Health anxiety is a general term for excessive worry about your health. When severe, it may be diagnosed as illness anxiety disorder (fear of serious illness with little or no symptoms) or somatic symptom disorder (real physical symptoms with excessive worry about them).

Worry time is a cognitive-behavioral strategy that involves setting aside a daily 20–30 minute window for worrying. This approach has been shown to reduce excessive worry and anxiety and is supported by research as a helpful component of cognitive behavioral therapy, including for generalized anxiety disorder.

Our thoughts play a big role in how we feel and act

While insomnia medications may seem like an easy fix, I view them as a temporary solution—a Band-Aid, if you will—rather than a cure for the deeper issues underlying sleep disturbances.

Learn about different types of thoughts

R U sabotaging your relationship? Learn about relationship OCD (R-OCD), a subtype of OCD in which individuals experience intrusive, distressing thoughts about their relationship, leading to compulsive behaviors aimed at seeking certainty.