In which case, you’d better try to chill out for the sake of your health. Here’s how:

• Consider the probability of your developing whatever you’re afraid of—whether it’s the swine flu, a brain tumor or skin cancer. “If you’ve recently traveled to Mexico or been around someone who had the swine flu, you may be at an increased risk,” says Asmundson. “But otherwise, you may be misinterpreting or overestimating the chances and seriousness of catching this flu. Taking a more objective perspective on the situation can help reduce health anxiety.”
  
  
•  If you have symptoms that warrant a doctor’s attention—like a strange skin growth—schedule a check-up. But try to avoid constantly checking your symptoms or seeking reassurance from doctors to prevent these behaviors from becoming habits.
  
  
• Be proactive. Take steps to improve your hygiene, diet, exercise, stress management, sun protection and other habits—that way, you can rest assured that you’re being proactive about safeguarding your health.
  
  
• Recognize when anxiety itself is your problem. If health anxiety starts keeping you up at night or interfering with your daytime life, it may be time to seek professional help. With cognitive-behavioral therapy, which is very effective at reducing health anxiety, people learn to identify when they’re making too much of their symptoms or misinterpreting them, and then try to challenge their convictions about them, Asmundson explains. You might note, for example, that your recent headaches are more likely to stem from stress than a brain tumor, especially since they’re easily relieved by relaxation or over-the-counter pain medicine, and rarely occur when you are not stressed out.
  
  
• Some people with intense health anxiety also may benefit from taking an SSRI antidepressant, Asmundson says.

However you do it, it’s worth the effort to find ways to relieve your health anxiety, so you can get back to the business of enjoying your life, instead of fretting about your health, says Asmundson. Remember that anxiety itself can be bad for your health.

But don’t let it worry you.