Can Health Anxiety Cause Fake Symptoms?

If you’ve ever found yourself wondering, “Can health anxiety cause fake symptoms?”, you’re not alone.

This is a question that comes up again and again among people struggling with health anxiety - and for good reason.

It can be incredibly unsettling to feel physical symptoms that don’t seem to have a clear medical explanation.

As someone who has experienced health anxiety firsthand and now helps others overcome it, I want to unpack the psychology behind this phenomenon - and most importantly, offer clarity and hope.

If you're currently experiencing health anxiety, you might be interested in my blog post which shows you strategies and techniques you can use to help stop health anxiety symptoms

What Are ‘Fake Symptoms’ in Health Anxiety?

Let’s clarify the term “fake symptoms” right away.

These symptoms are not imagined or made up - they’re real sensations.

But they often don’t stem from a medical condition. Instead, they’re a result of how anxiety affects the body.

People with health anxiety tend to misinterpret normal bodily sensations - a twinge, an ache, or a fleeting discomfort (like wind..!) as signs of serious illness.

This misinterpretation fuels fear, which in turn amplifies the intrusive thoughts and physical sensations.

That’s where the idea of 'fake symptoms comes in', they feel real, but they’re driven by anxiety, not disease.

How Does the Brain Creates Sensations Through Focus?

Think about a time someone mentioned a bug was nearby - suddenly, you start feeling itchy, right? That’s your brain focusing attention and creating physical sensations.

This same principle applies to health anxiety symptoms. When you're constantly checking in with your body or questioning whether a symptom is still there, your mind can generate sensations simply through focus and expectation. The body follows the mind’s lead.

I have a more in depth guide on understanding this which you can find here

The Role of Anxiety Chemicals in Physical Sensations

Anxiety triggers a flood of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which prepare your body to deal with danger.

But in the case of health anxiety, there’s no real danger - only a perceived one. Still, your body reacts.

This can lead to a wide range of health anxiety physical symptoms including:

• Chest tightness
  

• Muscle tension
  

• Headaches
  

• Dizziness
  

• Stomach issues

I want to emphasise these are very real experiences caused by the body’s stress response - but they are not a disease.

When you remove the anxiety, the symptoms often fade too.

The Cycle of Health Anxiety Symptoms

Here’s where things can spiral.

1. You feel a sensation.

   
   

2. You worry it’s serious.

   
   

3. That fear creates more anxiety.

   
   

4. The anxiety produces more symptoms.

   
   

5. And round the health anxiety cycle you go.

The more you think about it, the more intense it feels - like adding logs to a fire. Every anxious thought fuels the flames, keeping the symptom cycle burning.

One of the most effective ways to deal with these thoughts and to stop them before they spiral out of control is Hypnotherapy. I'll leave a link to an article I've wrote explaining the benefits of hypnotherapy for health anxiety

The Catastrophic Thinking Trap

Many people with health anxiety also fall into catastrophic thinking - always assuming the worst.

This mindset often begins early in life as a protective mechanism: if you expect the worst, you won’t be caught off guard.

But in reality, this type of thinking becomes a source of distress, not protection.

Your brain interprets these negative thoughts as real threats, activating the stress response even when nothing is wrong.

Why the Brain Thinks It’s Protecting You

Here’s a truth most people never hear: your brain isn’t broken - it’s just trying to keep you safe.

From an evolutionary standpoint, scanning your body for signs of danger increases your chances of survival.

If something were wrong, early detection could save your life.

The problem is, your brain is working overtime.

It’s detecting problems where there aren’t any, and that creates a feedback loop of anxiety and symptoms.

Understanding this is powerful.

It shifts anxiety from being something that’s happening to you into something your mind is doing in an attempt to protect you.

Breaking Free from the Health Anxiety Cycle

The good news? This cycle can be broken.

When you begin to understand that your thoughts and focus are driving these symptoms - not a hidden illness - you regain control.

By interrupting the fear-thought-symptom-behaviour loop, you create space for calm, clarity, and relief.

I’ve personally experienced this shift, and now help others navigate their way out of health anxiety and back into a grounded, peaceful way of living.

Health anxiety can feel like a never-ending cycle of worry, fear, and physical discomfort.

But the key to overcoming it lies in shifting your mindset and recognizing the positive intention behind your anxious thoughts.

Once you understand that your mind is simply trying to protect you, it becomes easier to break free from the anxiety trap.

Incorporating techniques like mindfulness, relaxation exercises, and hypnotherapy can help you regain control over your anxiety and reduce the intensity of the fake symptoms you experience.

I dive into all this on my website - you can find it here

Final Thoughts: Can Health Anxiety Cause Fake Symptoms?

So, can health anxiety cause fake symptoms? Yes, it absolutely can - but they’re not fake in the way most people think.

These symptoms are real physical sensations, but they’re created and intensified by anxiety, not by an underlying medical condition.

So the word 'fake' might not be accurate. Where people with health anxiety struggle is with the obsession over physical sensations and believing they're in danger due to disease.

The key to healing this lies in understanding the mind-body connection and addressing the thought patterns that keep you stuck, and removing the root cause under the anxiety.

If you’re ready to start moving forward, I invite you to reach out. You can fill in the contact form on my homepage - no pressure, just a chance to explore what support could look like for you.