Every day, the brain receives a wide range of signals from the body. For example, we feel pressure from the clothes and shoes we wear, and when we have been sitting for a long time on an uncomfortable chair, our back and buttocks become sore and tired. The brain interprets these signals as minor discomforts. Dangerous stimuli or symptoms, however, activate the brain’s alarm and response system, which is designed to protect us from real threats.The alarm system varies in sensitivity, and different people may react to different stimuli. Someone who is worried about a burglar breaking into their home at night may have an alarm system that is highly sensitive to all kinds of nighttime sounds, even while asleep. Such a person may wake up at the slightest unusual noise. When the situation is examined, it usually turns out that the sound had a perfectly normal explanation, for example, that the wind had blown small objects around outside the window and that no burglars were actually present.

When the Alarm System Becomes Overly Sensitive

If you worry excessively about your health, it is likely that your alarm system has become unusually sensitive to bodily sensations or discomforts (such as ringing in the ears, a sore on the tongue, throat discomfort, dry eyes, numbness in the hand, itching, tingling sensations, and so on).Out of the blue, this sensitive alarm system may generate a false warning and trick you into focusing intensely on these bodily sensations. You may start thinking, “Something must be wrong. Am I becoming seriously ill?” and begin to overestimate the likelihood that you are suffering from a serious disease.

Selective Attention and Catastrophic Thinking

Once the hypersensitive alarm system has triggered these thoughts and reactions, you are likely to stop noticing many of the signs that actually indicate that you are fine. Instead, selective attention takes over, and you become preoccupied with even the smallest signals from your body.At the same time, unrealistic catastrophic thoughts may begin to circulate in your mind. You may imagine exaggerated and alarming consequences of these symptoms, such as losing your eyesight or having a serious, incurable form of cancer.

Learning to Interpret the Alarms

Smoke detectors are important safety devices in our homes. Even though they sometimes go off when there is no real danger, there is no reason to throw them away. Likewise, we do not want to switch off the brain’s alarm system entirely. Instead, we want to become better at interpreting its messages and responding to them appropriately.It is also important to listen to your body when you experience genuine pain or other symptoms that warrant seeking medical advice.

Turning the Volume Down

By understanding the nature of an overly sensitive alarm system, we can practise “turning the volume down.”When the hypersensitive alarm system goes into overdrive, say to yourself:

• “This is just my oversensitive alarm system fooling me again!”

• Challenge your emotional reaction by thinking: “Everything is okay. My oversensitive alarm system is reacting to the itching, numbness, tingling, or other sensation out of old habit. My first thought is that something terrible is wrong, but it is more likely that this is a normal bodily sensation that I do not need to worry about.”

• You can also remind yourself: “There is no reason to make a big issue out of these bodily sensations or the thoughts about them. I am going to let them pass.”

• Then gently shift your attention to something else, such as the activity you are engaged in at that moment.

Good luck!

Aðalheiður Jónsdóttir, Psychologist