Individuals with health anxiety are likely to report health-related dysfunctional beliefs such as, “I
am not sure that I can handle any serious health problem that I might develop in the future” and
“I believe it is likely that I will experience a chronic health condition at some point in the future”
(Fergus 2013). Research on individuals with eating disorders suggests that these individuals tend
to endorse specific beliefs such as, “I am not a likeable person,” “I don’t like myself very much,”
and “I amdull” (Cooper et al. 2006). Finally, recent work has found that individuals with psychotic
disorders have defeatist beliefs such as, “If you cannot do something well, there is little point in
doing it all,” and these beliefs mediate cognitive impairment, negative symptomatology, and poor
functioning in schizophrenia (Grant & Beck 2009).