Hypochondriasis is a mental disorder where the sufferer believes they have a real or imagined medical illness, leading to severe anxiety and depression. Symptoms include an overwhelming fear of a particular disease, misdiagnosis of minor ailments, and recurring visits to the doctor. It affects at least 6% of people and requires professional treatment.
Hypochondriasis is a very real condition for many people. It is a mental disorder experienced by both men and women in which the sufferer believes they have a real or imagined medical illness. They also believe that the symptoms they have are attributable to serious medical ailments. The condition can lead to severe anxiety and depression in the sufferer.
Symptoms usually follow a familiar pattern. The sufferer will develop an overwhelming fear of a particular disease or diseases. Often the fear is out of proportion to the disease or based on non-existent symptoms. Reasoned advice from doctors and other medical experts often doesn’t help control the fear.
A main symptom is the misdiagnosis of any minor ailment. The fear that the condition exerts is so great that any minor aches or pains are treated as a serious illness. The hypochondriac will think that the slightest pain can be attributed to serious illnesses such as cancer or AIDS. In a sense, the person believes the worst and usually cannot be dissuaded by contrary expert opinion.
Recurring visits to the doctor are another sign. The sufferer can also change doctors if the doctor suspects hypochondriasis. The person may begin to fear the doctor because of this diagnosis.
The person’s worries can have serious consequences in daily life. The person may spend a lot of time away from work worrying about their perceived ill health. Anxiety levels rise due to this incessant worrying and can create other illnesses like panic attacks and depression.
Many physical symptoms of the disease can be triggered by the condition. Psychosomatic symptoms can also be found in the condition. Many hypochondriacs are seriously concerned about their own death from the condition, and many begin to make preparations for their own death.
Another symptom is an obsessive need for information about diseases and infirmities. The hypochondriac will usually not believe the diagnoses of doctors and will try to find their own diagnosis of the perceived disease. These people spend most of the day worrying and discussing their symptoms.
Hypochondriasis affects at least 6% of people. Many people believe that poor posture is one explanation for the condition. The word hypochondria comes from the Greek words meaning “under” and “the ribs.” However, hypochondriasis is a psychological problem that only professional treatment can cure.
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