Hypochondriasis is a mental health condition where a person obsessively believes they have a serious illness despite medical tests showing otherwise. Symptoms include constantly checking for signs of illness and seeking out multiple doctors. It can be caused by heredity, upbringing, or personality traits, and can be treated with medication or counseling. The internet can worsen symptoms, and those who spend hours searching for a disease online are called cyberchondriacs. It commonly emerges in a person’s 20s.
Among the most common symptoms of hypochondriasis is the obsession that a serious illness exists when medical tests show that a person is healthy. A hypochondriac may become so fearful and anxious that they spend hours each day searching for an ailment that matches their perceived symptoms. Signs of hypochondriasis include frequently examining the body for signs of illness and taking blood pressure and pulse several times a day. Hypochondriacs typically seek out other doctors when a doctor can’t find anything wrong with them.
When hypochondriacs hear about a disorder or read about an illness, they may develop a phobia of the condition and convince themselves that they suffer from it. Hypochondriasis symptoms can also arise in a person with a minor disorder if one or more signs mimic a serious illness. A person with this mental anxiety commonly cannot accept the fact that symptoms of major and minor illnesses often overlap.
Other signs of hypochondriasis might show up as an ever-present worry about health issues. The patient sincerely believes that he is seriously ill despite medical tests showing otherwise. In extreme cases, a person becomes so obsessed with an imaginary illness that they are unable to work or maintain social relationships. The financial burden of repeated diagnostic tests could also take a toll on the hypochondriac.
Hypochondriasis is a mental health condition similar to anxiety disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders. The emergence of so much information via the Internet could worsen the symptoms of hypochondriasis due to the number of sources about the disease. People who spend hours online looking for a disease that matches their symptoms are sometimes called cyberchondriacs.
There is no known cause for hypochondriasis, but it could be related to heredity, the way a person was raised, or simply an acquired personality trait. Antidepressant medications help relieve phobias and anxiety in some patients. Others benefit from psychological counseling that puts irrational fears into perspective.
Some hypochondriacs know that their persistent worry is meaningless, but they can’t shake worries about aches and pains that someone else might be ignoring. People who watch a loved one become seriously ill are at increased risk of developing symptoms of hypochondriasis. An adult who suffered a serious illness as a child is also at risk, along with people who come from abusive or neglectful families. Signs of hypochondriasis commonly emerge when people reach their 20s.
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