Conquering Health Anxiety Quotes

“Many studies have shown that fish oil supplements have the potential to reduce anxiety symptoms.  While the taste of some of these supplements may be a put-off, they contain omega-3 fatty acids, which have long been seen as anxiety and depression busters.  For those of you who do not eat fish, there are other great sources of omega-3 fatty acids on the market that you can find at good health food stores.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Valerian is a herbal remedy that is commonly taken as a way of aiding sleep, as well as relieving mild anxiety. It can be found in many of the herbal sleeping pills that you can find in high street chemists. Valerian can be taken in both tablet or liquid form, which you dilute with water. I must admit, the latter does smell quite foul but is less noticeable in a nice sugary cup of tea!”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“It has been suggested that a Vitamin C deficiency can reduce our ability to handle stress and anxiety. As it's primarily found in fruit and veggies, it's important to make sure that your body is getting it's fair share of the stuff! We often associate oranges with having the highest vitamin C content but other great sources are strawberries, green peppers and kale. Vitamin D comes from a number of food sources such as eggs and oily fish, but also from exposure to the sun's ultra-violet light. As anxiety sufferers may avoid leaving the comforts of their own home, it is no surprise that we may be deficient in this important vitamin. It is therefore important that we acquire this from other sources.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“It has been suggested that a Vitamin C deficiency can reduce our ability to handle stress and anxiety. As it's primarily found in fruit and veggies, it's important to make sure that your body is getting it's fair share of the stuff! We often associate oranges with having the highest vitamin C content but other great sources are strawberries, green peppers and kale. Vitamin”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Vitamin B vitamins have long been seen as a great supplement to lower anxiety levels. Vitamins B6 (pyridoxine), B1 (thiamine) and B12 (cobalamin) have been seen as particularly effective. I personally take a B-Complex vitamin each night which I feel has given me extra energy. You can also get Vitamin B from a number of food sources, from turkey and tuna, to lentils and beans.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“The problem is that drinking a lot of caffeinated drinks has been proven to exacerbate anxiety symptoms and can certainly affect the quality of your sleep.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Cut down on dairy. While dairy products have become increasingly popular in Japan, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, the Japanese dairy intake is still considerably lower than that of other countries, particularly the UK and USA. Dairy has been known to cause sinus issues, as well as heightened cholesterol. Instead of drinking milk, I often drink soya milk. It took a while to get used to the difference in taste, but I now love it and have it with everything – from a cup of tea to my morning cereal! Eat smaller portions. One thing I noticed since coming back from Japan was the humungous size of meals in the UK. In Japanese culture, it's common to be presented with a variety of smaller dishes which you can help yourself to. That way, you can eat just the right amount for you without stuffing yourself silly – something we have a habit of doing in the Western world. Several studies have suggested that by eating smaller portions, you avoid bloating and give your digestive system a break – it can certainly help you lose a bit of weight as well! Eat a lot of fish! I know that several of you are allergic to fish or simply do not like the taste. That's fine – there are certainly alternatives, but numerous studies have shown the correlation between eating fish and one's mental health. In particular, oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, fresh (not canned) tuna and even salmon have a high reputation for being excellent ‘brain-boosters’. I”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Cut down on dairy. While dairy products have become increasingly popular in Japan, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, the Japanese dairy intake is still considerably lower than that of other countries, particularly the UK and USA. Dairy has been known to cause sinus issues, as well as heightened cholesterol. Instead of drinking milk, I often drink soya milk. It took a while to get used to the difference in taste, but I now love it and have it with everything – from a cup of tea to my morning cereal! Eat smaller portions. One thing I noticed since coming back from Japan was the humungous size of meals in the UK. In Japanese culture, it's common to be presented with a variety of smaller dishes which you can help yourself to. That way, you can eat just the right amount for you without stuffing yourself silly – something we have a habit of doing in the Western world. Several studies have suggested that by eating smaller portions, you avoid bloating and give your digestive system a break – it can certainly help you lose a bit of weight as well! Eat”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Cut