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Mailbag Installment XIX: Health Anxiety, Hypochondria, and Learning to Trust the Body Again
In this profoundly relatable Mailbag Installment of The Observable Unknown, Dr. Juan Carlos Rey responds to a moving listener letter about chronic health anxiety, hypochondriasis, and the fear that bodily sensations signal imminent illness. Blending neuroscience, psychology, and lived human experience, this episode explores why the brain can become hyper-vigilant to internal signals and how fear can reshape perception over time.
Drawing on research from scholars such as Gordon Asmundson on health anxiety, Hugo Critchley on interoception and the insular cortex, and David Barlow on anxiety…
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