Cyberchondria: When Googling Your Symptoms Spirals Into Panic
Online searches about new health symptoms and medical scares have become such a societal pattern, the act of repeatedly googling every new ailment now has a name: Cyberchondria. If your internet search history lists every new freckle, stomachache or heart flutter, you might fall into this category. Online health content is becoming more and more accessible (although not necessarily helpful), yet more people are experiencing health anxiety than relief. Fortunately, there are helpful steps to take to find real relief from the obsessive online searches that can help set the anxious mind at ease.
What Cyberchondria Actually Is
Cyberchondria is the pattern of repeatedly searching health information online in response to physical symptoms or health worries, resulting in increased anxiety rather than reassurance.
Cyberchondria is not the same thing as being informed and educated about your health. What distinguishes it from useful online research is that cyberchondria is hurtful, not helpful. The constant searching actually increases anxiety and creates a loop of health anxiety → online search → more anxiety. People prone to health anxiety are experiencing more anxiety through the compulsive need to search every symptom. While this pattern may sound like another trendy condition - Cyberchondria is a real, recognized phenomenon among medical and mental health clinicians. It is often associated with various mental health conditions such as Illness Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
Why Online Searches Makes Anxiety Worse, Not Better
The compulsive search cycle: researching symptoms online can provide temporary relief of anxiety and a false sense of knowledge, increasing the urge to search symptoms in the future
Online searches provide temporary reassurance which fades and leads to more Googling
Online research can never provide certainty, and one can stay online, reading more and more about their symptoms, and never get any real answers
The internet is set up to provide more of whatever gets the most clicks, and unfortunately, serious and rare health conditions are more interesting and engaging than the common and simple explanations for everyday symptoms. Therefore, online health content is disproportionately weighted towards life-threatening diseases and those are what are going to appear at the top of the webpage.
How CBT Can Help
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the leading evidence-based therapy modality for treating anxiety. CBT targets the underlying anxiety causing health-based internet searches, instead of simply changing the behavior. CBT utilizes multiple science-backed tactics to manage anxiety and reframe thoughts:
Cognitive Restructuring: Identify and challenge catastrophic and generalized thoughts like, “A sore neck means a tumor”
Exposure and Response Prevention: Reducing reassurance-seeking behaviors like Googling symptoms while learning to sit with feelings of uncertainty
Acceptance-Based Approaches: Accepting that certainty is rarely a true option, instead accepting not being in control and learning to live with that reality
Behavior Management: Brief but effective changes in behavior like setting a time limit for researching symptoms, delaying a search by 30 minutes to allow the feeling of anxiety to fade (these are helpful, but working with a clinician can address the root issue)
If your Google search history is overwhelmingly full of panicked, health-based searches and the anxiety has yet to fade, it might be time to seek out help from a professional who can provide strategies to address the anxiety and ultimately ease the urge to always seek medical reassurance. Cyberchondria negatively affects one’s mental health and everyday life, but it can be managed and treated. Reach out to connect with a trained professional who can provide next steps in managing health anxiety.