Health Anxiety Test (Hypochondria)
A confidential self-assessment informed by the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI), the most widely used measure of worry about illness. In a few minutes you get an instant result and a plain-language PDF report you can keep or bring to a therapist. Sometimes called hypochondria, health anxiety is common and very treatable.
What health anxiety actually looks like
Health anxiety is not just worrying about being sick. The SHAI captures the whole pattern: how preoccupied you are, how you read body signals, and the checking and reassurance habits that keep the worry alive.
Worry and preoccupation
How much of your attention illness fears take up, how often you notice aches and sensations, and how hard the worry is to push aside once it starts.
Catastrophic interpretation
The tendency to read ordinary body sensations as signs of serious disease, and to assume the worst rather than the likeliest explanation.
Checking and reassurance
The behaviors that bring brief relief but feed the cycle: body-checking, searching symptoms online, and repeatedly seeking reassurance from doctors or loved ones.
| Feature | Typical free quiz | Psychology.com |
|---|---|---|
| Based on the validated SHAI | Sometimes | Yes, faithful to the structure |
| Covers checking and reassurance | Often missed | Yes, the maintaining behaviors |
| Catastrophic interpretation | Rarely | Yes, its own focus |
| Plain-language interpretation | Rarely | Yes, for every band |
| Clinician-reviewed | Rarely | Yes, reviewed |
| Downloadable PDF report | No | Yes, branded & shareable |
| Confidential (no data sent) | Often tracked | Runs in your browser |
Methodology & sources
This test is informed by the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI), developed and validated by Salkovskis and colleagues (2002). The SHAI measures health anxiety independent of actual physical health, covering worry about illness, awareness of body sensations, the tendency to interpret them catastrophically, and the difficulty of being reassured. Each SHAI item presents a set of statements rated by how true they are; for readability we adapt the dimensions into statements rated from 0 (not at all true) to 3 (very true), giving a total from 0 to 42. This is an educational adaptation rather than the exact scored SHAI, so the bands are descriptive rather than official diagnostic cutoffs.
This test is provided for education and self-reflection. It is not a diagnosis. Health anxiety, sometimes called hypochondria or illness anxiety disorder, exists on a spectrum, and some health vigilance is sensible and adaptive. Only a licensed clinician can assess whether worry about illness has reached the level of a disorder. If your result concerns you, treat it as a prompt to reach out, not as a label.
- Salkovskis PM, Rimes KA, Warwick HMC, Clark DM. The Health Anxiety Inventory: development and validation of scales for the measurement of health anxiety and hypochondriasis. Psychol Med. 2002;32(5):843–853.
- Abramowitz JS, Deacon BJ, Valentiner DP. The Short Health Anxiety Inventory: psychometric properties and construct validity in a non-clinical sample. Cognit Ther Res. 2007;31(6):871–883.
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Arlington, VA: APA; 2013.
Health Anxiety Test (Hypochondria) FAQ
What is a health anxiety test?
It is a short, research-informed screening that measures how much you worry about having or developing a serious illness, including the body-checking and reassurance habits that keep the worry going. It is informed by the validated Short Health Anxiety Inventory and produces a descriptive result, not a diagnosis.
Is health anxiety the same as hypochondria?
They overlap. Hypochondria is an older everyday word for intense worry about being seriously ill. In current clinical language this falls under illness anxiety disorder or somatic symptom disorder. The underlying experience, persistent fear about your health, is what this test looks at.
How is health anxiety different from sensible health awareness?
Caring about your health and getting regular check-ups is healthy. Health anxiety is when the worry becomes excessive and persistent, takes up a lot of mental space, drives repeated checking or reassurance, and continues even after a doctor finds nothing wrong. The line is about distress and interference, not about caring.
Is this test a diagnosis?
No. It is for education and self-reflection only. Only a licensed clinician can assess illness anxiety disorder or any related condition, usually by talking with you about your symptoms, history, and life context. If your results concern you, consider reaching out to a therapist.
Can health anxiety get better?
Yes. Health anxiety responds very well to cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps you reinterpret body sensations and gradually reduce the checking and reassurance that feed the cycle. Most people see meaningful improvement with the right care.