It began as a headache, but by the end of the rabbit hole I fell down, I was staring at the possibility of a deadly brain tumor. Just weeks later, a slight cough spiraled into fears that I\u2019d contracted a first-of-its-kind, pandemic-style illness that would bring about my own — and the world\u2019s — demise.<\/p>\n
I’m a wellness writer with health anxiety. Otherwise known as hypochondria or illness anxiety disorder, it’s a condition that makes me worry I am or may become ill even when I\u2019m healthy.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s ironic is that part of my job involves testing devices that monitor my health, wearables including fitness trackers<\/span><\/span> and smart rings<\/span><\/span>. While I love exploring this technology and do think it can help you learn more about your body, I have to be careful about how I use it so my anxiety isn\u2019t triggered. I know I\u2019m not alone<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHealthy adults and individuals with pre-existing medical conditions are increasingly using these devices to manage their health,\u201d says Dr. Lindsey Rosman, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology and co-director of the Cardiovascular Device and Data Science Lab at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. \u201cWhether 24\/7 access to health information from a wearable actually helps or potentially harms people is really unclear.\u201d<\/p>\n To collect health data, you used to have to visit your doctor or rely on single-purpose devices such as blood pressure<\/span><\/span> or heart rate monitors<\/span><\/span>. Now, advancements in wearable technology over the last decade have built an entire industry focused on around-the-clock health tracking that can help you train more efficiently or even alert you to signs of potential illness.<\/p>\n Yet, being inundated with health data isn\u2019t just bothersome; it can be harmful. Especially when you consider the widespread impact: About one in five US adults regularly wear a smartwatch or a wearable fitness tracker, according to a July 2019 Pew Research Center survey. That number has likely grown as the number of wearables on the market continues to increase.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n When you add in the ability to search your symptoms online or ask an AI chatbot<\/span><\/span> in your wearable\u2019s app every health question under the sun, it becomes even more difficult to discern between what\u2019s helpful and harmful.\u00a0<\/p>\n To help myself and others with health anxiety navigate the world of wearables so we can either enjoy using them or know when it\u2019s time to stop, I reached out to experts for their advice.<\/p>\n Rosman has observed clinically that it can be beneficial to either scale back or turn off the features that make you anxious. This can be especially helpful for people with pre-existing conditions that are already being treated, such as atrial fibrillation (AFib, an irregular heartbeat), as your wearable\u2019s irregular heart rhythm notifications will only make you anxious and can prompt you to see your doctor when it\u2019s not medically necessary.<\/p>\n Plus, certain medications can affect the accuracy of wearable sensors, provoking false alarms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe published a case report on a patient who performed over 900 EKGs [electrocardiograms or ECGs, which measure the heart\u2019s electrical activity] on her smartwatch in a single year,\u201d says Rosman. While most of the EKGs were normal, inconclusive alerts fueled her anxiety, leading to multiple ER visits, spousal conflict and the need for therapy to reclaim her daily life. The patient had no psychiatric history prior to getting a smartwatch.<\/p>\n When you get an unexpected health alert on your device, it can understandably cause panic.<\/p>\n <\/span>Cole Kan\/CNET\/Apple<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Dr. Karen Cassiday, author of Freedom from Health Anxiety<\/span> and owner and managing director of the Anxiety Treatment Center of Greater Chicago, says that even patients who don\u2019t have health anxiety can find wearables to be intrusive when they get too many alerts. \u201cThey discover they want to be less aware of every moment of their body’s functioning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n1. Turn off the alerts that cause panic<\/h2>\n