CBT · Anxiety
Health Anxiety Worksheet
Test the sensation-equals-illness prediction and drop one checking move
About this worksheet
Health anxiety is maintained by three moves: body-monitoring, reassurance-seeking (googling, doctor-shopping, asking loved ones), and catastrophizing sensation. Every one of those moves brings short-term relief and long-term reinforcement — which is why the anxiety keeps returning even after clean scans. This worksheet doesn't argue with the illness fear; it makes the maintaining moves visible and asks the client to drop one for a defined window. Fields cover the sensation, the feared illness, the felt likelihood, the evidence pattern (including all the times the sensation meant nothing), a week's inventory of checking behaviors, the cost of continuing to check, and one specific move to drop this week. Pairs with an ERP-style write-up when the client is ready for structured exposure.
When to use it
- Illness anxiety disorder, somatic symptom disorder, and post-illness hypervigilance.
- Cyberchondria — clients caught in symptom-search loops.
- Cardiac phobia, cancer worry, or fear of a specific diagnosis after a family loss.
- As homework alongside ERP for health-focused OCD.
How to use it
- 1Name the feared illness specifically
Vague fear ('something's wrong') doesn't move — the specific feared diagnosis is the material.
- 2Log the checking, don't judge it
Frequency, duration, and cost. Judgement drives shame, not change.
- 3Pick one checking move to drop
One only. Small, specific, time-bounded. 'No googling symptoms for 3 days' beats 'stop checking'.
- 4Re-rate at the end of the drop window
The prediction was that anxiety would spike and stay. The data almost always disconfirms.
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from a thought record?+
A thought record disputes the anxious belief. This worksheet targets the behavioral loop keeping the belief alive. In health anxiety, the behavior is the intervention.
Should the therapist provide reassurance?+
No — accommodating reassurance-seeking is the single most common way health anxiety gets accidentally maintained in therapy. The worksheet is a structured way to move the client off that loop.
What if a real symptom needs medical attention?+
One agreed medical work-up with a trusted provider first, then treat what's left as anxiety. This worksheet is for the anxiety layer, not for undiagnosed physical illness.
Is this worksheet free?+
Yes. Free printable PDF. Sign in to TherapistAssist to send as a secure client link.
Related worksheets
Worksheet — Health Anxiety Worksheet — provided by TherapistAssist for clinical use. Not a substitute for assessment or treatment.