There’s a new consultant in medicine.
We’ve all met him.
On call 24/7.
Always confident.
Dr. Google.
And by the time most patients walk into my office, they’ve already had a full consultation—
sometimes even trying to run his opinion alongside mine.
A little healthy competition, I suppose 🙂
A quick search can be useful:
✔️ Helps you ask better questions
✔️ Gives language to symptoms
✔️ Makes you feel informed
But there’s a catch.
When Information Becomes Fuel
In theory, access to information should reduce uncertainty.
In practice—especially in anxiety and OCD—it often does the opposite.
Searching doesn’t end with information.
It becomes a loop.
It’s no longer: “What is this symptom?”
It becomes:
“Can I be absolutely certain this is not something serious?”
“What if I missed something?”
“Let me check one more time…”
“Just to be sure.”
And suddenly:
❌ Rare conditions feel likely
❌ Reassurance doesn’t stick
❌ Anxiety grows instead of shrinking
The Illusion of Precision
Dr. Google presents everything with the same confidence.
Common things. Rare things. Extremely rare things.
All side by side—no sense of proportion.
“Google gives possibilities. Medicine is about probabilities.”
That difference matters more than most people realize.
So, Where Does That Leave Dr. Google?
He’s not going anywhere.
And he’s not entirely the problem.
The balance is simple:
Use Dr. Google to get curious
Not to get certain
Because certainty is exactly what keeps the loop going.
Sometimes the goal isn’t finding the perfect answer.
It’s learning how to sit with the question—without letting it take over.
And that’s where real progress begins.