The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Fears of illness: what to do if worries keep getting bigger?

2021-06-24T00:03:23.447Z


It scratches the throat, it stings the chest - usually nothing bad. Or does it? Psychotherapist Barbara Günther-Haug explains what helps when worries get bigger and bigger.


Illnesses are part of life.

Over and over again.

Normally we do not allow ourselves to be disturbed by neck, chest or knee pain.

But sometimes it pulls, stings or scratches somewhere in the body - and then the thoughts start to circle: What could that be?

Is that bad?

»Everyone has fears«, says psychotherapist Barbara Günther-Haug in the SPIEGEL podcast »Smarter Living«.

And she reassures her: "The fact that you sometimes worry is not a disorder or illness." But when we start running from practice to practice, repeatedly googling symptoms and looking for even better specialists, then we should too look at our mental state.

“When we are mentally healthy, we don't think about illnesses.

But we all have many phases where it's not that easy.

Life is always making new demands.

And then it can be that the eye falls on a mole, or our pulse suddenly goes so strange.

And the anxiety, which is already in us for other reasons, then channels itself to this point «, says Günther-Haug.

Fears related to illness can develop after traumatic experiences, for example from a heart attack, a severe Covid 19 illness in friends or a hereditary disease in the family.

But they can also occur when we are actually struggling with other problems.

Then it may be that the tension or the anger chooses the detour via fear.

The disposition also plays a role.

Those who have fearful parents are often prone to fear themselves.

However: »Not every germ that is there comes to grow.

And there are other germs there too.

Everyone can develop courage and self-confidence. "

So how do we better manage our worries?

What behaviors do more harm than help?

And what types of disease-related fears are there?

Barbara Günther-Haug explains it in the SPIEGEL podcast “Living Smarter”.

You can hear the episode here:

More episodes of "Living Smarter"

Choices:

which path is right for me?

Negotiating Salary:

How Do I Get More Money in My Job?

Memory:

How do I keep more things in mind?

Finally fit:

what is actually stopping me from moving more?

Emotions:

How we learn to understand our feelings

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-06-24

You may like

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-28T06:04:53.137Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.