Does Health Anxiety Keep You in a Loop of "What If"?

If you're stuck in a cycle of scanning symptoms, Googling, & seeking reassurance, therapy may help.

Being in Japan, far from your familiar support network makes every physical sensation feel more uncertain. A small ache, a skipped heartbeat, or a tight chest can spiral quickly into fear.

Your efforts to resolve the fear can start to feel like a trap. Researching symptoms may bring momentary reassurance, but leads to new possibilities to worry about. Asking for reassurance from loved ones can offer brief relief, but the doubt finds a way back in.

Health anxiety feeds a painful loop: intense fear, seeking reassurance, then guilt or shame for needing it and not being able to resist the urge.

I work with adults in Japan who feel stuck in this exhausting cycle. Through evidence-based therapy, we can pave a new path.

What Health Anxiety Can Look Like

  • Frequently scanning your body for symptoms or changes
  • Googling symptoms and reading through forums to feel "sure"
  • Asking friends, partners, or doctors for reassurance, then doubting what they say
  • Feeling anxious before or after medical appointments
  • Getting stuck in thoughts like “What if they missed something?” or “What if this is serious?”
  • Struggling to focus on anything else when health fear takes hold
  • Worrying about burdening others with your fears, but not being able to stop

Over time, this cycle can feel exhausting and isolating. But it can change.

How Therapy Can Help

I offer therapy that is collaborative and focused on tailored, practical tools.

Together, we can:

  • Map out your personal cycle of fear and reassurance seeking
  • Understand what triggers your anxiety and what keeps it going
  • Practice responding to the anxious side in new, counterintuitive ways
  • Increase your tolerance for uncertainty and slowly reduce reliance on reassurance seeking
  • Build resilience and engage more in activities and with the people that matter most to you

I use evidence-based approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), tailored to your pace and style.

Especially while living abroad, feeling uncertain is part of life. Therapy can help you navigate that uncertainty without it spiraling into fear.

It starts with a simple conversation...

The first step is a free video consultation to:

  • Talk about your concerns and the things you want to change
  • Explore if we're a good fit
  • Talk about how we might collaborate on a path towards change

There's no expectation or pressure to start therapy.

Book Free 25-min Consultation

Common Concerns

Questions related to fees & insurance? Click here

Have other questions? Contact me or visit the FAQ page.

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