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Tragic or scary health stories in the news can be triggering for people with health anxiety.

Thinking errors, like tunnel vision, can lead people with health anxiety to hyper-focus on these stories.

If it goes unchecked, scary health stories can further reinforce distorted beliefs about health.

If you’ve seen the heartbreaking news about James Van Der Beek’s death from cancer, you may have noticed your anxiety spike.

Stories like this are tragic. They are unfair. They stir up a lot.

And for those of us with health anxiety, these stories activate our deepest fears. We are struck with the thought, what if this happens to me? What if this happens to someone I love?

Let's talk about tunnel vision and why stories like this can pull us into it so quickly.

What is tunnel vision?

Tunnel vision happens when your mind zooms in on a single “threat cue” and filters out everything else.

In this case, the threat cue might be:

“He probably didn’t see it coming.”

Your mind grabs onto these details and begins building a narrative:

“Cancer is everywhere.”

“People are dying young all the time.”

“It’s inevitable that I’ll get something serious.”

“If I do get sick, there will be nothing I can do.”

“Doctors miss things all the time.”

“You can do everything right and still die.”

Notice what’s happening. Your mind zooms in on one emotionally powerful data point and then inadvertently dismisses anything that contradicts it.

The millions of people who are healthy and/or managing a medical condition well.

The advances in screening and treatment.

The reality that many cancers are highly treatable.

The statistical rarity of any one catastrophic/tragic outcome.

This is how tunnel vision strengthens core beliefs like:

“I am going to die young.”

“If I get diagnosed, I won’t be able to cope.”

“My body is fragile.”

“The world is constantly unsafe.”

The story becomes “evidence” for these types of unhelpful core beliefs. This, of course, only strengthens beliefs and, ultimately, increases health anxiety over time.

It is important to learn to be intentional about incorporating new information (including tragic stories) into our belief system in a more adaptive way. This means, instead of allowing black-and-white or rigid, fear-driven beliefs to take over, we actively look for evidence that supports a more nuanced and flexible perspective.

An example of a more balanced view might include the following points:

Yes, a tragic thing happened.

Yes, uncertainty is a part of being human.

Tragedy does not equal inevitability.

Life is unpredictable in some ways and very predictable in many others.

Most people are not facing catastrophic illness right now.

Medical care, screening, and treatments have advanced tremendously.

One person’s outcome is not a forecast of mine.

I can acknowledge vulnerability without assuming doom.

I do not have to prepare for every possible tragedy in order to be safe.

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A few months ago, not far from my home, a 22-year-old woman was stopped at a red light when another car ran it and struck her. She died. It was devastating and so unfair that this young woman was robbed of her life. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks.

But does that mean it is likely to happen to me tomorrow? Or to you? No.

Tragic events are possible. They are not probable for each individual person simply because they can happen.

So how do we prevent tunnel vision from taking over when we hear stories like James Van Der Beek's? Here are some practical strategies.

1. Recognize and call out the tunnel vision

Pause and ask: “Am I zooming in on threatening data in my environment and ignoring data that points to safety?” Just labeling it "this is tunnel vision” can create psychological distance.

2. Identify the activated core belief

Ask yourself: “What belief is this story reinforcing?”

“Everyone is dying of cancer.”

“I won’t catch it in time.”

“If I get sick, I’ll be powerless.”

“Life is random and I’m not safe.”

Write the belief down. By writing it down, you give yourself the chance to correct it.

The anxiety makes you inclined to think in narrow, black-and-white ways ("everyone is dying"). We want to broaden the lens intentionally. Ask yourself: “What information am I ignoring right now?”

How common is this, actually?

How many people are living full, healthy (or relatively healthy) lives?

What medical monitoring, screening, and treatment options exist?

How many people have been able to successfully manage or treat cancer?

What differences exist between the tragic situation and my own health?

3. Resist your knee-jerk reactions

After hearing news like this, you might feel urges to start engaging in those pesky safety behaviors. You know what I am talking about... the seeking reassurance and body-checking behaviors.

You might be inclined to:

Start researching to find detailed information about cancer or other diseases, like rates, symptoms, survival rates, etc.

Google any symptoms you currently have to see if those symptoms might mean you might have that same disease.

Start gathering information about any current medical conditions you have to see if, perhaps, you might show signs of disease progression.

Check your body incessantly for signs of disease.

Pay hyper-close attention to every bodily sensation as you go about your day.

Schedule unnecessary doctor appointments.

Ask ChatGPT a million questions about your chances of getting a disease or ask it about any symptoms you currently have (yes, unfortunately, this can turn into a problem too).

Mentally check your body upon waking up to see if anything "feels" different.

Ask your best friend or sister or partner or mom what they think about a symptom you have and if they think it is X disease.

Remember, each time you resist the urge to do these things, you are doing a little exposure task and are giving yourself the opportunity to grow a bit more comfortable with uncertainty (an essential goal in reducing health anxiety).

You are teaching your brain: “I can feel fear after hearing this story and live with it until it dissipates. I don't need to 'solve' the problem or attempt to find answers right now."

4. Incorporate the story into your mind adaptively

Instead of: “This proves I’m doomed.” Try: “This reminds me that life is uncertain and precious.”

And/or: “Yes, disease exists. And most diseases/medical conditions are manageable. Medicine, support, and resilience also exist."

Try to stay away from drawing the "black and white" conclusions that are tempting when you hear tragic health stories. Instead, try to incorporate a nuanced view of things. We can't eliminate sadness or tragedy. Unfortunately, it is a part of the world we live in.

What we can do is to reduce the tendency to turn one tragic story into a global rule about our own future or the future of our loved ones.

Tunnel vision steals perspective. Yes, we grieve for anyone going through something like this. And it is not to say that we won't face challenges or even a tragedy at some point. Many of you may have already. I know I have.

But living in constant anticipation of challenges or tragedy doesn't prevent it. It doesn't even help us prepare for it. It only robs us of the present moment. I always tell my clients that the more they can build up their confidence in their ability to cope with future life challenges, the less anxious they will be.

Over the next week, try to:

Notice when your mind zooms in on the threatening piece of info.

Then deliberately widen the lens. Find the nuance.

That small shift can prevent you from getting stuck in that anxiety cycle when you inevitably hear a sad or scary story.

© Psychology Today