down on dairy. While dairy products have become increasingly popular in Japan, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, the Japanese dairy intake is still considerably lower than that of other countries, particularly the UK and USA. Dairy has been known to cause sinus issues, as well as heightened cholesterol. Instead of drinking milk, I often drink soya milk. It took a while to get used to the difference in taste, but I now love it and have it with everything – from a cup of tea to my morning cereal! Eat”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Green tea has been a prominent part of Japanese culture for hundreds of years. Japanese people drink plenty of the stuff, often after their meals. Green tea contains powerful anti-oxidants, and has long been considered as a way of helping improve one's mental health. It also has a number of other health benefits; many scientists and nutritionists have suggested green tea may assist in preventing cancer, diabetes, heart disease and skin ageing. I drink green tea on a daily basis – I actually prefer it to English tea! You can easily pick up green tea at supermarkets and health food stores over here – just try to find caffeine-free products where you can.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Without forcing yourself, try to breathe slowly and deeply. For each inhalation, think of something positive that you are bringing inside you. It can be anything at all; joy, confidence and love are things I commonly use. As you breathe in this positivity, see how it fills your entire body, starting in your lungs, but flowing around your body. On the other side, when you exhale, think of all of the negative things that you are trying to get rid of. You might choose anxiety, anger, frustration, or any other negative force that you feel is controlling your life. When you breathe out, feel this negativity leave you. Imagine breathing out on a cold, frosty day – you can see your breath leave your body. I often use this image to help me visualise when meditating.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“So from today (or at the very most, tomorrow) make a promise to yourself that you will give yourself that 15 minutes. Write for two to three pages. And repeat each day.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“one of the most important things you can do to help yourself understand your own thoughts is to write things down.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“The next time I worry about my health, I will NOT check the Internet for symptoms. Instead, I will jump up and down and shout “I'm fine! I'm fine!” Maybe this is one to do when not many people are around!”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“So, for example, one of my personal action plan statements was: The next time I get a headache, I will NOT assume it's brain cancer. Instead, I will assume it's because I'm tired.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“If we present ourselves with a variety of different options, then it becomes a lot harder for our brain to settle on just one. So, what I would like you to do is to complete the following exercise. What we will do is 'juggle' up our anxious thoughts a little, and to connect with different options – different thinking patterns that we can use instead of assuming the single worst case scenario.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Step 1: Identify your thoughts The first thing we need to do is to find out exactly what we are thinking when we are in our anxious state. To do this, I would like you to think back to a recent situation in which your health anxiety was at its peak. It may be the same occasion as in our visualisation exercise in the previous chapter, or possibly another time when you felt extremely anxious about your health. With this in your mind, I would like you to answer the following questions: 1. What was going through your mind when you first started to feel anxious? (i.e. I was worried that my heart was beating fast after walking up the stairs.) 2. What symptoms did you experience? (i.e. My heart was racing, I was out of breath and I started sweating.) 3. What was the absolute worst thing you thought might happen to you? (i.e. I thought I was going to have a heart attack.) Spend no more than five minutes answering these questions, before moving on to the next step.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Exercise 4: A Future Without Anxiety. Just as before, close your eyes and imagine yourself in front of a mirror in five years' time. Only this time, your life is no longer controlled by your anxiety: you are the one in control of your life. You can do all of the things you want to do in life without worrying about panic attacks and silly diseases. You've stopped checking for symptoms on the internet – you have realised that there is so much more to life than that. You are so content with life and proud of yourself at your own recovery, as are the people around you who love you. Feel free to talk out loud about how happy you are. Feel free to laugh. Feel free to sing out loud. Whatever is natural for you. Remain in this place for five minutes (or longer if you'd like, I'm not going to stop you!) and when you finish, turn the page. See, visualisation isn't all that hard, is it? I hope that it has given you a sense of inspiration on how you can change. Do you want to spend the next five years with the dull cloud of health anxiety lingering around your head? Or do you want to get your life back?”