Waiting for medical test results can feel like one of the hardest things for someone with health anxiety. The uncertainty, the “not knowing,” creates a mental storm that feeds fear and worst-case scenarios.
Anxiety makes you cycle through repetitive checks of your symptoms while you guess negative outcomes and repeatedly check your email for results. Such anxiety traps force your mind to dwell on false perceptions rather than factual awareness.
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What is “Scanxiety”?
Modern society refers to the excessive anxiety preceding test results as “Scanxiety” by medical professionals1. Health anxiety creates a total mental grip on affected patients even though such worry affects typical individuals frequently.
To the anxious mind uncertainty exists as an alarming threat which does not accept the natural quality of uncertainty as a life experience. People who experience anxiety seek answers from non-existent sources through internet searches along with medical evaluations and online and friend-based confirmation requests.
Worried About Your Medical Test Results?
It’s Normal to Feel Anxious
First, recognize that it’s completely normal to feel some level of anxiety while waiting for results2. This is an uncertain situation, and your brain is wired to dislike uncertainty.
But here’s the key: Just because your mind produces fearful thoughts doesn’t mean they’re true. Your thoughts are not reality—they’re just thoughts.
Waiting for Results with an Anxiety Disorder
People with health anxiety experience test result waits as an extreme form of stress rather than a normal anxious experience. You may find yourself:
- Obsessively thinking about worst-case scenarios
- Imagining your doctor hiding bad news
- Feeling physical symptoms of anxiety and misinterpreting them as illness
- Struggling to focus on anything else until you “know for sure”
This cycle reinforces itself. The more you fear the unknown, the more your body reacts with stress, and the more you convince yourself something must be wrong.
Why Do We Assume the Worst?
Why does the anxious mind always jump to the worst possible outcome? Because it’s trying to protect you. Anxiety believes that if it prepares for the worst, you’ll be ready to handle it.3
Thinking in this manner does not provide any real security yet it drains your energy. This habit prevents you from escaping the state of constant anxiety about a future event that is still in the theoretical realm.
Patient Picks for General Health and Lifestyle
While waiting for results, many people try to manage their anxiety by focusing on general health and lifestyle. This can include:
- Eating well and staying hydrated
- Practicing deep breathing or relaxation techniques
- Limiting internet searches about symptoms
- Engaging in activities that bring comfort and distraction
The goal isn’t to “block out” anxiey, it’s to stop feeding it with unnecessary fear.
What to Do If You’re Worried About Test Results
Instead of letting anxiety take control, you can take steps to manage the waiting period in a way that reduces stress and restores a sense of balance.
See It as Problem-Solving
Ask yourself: What is actually within my control right now?
- Can I set a designated time to check for results instead of constantly refreshing?
- Can I create a plan for what I will do regardless of the outcome?
- Can I focus on something else in the present moment instead of mentally living in a future fear?
Anxiety tells you that you need answers right now. But the truth is that, you don’t. You need to manage the moment you’re in.
Ask Professionals for Advice
Struggling with health anxiety while waiting for test results? Learn how to stay calm, manage fear, and stop the anxiety spiral today. your doctor for facts about when test results should arrive if you begin experiencing worsening mental states. When we lack clear information our anxiety increases which stress and worry can be reduced by knowing realistic timeframes.
Speak With Friends and Family
Talk to someone you trust. Expressing your fears can sometimes take away their power. But be mindful, if you find yourself constantly asking for reassurance, it may be a sign that anxiety is running the show.
Instead of seeking reassurance, try grounding yourself in the present moment. Ask yourself: “What else is true in my life right now besides this fear?”
Stick to Your Routine and Keep Busy
Anxiety tries to hijack your attention. The best way to push back is to continue living your life as normally as possible.
- Stick to your daily routines
- Engage in activities that require focus, like reading or creative hobbies
- Spend time with supportive people
- Avoid constantly checking for updates—set specific times to check instead
Exercise and Eat Well
Your body and mind are connected. If you’re stuck in an anxious loop, physical movement can help break that cycle. Even a short walk can reset your nervous system.4
Eating nourishing meals can also support your emotional state. Anxiety depletes your energy, so take care of your body like you would for a friend going through a stressful time.
Mindfulness
One of the most powerful tools for managing health anxiety is mindfulness. This means staying present instead of mentally living in an imagined future.5
Try this simple exercise:
- Pause and take a slow breath in through your nose.
- Hold for four seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth.
- Notice the physical sensations around you, what can you hear, see and feel?
- Remind yourself: “Right now, I am safe. I do not have all the answers, but I can handle this moment.”
Anxiety is fueled by trying to control the uncontrollable. Peace comes when you learn to sit with uncertainty instead of fearing it.
Final Thoughts
Waiting for test results is uncomfortable, but it’s temporary. More importantly, the way you handle this uncertainty can change the way you navigate health anxiety in the future.
You are not your anxious thoughts. You are stronger than your fear. And whatever the results may be, you will handle it, because you always do.
Breathe. Keep moving forward. You’ve got this.
References
- What Is Scanxiety, and How Can You Manage It? (2024, January 30). City of Hope. https://www.cancercenter.com/community/blog/2023/02/what-is-scanxiety
↩︎ - Bui, K. T., Liang, R., Kiely, B. E., Brown, C., Dhillon, H. M., & Prunella Blinman. (2021). Scanxiety: a scoping review about scan-associated anxiety. BMJ Open, 11(5), e043215–e043215. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043215
↩︎ - Bui, K. T. (2022). Scanxiety: Scan-associated anxiety in patients Usyd.edu.au. https://hdl.handle.net/2123/29845
↩︎ - Bui, K. T., Liang, R., Kiely, B. E., Brown, C., Dhillon, H. M., & Blinman, P. (2021). Scanxiety: a scoping review about scan-associated anxiety. BMJ Open, 11(5), e043215. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043215
↩︎ - Bamber, M. D., & Schneider, J. K. (2015). Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research. Educational Research Review, 18, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.004
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Comments (2)
This is just what I need to hear right now . I can’t thank you enough for your ongoing support ❤️
I’m waiting for tests, results, more tests to more results… and worrying at the same time.
Thanks to you for stating the obvious, that worrying doesn’t change the results, because I hadn’t had that thought 🤔!!