning to social media, hoping for validation from others who had experienced similar symptoms.

The reassurance would provide a brief high until the anxiety returned.

I can still remember the way I would prepare for doctor’s visits, rehearsing every detail of the appointment in my mind. I convinced myself that preparation would ease my anxiety. Instead, it only created more. The cycle was relentless—worry, avoidance, reassurance, temporary relief, then back to worry.

Health anxiety took a toll on every aspect of my life. It wasn’t just my battle—it crept into my relationships. I would become consumed with worry for my husband and children, convinced that every small symptom could mean something serious. The weight of constant fear was suffocating.

The truth is, this isn’t really living.

There is no comfort in bouncing between extremes—between avoidance and obsessive reassurance-seeking. And any momentary relief it offers is fleeting at best.

What finally helped me break free?

Avoiding avoidance.

It sounds counterintuitive, but the more I leaned into my fears rather than running from them, the more power I regained. I started sitting with discomfort instead of immediately seeking reassurance. I began challenging my thoughts instead of letting them dictate my actions. I slowly unlearned the habit of avoidance and started to trust my body again.

If you struggle with health anxiety, know that you’re not alone. It’s a tough battle, but it is possible to reclaim your life. Healing comes from stepping out of the cycle, from confronting fears rather than feeding them. The first step is the hardest—but it’s also the most freeing.

You don’t have to live in fear. You deserve peace.