I thought I was dying but it was health anxiety - here's how to recognise the signs
Hollie Sharman shares her experience with health anxiety, a condition characterized by obsessive worry about being seriously ill despite medical evidence to the contrary. Experts emphasize that this condition often leads to repetitive checking behaviors and isolation.
Why it matters
Increased awareness of health anxiety is crucial for mental health support, especially as digital tools like symptom checkers can exacerbate the condition.
Image source, Hollie Sharman Image caption, Hollie Sharman spent hours searching symptoms, feeling panicked and isolated
Hollie Sharman was convinced she was dying. She would go to hospital "four to five times a week" complaining of excruciating chest pain.
"I think the longest I spent in A&E was 13 hours," says the 25-year-old. But despite numerous tests, doctors could never find anything wrong.
Sharman says she had "always worried" about her health as a child and remembers "making up any excuse" to get sent home from school and get into bed.
Her 22nd birthday meal was spent in the restaurant toilets "having the worst panic attack I've ever had".
That triggered years of health anxiety, with hours spent searching symptoms, feeling panicked and isolated.
"I was constantly Googling and using ChatGPT, every source I could get that could tell me what was wrong," she says.
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