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Definition of health anxiety noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

health anxiety

noun
 
/ˈhelθ æŋzaɪəti/
 
/ˈhelθ æŋzaɪəti/
[uncountable]
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  1. a condition in which somebody worries so much about the possibility that they are ill or may become ill that it badly affects their life
    • A person with health anxiety can misinterpret sensations as a sign of serious disease.
    • The pandemic has led to rising levels of health anxiety.
    Extra Examples
    • As someone with severe health anxiety, he has found the past year extremely hard.
    • Some experts believe health anxiety affects more than 12 per cent of the population.
    • Health anxiety seems to impact men and women equally.
    • ‘I have really bad health anxiety,’ she explained.
    • Those affected by health anxiety have an obsessional preoccupation with the idea they are currently physically ill or likely to get a serious disease.
    Topics Mental healthb2
trait
noun
 
 
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