A few years ago, I was convinced I was about to die. And while (spoiler alert) I didn't, my severe health anxiety and tendency to assume the worst has persisted. But the increase of health-tracking smart devices like Apple's newly announced Apple Watch Series 11 -- along with new ways that AI tries to make sense of our body's data has led me to make an important decision. For my own peace of mind, AI and constant tracking needs to stay far away from my personal health. I'll explain.
Sometime around 2016, I had severe migraines that persisted for a couple of weeks. My anxiety steeply increased during this period due to the constant worry. When I eventually called the UK's NHS helpline and explained my various symptoms, they told me I needed to go to the nearest hospital and be seen within 2 hours. "Walk there with someone," I distinctly remember them telling me, "It'll be quicker than getting an ambulance to you."
This call confirmed my worst fears -- that death was imminent.
As it turned out, my fears of an early demise were unfounded. The cause was actually severe muscle strain from having hung multiple heavy cameras around my neck for an entire day while photographing a friend's wedding. But the helpline agent was simply working on the limited data I'd provided. As a result, they'd -- probably rightly -- taken a "better safe than sorry" approach and urged me to seek immediate medical attention, just in case I really was at risk.
The Apple Watch has always had a variety of heart-rate tracking tools and I've always avoided them. John Kim/CNET
I've spent most of my adult life struggling with health anxiety, and episodes such as this have taught me a lot about my ability to jump to the absolute worst conclusions despite there being no real evidence to support them. A ringing in my ears? Must be a brain tumor. A twinge in my stomach? Well, better get my affairs in order.
I've learned to live with this over the years, and while I still have my ups and downs, I know better about what triggers things for me. For one, I learned never to Google my symptoms. Because no matter what my symptom was, cancer was always one of the possibilities a search would throw up. Medical sites -- including the NHS's own website -- provided no comfort and usually only resulted in mind-shattering panic attacks.
Sadly, I've found I have a similar response with many health-tracking tools. I liked my Apple Watch at first, and its ability to read my heart rate during workouts was helpful. Then I found I was checking it increasingly more often throughout the day. Then the doubt crept in: "Why is my heart rate high when I'm just sitting down? Is that normal? I'll try again in 5 minutes." When, inevitably, it wasn't different (or it was worse), panic would naturally ensue.
I've used Apple Watches multiple times, but I find the heart rate tracking more stressful than helpful. Vanessa Hand Orellana/CNET
Whether tracking heart rate, blood oxygen levels or even sleep scores, I'd obsess over what a "normal" range should be. Any time my data fell outside of that range, I'd immediately assume it meant I was about to keel over right there and then. The more data these devices provided, the more things I felt I had to worry about. And now the new Apple Watch Series 11 can monitor blood pressure, so now I've got that to fret over too.
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