Use it during a CBT session, health anxiety support work, or structured home practice to help shift attention away from body scanning, symptom checking and repeated illness worries. The module gives adults practical attention training exercises, including everyday task focusing, for reducing self-focused attention and returning to the present moment.
This Health Anxiety Symptom Focus Reduction PDF Module helps adults explore how attention to bodily sensations, checking and repeated worry can keep health anxiety going. It uses clear CBT-style prompts to help users notice where their attention is going, practise shifting focus back to everyday tasks, and reflect on what happens when they reduce symptom monitoring. The “My Attention Workout” worksheet encourages practice with simple activities such as washing dishes, showering, eating, gardening or vacuuming.
Users rate how much attention is self-focused compared with task-focused, then use touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste as practical anchors for returning to the present activity. The module also includes space to consider beliefs about worry and checking, try mundane task focusing, and build a more balanced response to body-focused worry. It can be used in therapy sessions, guided support work, structured home learning or between-session practice.
This downloadable health anxiety worksheet module may be useful for CBT practitioners, counsellors, wellbeing staff and adults using self-help materials for illness anxiety, symptom anxiety or frequent body scanning. Use it as a printable worksheet, a discussion guide for appointments, or a practical exercise to support attention training and worry postponement. View, download or print the module to support a calmer, more task-focused way of responding to health worries.
