Striking a Balance

Cyberchondria is a term coined by the UK media in the 1990s, and refers to a person’s obsessive online searches for self-diagnosis. Because the internet is rife with misinformation that can lead to incorrect (and scary) conclusions, cyberchondria can result in undue health anxiety, stress, and fear.

If someone has cyberchondria, they’re more likely to request frequent doctor visits, tests, and medications, and to change doctors often. Because of this, cyberchondria has the potential to put additional strain on the healthcare system and challenge our existing relationships with providers.

Kiffer Card, PhD, assistant professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, says the issue of cyberchondria is twofold. The first layer is the information environment that we encounter on the internet: the facts and anecdotes we come across, and how we interpret them. The second is the broader social aspect of having limited access to traditional care, coupled with rising mistrust of the medical system.

Card says, “All of those factors come together to create experiences in which individuals are left to try to make decisions about their own health and healthcare and self-perception by themselves.”

A burdened system

It’s no secret that the Canadian healthcare system is under duress. There’s a doctor shortage, for one thing, with a reported one in five Canadians without access to a general practitioner.

People without doctors are then putting a strain on hospitals, with an estimated one in seven emergency room visits categorized as better handled by primary care.

Even among those lucky enough to have a doctor, 33 percent report that they’re not able to get an appointment with their care provider within a week. So, it’s unsurprising that people are turning to the internet—for support and for answers.

But as Card says, “Online communities can be a double-edged sword.” On one side, they can provide helpful information and a sense of belonging, especially for people without an extensive support network. On the other, though, they can turn into an echo chamber of confirmation bias, essentially ensuring that people only hear the facts that support their preconceived ideas.

To challenge this, Card suggests seeking a wide range of sources, both online and in-person.

“That means looking at our information sources,” he says. “Looking at a diversity of them, and seeing what lines up with official viewpoints—and then trying to make the best decisions in consultation with the people you know and trust.”

Advocating for yourself

If you get in front of a provider, whether it’s at a doctor’s office or a walk-in clinic, it can be difficult to know how to make the most of your appointment. For this, Card suggests two main strategies:

• Be prepared.
• Keep an open mind.

“It’s best to be very clear and facts-based about what you’re experiencing,” Card says. “Go to a doctor with a bolded list. Say, ‘I’m experiencing this. I read this from this source, and it led me to believe this.’ I think it’s about being efficient in that way, and forcing the physician to confront the evidence and the sources that you’re engaged with—and then being open to their responses.”

A holistic collaboration

Card says that medical care should not be a game of power dynamics. Rather, it should be a holistic collaboration between patient and doctor.

“The doctor is bringing certain expertise, and you as a patient are bringing a certain expertise,” Card says. “It’s the job of both of you to come together and try to find a plan that’s co-created.”

This article was originally published in the October 2025 issue of alive magazine.