It's Not All in Your Head : How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do about It

Written by Gordon J G Asmundson, PhD and Steven Taylor, PhD. He is a Professor of Health Studies and Psychology at the University of Regina. His work focuses on the relationships between anxiety disorders and health anxiety. Steven Taylor is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia.

Where do you go for help when no one believes you're really sick? The doctors can’t explain your symptoms, but you know there’s something wrong because you can sense it in your body. Living with the specter of an unresolved health issue isn't just painful, it's isolating. The preoccupation and stress it causes can disrupt your career or interfere with personal relationships. If you continually experience symptoms of illness, or worry a lot about disease, you may be suffering from health anxiety--a condition that can produce physical effects of its own, including muscle tension, nausea, and a quickened heart rate. In this compassionate and empowering book, noted psychologists Gordon J. G. Asmundson and Steven Taylor provide simple and accurate self-tests designed to help you understand health anxiety and the role it might be playing in how you feel. Concrete examples and helpful exercises show you how to change thought and behavior patterns that contribute to the aches, pains, and anxiety you're experiencing. The authors also explain how to involve friends and family--and when to seek professional help--as you learn to stay well without worry. Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) Self-Help Book of Merit