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

Gordon J. G. Asmundson PhD (Author), Steven Taylor Phd (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572309938 | ISBN-13: 978-1572309937 | Publication Date: May 5, 2005 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"As a long-term sufferer of health anxiety, I wish I could have read this book many years ago. I know that it would have saved me a lot of grief. It is full of helpful ideas and things to do, including easy-to-follow self-assessments, exercises, and worksheets. If you worry a lot about your health, I cannot recommend this book highly enough."--Paul, age 64

"It may sound hard to believe, but I've been to scores of doctors and none of them have ever explained the issues that this book demystifies in such a simple, commonsense way. I have a whole new lease on life now--maybe you will too."--Graham, age 52

"Since reading this book, my partner has become much more rational about his anxiety. He used to hide his fears from me (while still seeking reassurance), but now he can talk about them openly and deal with them more productively. I've learned ways I can be more helpful, too, and the stress has gone down for both of us."--Jennifer, age 28

"This is the most comprehensive and useful book available for people who worry a lot about their health. It is practical, easy to read, and packed with helpful exercises. Most importantly, the strategies described in this book are based on solid scientific research, with proven effectiveness. Anyone who worries about his or her health will likely benefit from reading this book, as will the people who care about them."--Martin M. Antony, PhD, coauthor of 10 Simple Solutions to Panic; Director, Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

"Asmundson and Taylor, two very accomplished researchers, have turned their considerable clinical and writing skills to a much-neglected topic. Full of useful scientific information, engaging anecdotes, solid advice, and no small measure of humor, It's Not All in Your Head will help put many health anxiety sufferers on the road to wellness and peace of mind."--Murray B. Stein, MD, MPH, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego

"In a clear, sympathetic style, these expert authors throw light on the confusing area of health anxiety. Until now, people suffering from hypochondriasis and related problems have lacked a readily accessible book to turn to for information and self-help strategies. For those who have been told their symptoms are 'all in their head,' there is finally relief here, where 'it's all in this book.'"--Richard P. Swinson, MD, Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

"If you or someone you love worries too much about health concerns, help is finally at hand. Two internationally renowned experts share the latest information and offer helpful tools to help people feel healthier and worry less. Clear, helpful, and state-of-the-art."--Theo K. Bouman, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands; coauthor of Anxiety Disorders: A Practitioner's Guide

About the Author

Gordon J. G. Asmundson, PhD, is Professor and Canadian Institutes of Health Research Investigator in Psychology and Kinesiology and Health Studies at the University of Regina, Canada, and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Asmundson is well known for his award-winning research in the areas of anxiety disorders, health anxiety, and acute and chronic pain.

 

Steven Taylor, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Dr. Taylor has also received several prestigious research awards. His work focuses on cognitive-behavioral treatments and anxiety disorders.

 

Together, Drs. Asmundson and Taylor are the authors of a related professional book, Treating Health Anxiety, also published by Guilford.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (May 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572309938
• ISBN-13: 978-1572309937
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent !!, March 20, 2006

By 

painter lady "onthewallbooks" (Corona, California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: It's Not All in Your Head: How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do about It (Paperback)

None of the other books listed by Amazon sounded like they dealt with health anxiety, so I tried this one. It is EXCELLENT!!! It is very thorough and simple to understand. It has wonderful tips to use as well as suggestions on how to work with doctors and when to get additional help. Not much is written for the regular person on health anxiety, so this is a very valuable resource. Health anxiety is a form of anxiety in which the person worries excessively about his health and bodily sensations. Going to the doctor repeatedly for assurance does not help because you can get addicted to the reassurance! By the time you get home from the doctor after he tells you that you are fine, you have convinced yourself that he must have made some type of error or omission of tests, and you are super worried all over again! This book uses cognitive behavior therapy to help break the cycle of worry and fear over symptoms.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Patients will like this book, March 22, 2008

By 

C. Allen (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Not All in Your Head: How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do about It (Paperback)

This book does an excellent job of not blaming patients. It simply asks them to focus on improving their accuracy rate of whether something is physical or anxiety related. Dr. Asmundsom and Taylor get the right feel to the balance of encouraging patients to consider what is physical and what is cognitive. Patients, and families, have responded well to this book in my experience. And this book is greatly needed for patients who are highly anxious, terrorized at times, of the danger of their physical concerns.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Powerful Book :), August 7, 2009

By 

Charlotte Sometimes (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: It's Not All in Your Head: How Worrying about Your Health Could Be Making You Sick--and What You Can Do about It (Paperback)

If you suffer from health anxiety or hypochondriasis, you may benefit greatly from reading this book. For a while, I thought I was literally going to lose my mind. I worried a great deal about every little thing that was going on in my "noisy" body.
The book is written by two experts in the field. They are authorities on this subject and they really hit on all of the issues that people might be facing.
This is a thorough book with stunning insight, options, brilliant self-help plans and it is clearly written with compassion for the sufferer.
After many, many years with health anxiety and getting little or no help from therapists, I turned to this book and also to the authors' other book entitled, Health Anxiety. These books helped me, comforted me and fostered my self-awareness in ways that health professionals could not. A+
And if you are a sufferer, please know that there is help awaiting you. And you are definitely not fighting alone.