The Big Five: When Health Anxiety Goes on Safari
If you’ve ever been on safari or even just watched one you’ll know about the Big Five.
They’re the animals everyone hopes to see:
Lion. Leopard. Elephant. Rhino. Buffalo.
People can spot dozens of other animals, but they’ll often say:
“Yes, but we didn’t see the Big Five.”
In health anxiety, we have our own version of this.
The Health Anxiety Big Five
When someone struggles with health anxiety, there are five diagnoses the mind keeps scanning for regardless of how small, vague, or ordinary the symptom is.
The Health Anxiety Big Five are usually:
- Cancer
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Stroke
- Heart Attack
- Aneurysm
A headache becomes a brain tumour.
Tingling becomes MS.
Chest tightness becomes a heart attack.
Dizziness becomes a stroke.
The symptom almost doesn’t matter the mind jumps straight to one of the Big Five.
Why the Anxious Brain Does This
This isn’t because you’re dramatic, irrational, or “looking for attention”.
It’s because an anxious brain is doing what it thinks is its job: detecting threat.
Health anxiety narrows your attention. It teaches your brain:
“If we miss something serious, the consequences are catastrophic.”
So, your mind doesn’t look for likely explanations it looks for dangerous ones.
Just like someone on safari who ignores birds, antelope, and zebras because they’re only focused on spotting a lion, the anxious brain ignores common, benign explanations and scans for the biggest threat it knows.
The Problem With the Big Five Lens
Here’s the issue.
When every symptom is filtered through the Big Five lens:
- Reassurance never lasts
- Tests never feel “enough”
- New symptoms constantly appear
- The body feels unsafe
Why?
Because you’re not actually responding to the symptom you’re responding to the meaning your mind attaches to it.
And the meaning is always:
“This could be life-threatening.”
That keeps the nervous system in a constant state of alert, which ironically creates more symptoms:
- Muscle tension
- Dizziness
- Palpitations
- GI issues
- Tingling
- Fatigue
Those symptoms then get fed straight back into the Big Five loop.
What Health Anxiety Recovery Actually Involves
Recovery doesn’t come from convincing yourself:
“It’s definitely not cancer / MS / a stroke.”
That just keeps the Big Five centre stage.
Instead, recovery involves learning to:
- Recognise the Big Five reflex
- Tolerate uncertainty without chasing certainty
- Broaden the explanation list again
- Stop treating every sensation as a medical emergency
- Teach your nervous system that your body is not a constant threat
In other words, you stop going on safari every time your body makes a noise.
A Question to Gently Ask Yourself
Next time a symptom appears, try asking:
“Am I reacting to this sensation or to one of the Big Five stories my mind is telling?”
That question alone can create just enough space to respond differently.
You Are Not Broken. You’re Stuck in a Pattern
Health anxiety isn’t about being weak or overthinking. It’s about a brain that has learned to scan for the most frightening possibilities and struggles to stand down.
The good news?
Patterns can be unlearned.
And once you stop chasing the Big Five, the body often becomes a much quieter, safer place to live.
