🧠Triggers & Health Anxiety: Understanding the Cycle – With Health Psychologist Joanna Rodriguez
This video explores how triggers can intensify health anxiety, activating the nervous system into states of alarm, scanning, and “what if” thinking. Whether it’s a physical sensation, a story in the media, or a past experience of illness, triggers can rapidly reignite fear and reinforce hyper-vigilance. Through a compassionate, trauma-informed lens, the discussion looks at why certain cues feel so powerful, how the brain learns to associate danger with bodily sensations, and how gently responding differently to triggers can help break the cycle and restore a greater sense of safety and steadiness.
Jo Rodriguez is an HCPC-registered Psychologist and BABCP-accredited Therapist with over 20 years of experience spanning clinical practice, academic teaching, and media consultancy. She holds a Psychology degree from Bedfordshire University, an MSc in Health Psychology, and a Diploma in CBT from the Oxford Cognitive Therapy Centre. Jo is additionally trained in EMDR and EFT, integrating evidence-based approaches to support trauma recovery and emotional wellbeing. Beyond her therapeutic work, she has contributed as a content expert for Unmind and has appeared as a psychologist on Channel 4, Discovery Channel, and Netflix.
#HealthAnxiety #AnxietyRecovery #TraumaInformed #NervousSystemRegulation #MentalHealthAwareness