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Exercise 3: A Future With Anxiety I want you to close your eyes once more. This time, I want you to see yourself in five years' time. Imagine that you are staring into a mirror, looking at your reflection. But what I want you to do is this: imagine that you have never recovered from your health anxiety. Imagine that your anxiety has not only remained but become worse over the five years. Notice how you look – do you look a lot older? Are there bags under your eyes with all the stress and anxiety? How do you feel about yourself as you look at yourself in the mirror? It's okay to feel sad as you visualise this. It's okay to be upset. Let yourself visualise this future for five minutes and turn the page. Sometimes this can be a powerful awakening. I remember when I first tried it at the height of anxiety I burst into tears. As I say, it's okay to be upset by this but remember: this doesn't have to be the future. You have the power to change this. You may well have been fighting anxiety for the last five years – it doesn't mean that you have to be for the next five. In your notebook, please write a few sentences answering the following question: If I let anxiety control me in five years' time, how will this affect my life? You might want to write about how it will affect your relationships, your career plans, your social life. Will you be sleeping well or waking up early and worrying about your health? Once you've finished writing this, turn the page and let's move on to the final exercise.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Exercise 2: A Crappy Moment  Close your eyes and instead of going back to the positive time from before, I want you to recall a moment you were feeling extremely anxious. Go back to a moment when your anxiety was at its absolute peak. I'm guessing it could have been a major panic attack you had in public, or a time when you were alone and bowled over with worry about your health. Think about what it was that worried you at that time. As with the previous exercise, I want you to think about this for five minutes. Remember – try to immerse yourself in the moment. It's okay if you feel upset, anxious or panicky. It won't be for long. When the five minutes are up, please turn over the page. So how did this visualisation feel? A bit different to the previous one I'm guessing! As before, answer the following question, either in words or pictures: If you could sum up your emotions during those five minutes, what three words would you use? (i.e. worried, panicky, numb.) So what we've done in these two exercises is to visualise the past. A happy memory and one filled with anxiety. The past is important; but it's just as important to remember that the past need not shape our destiny. Let's move on to the future.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“Exercise 1: A Happy Moment First of all, make sure you are in a quiet place, with no distractions.  Put your phone away, switch the TV off, and give this a shot. What I want you to do is to close your eyes and think back to a time you were positive, relaxed or optimistic. A happy moment. Maybe you were spending time with a loved one, or on holiday. It doesn't matter how long ago it was; yesterday, last week, or 20 years ago. Perhaps it was a time when you were a child. No matter how long ago it was, try to remember exactly how you felt, physically and emotionally. Don't put too much thought into how you feel – just relax in reliving this happy moment. Feel free to smile or laugh out loud as you do it, and at the same time don't worry if your mind wanders a little; slowly and gently bring your thoughts back to this sheer sense of bliss. Try this for just five minutes. When you have finished turn the page and try the next step. Finished? Great! So, after that five minutes, how do you feel? Take your notebook (or at the very least a sheet of paper if you can't find a book) and write down the answer to the following question. If you could sum up your emotions during those five minutes, what three words would you use? (i.e. happy, confident, relaxed.) Use whatever words you feel are most appropriate. Sometimes words may be hard to come by; if you can't think of any words you might decide to draw or sketch how you felt. That's okay too. Don't spend too long on writing this down – a minute or two should be fine. Once you're done, let's move on to the next exercise.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“If it's so easy to visualise a bad outcome, and to start acting like this has already happened, do you suppose that we can do the same for something positive? Could visualising an anxiety-free life actually reduce our anxiety? The simple answer is: yes, of course.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“The truth is that visualisation is very powerful. The trouble is, more often than not we tend to visualise negative situations.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap

“If you're a health anxiety sufferer, I'd like to say with the greatest conviction that you are already a master of visualisation.”
― Darren Sims, Conquering Health Anxiety: How To Break Free From The Hypochondria Trap