U.S. News & World Report | July 22, 2026 | Wellness
Overview
U.S. News & World Report’s guide to “scanxiety,” the stress and dread that build while waiting on medical imaging and test results, features Jessica Steinman, LMFT, Chief Clinical Officer at No Matter What Recovery, as a lead expert source. The piece walks through why the waiting period is so hard on the nervous system and offers ten strategies for getting through it, from telling your care team about your anxiety in advance to limiting how often you refresh the patient portal.
NMWR Expert Contribution
Steinman describes scanxiety as something that starts well before the results arrive. “The results may take an extended period of time to get read and explained,” she said. “The time before the procedure and the subsequent waiting period can cause extremely high, almost paralyzing levels of anxiety for some people.”
She identifies three things that reliably make it worse: “Anxiety can heighten when there is a long wait for test results, coupled with a misunderstanding or inability to comprehend those results, or when a patient doesn’t feel trust or safety in a medical professional clarifying the information.”
Left unaddressed, that uncertainty compounds. “Anxiety can escalate, resulting in panic, continued ruminating thoughts and an inability to focus on anything else,” Steinman said.
Key Points
Much of Steinman’s guidance in the article is about restoring a sense of agency during a stretch of time when there is genuinely nothing to do but wait:
- Find a provider who lowers your baseline. Steinman looks for a clinician who communicates well and creates a comfortable, friendly environment, leaving a patient empowered about the choices and decisions ahead of them.
- Aim for realistic hope, not forced cheer. “Without leaning into toxic positivity, trying to keep a positive perspective and perception of the results and news is important,” she said.
- Build a place to put the fear. “More medical appointments are needed, and it’s important to have tools and a safe space to share and express any fears or discomfort when it comes to medical information and testing,” Steinman said.
The article also flags when scanxiety warrants professional support: panic attacks, persistent dread, avoidance of follow-up care, hopelessness, disrupted sleep, and strain on relationships.
Context for No Matter What Recovery
Health-related anxiety is a familiar risk factor in recovery. Waiting on a result you cannot control is exactly the kind of open-ended distress that people have historically managed with a drink or a substance, and avoidance of medical care carries its own compounding cost. The skills Steinman describes here, tolerating uncertainty, reframing catastrophic thinking, and asking for support instead of white-knuckling it, are the same skills built in individual therapy at No Matter What Recovery.
For clients whose substance use sits alongside anxiety, panic, or trauma, our team treats both together through dual diagnosis care rather than in sequence.
Jessica Steinman, LMFT, is Chief Clinical Officer at No Matter What Recovery and a regular source for national media on addiction, recovery, and mental health.
Read the Full Article
Read Jessica Steinman’s full commentary on U.S. News & World Report.
If anxiety and substance use are feeding each other, the team at No Matter What Recovery can help you address both. Reach out to our admissions team, or learn more about our programs in Los Angeles and Chicago.
