Health Anxiety during Viral Contagious Diseases and COVID-19 Outbreak: Narrative Review

Anxiety plays an important protective role in people against life-threatening factors. Accordingly, in the face of the emergence of life-threatening diseases such as the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about the health of individuals may arise with anxiety. Heath anxiety occurs when perceived bodily sensations or changes, including but not limited to those related to infectious diseases (e.g., fever, coughing, aching muscles), are interpreted as symptoms of being ill. Most people experience some degree of health anxiety, which is a protective factor against health threats. Health anxiety plays an auxiliary role in recognizing the early signs of health damage and promotes health-promoting behaviors. When the level of health anxiety of people in the community is out of moderation, both when the rate increases or decreases from the desired level, it can cause harm and problems to people in the community in a different way. Therefore, an appropriate level of health anxiety is beneficial for individuals and it could be helpful for the prevention of the COVID-19 outbreak, which is an extremely contagious disease.