If you're chronically online like me, you're probably being bombarded with alarming headlines and an overwhelming amount of information about a new illness or health concern every day. TikTok used to be a fun escape from the real world. Now, somehow, my feed includes "Day in My Life" videos from creators quarantined on cruise ships with viruses I've never heard of, or snippets of people (hopefully joking) washing their produce with bleach to avoid parasites. If you also happen to run more anxious like me, your brain might immediately jump to questions like: Do I need to be washing MY produce with bleach?! Is my headache now a sign of something more dire? A platform that allowed for connection and gave rise to so many creators during the COVID pandemic has now become a cesspool of anxiety for many of us.

The COVID pandemic fundamentally changed our relationship with uncertainty and illness, and left a lasting impact on how we all process news related to public health. When I say post-pandemic world, I am speaking to the current shift in day to day life: we are no longer in a nationwide lockdown, we are no longer quarantining, and we are no longer required to mask outdoors. I am aware that COVID is still a real concern, and still an illness we should all be taking seriously! During the original outbreak in 2020, for most of us, the world changed overnight. Experts were scrambling to understand the virus, and in an effort to protect our communities, we were isolated in an echo chamber of news reporting and hourly updates. It makes sense that many of us feel more anxious about our health after living through a global pandemic. My goal for everyone to ignore valid health risks and concerns, it’s to respond to them in ways that are more grounded and sustainable. 

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How the Pandemic Changed Our Brains

During the peak of the COVID pandemic, we were encouraged to be hypervigilant with ourselves and our surroundings in an effort to mitigate the virus and its spread. Paying close attention to symptoms, social settings, and environments protected us and our loved ones, and constant monitoring became normalized. Our brains learned that staying alert = staying safe. Although many of us are now out of that peak emergency phase, our nervous systems didn't receive the memo that most threats have passed. Our brains still scan for danger because, for years, that vigilance helped keep us safe from infection. This is especially true for individuals with anxiety disorders, OCD, medical trauma, chronic illness, caregiving experiences, or anyone who experienced grief and loss during COVID. 

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Why Are Headlines So Triggering?

Hantavirus, Cyclospora, Measles, Bird Flu… the list goes on. These “new” diseases have been dominating the news cycle recently, and are taking over the headlines. News organizations and social media platforms naturally prioritize stories that capture attention, and unfamiliar illnesses often do exactly that. Our brains are wired to pay more attention to potential threats than reassuring information, which is a survival mechanism known as negativity bias. Stories of new and novel illnesses grab attention, and keep people watching. If we stay and watch one TikTok on our feed about a new virus, our algorithm will push more of this content our way. This can amplify these issues without the appropriate facts or context, and with our brains still operating with hypervigilance, we are convinced that these issues are dire, immediate threats. While we intend to keep ourselves safe, we may actually be increasing our daily anxiety levels. 

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Health Concern Vs. Health Anxiety

It can be challenging to discern what is an appropriate health concern from what is health anxiety. For many, there is a thin line between the two. Below are some key differences between common health related anxieties and appropriate concerns:

The difference in the behaviors outlined above isn’t about a lack of caring for your health, it’s about how consuming the anxiety has been. Health anxiety often operates in a loop:

Notice a symptom → Google it → Read Reddit threads → Ask someone for reassurance → Feel temporarily relieved → Notice another sensation → Start over.

The relief we feel from engaging in this loop is real, but it is fleeting. Each time we seek reassurance, our brain learns that anxiety needs to be fixed rather than tolerated, making the cycle continue. The more we engage with this content online, the more anxious we may feel. 

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Practical Ways to Respond Before Reacting

The following tips can be helpful to ground yourself before engaging with health anxiety and the cycle of reassurance.

1. Pause before consuming information

• Check in with your emotions - am I feeling anxious? Scared?
• Ask yourself: "Do I actually need new information right now, or am I hoping to make uncertainty disappear?"

2. Check the Source

• Rely on trusted public health organizations and your local health department! Just because something may go viral on social media does not mean it is accurate or factual.

3. Notice Catastrophic Thinking

• Are you jumping to the worst case scenario?
• If so, what is the most likely explanation, not just the worst possible one?

4. Practice Radical Acceptance

• No one can eliminate every possible health risk. Learning to tolerate uncertainty is uncomfortable, but it's one of the most effective ways to reduce health anxiety over time.

5. Stay Connected 

• Prioritize getting together with friends and family
• Move your body
• Engage in a hobby

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Staying Informed Without Becoming Overwhelmed

Staying informed about the world around you without becoming overwhelmed can be challenging, but important. Here are some tips to try:

• Limit checking health-related news to once or twice a day
• Choose one or two trusted news sources
• Avoid Reddit and comment sections
• If you’re feeling anxious, wait 30 minutes before searching symptoms

These tips can help bridge the gap between avoidance and doom-scrolling, and help find a middle ground so you can stay informed without anxiety taking over.

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When to Seek Professional Support

If any of the anxious behaviors described above resonate with you, you may benefit from therapy. For our Chicagoland folks, many of our therapists at Sage Therapy are trained in evidence-based modalities that can help people manage health anxiety, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Please reach out to our intake team today if you would like to be connected with one of our therapists! For out-of-state readers, Psychology Today can be a great resource for finding mental health care. 

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Closing Thoughts

The pandemic reminded us that we are not all invincible, and illness is possible. Health anxiety, however, can convince us that constant vigilance is the only way to stay safe. In reality, true well-being comes from finding a balance: staying informed without becoming consumed, taking reasonable precautions without letting fear dictate our lives, and remembering that uncertainty is part of being human. The next time you feel a surge of anxiety after reading a headline or doom-scrolling, pause and ask yourself: Am I responding to a fact, or to fear?