For some, it starts with a sudden heart palpitation. For others, it might be an unexpected ache, or perhaps a strange mole or bruise. 鈥淲hat is it? Where did it come from? What does it mean? Am I sick?鈥�
Everyone has worried moments like these 鈥� but for some, those worries are ongoing, maybe even at times unrelenting.
Health anxiety (which in the past has sometimes been referred to as hypochondriasis in clinical diagnosis) may be more common than you think: population studies have found that anywhere between 1 and 10 per cent of people may suffer from it. And new research from Dal student Chantal Gautreau offers insight into the cycles that perpetuate it.
鈥淧eople worry about their health on a regular basis, and that鈥檚 quite normal,鈥� says Gautreau, who graduated last May with her BSc in Psychology and has worked as a research assistant at Dal since then. 鈥淗ealth anxiety is a disproportionate worry; it鈥檚 worry when there鈥檚 not the cause to be as worried as you are.鈥�
A vicious cycle
Her research, published recently in Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, looks at the relationship between health anxiety and what鈥檚 known as the 鈥渃atastrophizing鈥� of body sensations. In other words: Gautreau鈥檚 work explores how an individual鈥檚 exaggerated thoughts about minor changes or occurrences with their health (the catastrophizing) connect with and affect how they feel (the anxiety).
鈥淲e were trying to show that it is a cycle: that someone who is anxious about their health will think about their health in an extreme, catastrophic manner, and this then makes the anxiety worse.鈥�
Sure enough, that鈥檚 what Gautreau鈥檚 research found, based on data from more than 450 undergraduate-aged adults with sub-clinical level s of health anxiety (ie. they do not necessarily have a clinical diagnosis of for health anxiety).聽 This may seem like an obvious conclusion, and certainly one that would be expected given existing research. However, Gautreau鈥檚 work is the first to examine, in detail, this relationship between catastrophizing of body sensations and health anxiety.
The study, which doubled as her honours project, was supervised by and of the . (Dr. Stewart is also a faculty member in the .)聽 Gautreau鈥檚 research is notable as it鈥檚 rare for undergraduate research in the field to be published in scholarly journals.
A costly problem
The reason it鈥檚 important to understand health anxiety, explains Gautreau, is that it can lead to heavy costs for both individuals and the health-care system.
鈥淚t takes a toll on an individual, and sometimes their efforts to seek treatment or talk about it with friends will only make it worse,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hey may also seek medical advice for illnesses they don鈥檛 have, or undergo costly procedures that could cause medical complications in the future.鈥�
It鈥檚 notable that the data for Gautreau鈥檚 research is based on undergrads: health anxiety, like many anxiety disorders, often onsets during one鈥檚 late teens or early 20s, meaning that identifying and understanding sub-clinical health anxiety can help young adults manage the condition better.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really important for medical professionals to recognize health anxiety,鈥� says Gautreau. 鈥淥ne way to possibly intervene that鈥檚 suggested by my study is working on those catastrophizing thoughts: helping patients think differently about their bodily sensations.鈥�
After spending this summer as a research assistant in Dr. Sherry鈥檚 lab, Gautreau plans to take her work in a slightly different direction, examining couple relationships as part of her master鈥檚 research in Clinical Psychology at the University of Waterloo.