My son’s Covid test stoicism put my fear of discomfort to shame

Watching his child be swabbed without a murmur, Will Gore confronts his latent health anxieties

Year 10 students get tested at the Park Lane Academy in Halifax (AFP/Getty)

At the age of 28 I discovered a cure for hypochondria: I married a nurse.

It turns out that for the most part, all I needed was a withering look from a medical professional every now and again to reassure me that I wasn’t dying. Better to get it at home than to trouble the GP.

I trace my hypochondriac tendencies back to a hernia operation at the age of 10. I had been a nervous child even before then, but being sent to the local hospital for urgent surgery put my anxiety levels through the roof.