What is a hypochondriac?
Most people can relate to the experience of assuming they have a medical condition, mental illness, or disease – regardless of whether they have it medically.
It could be from looking up something like stomach ache causes on the internet (and guess what you find!) or hearing about an illness spreading among a group of friends or family members who now you doubt that you have them too. It’s especially common with misunderstood disorders such as self-diagnosing obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) just by liking clean and tidy things, or someone who thinks they have OCD. and ADHD simply because they have difficulty concentrating under certain circumstances.
Although it is normal to have fear or anxiety related to a problem or suspected health condition, says Dr. Neha Pathak, chief physician editor at WebMD and a former primary care physician at the Department of Veterans Affairs, is extreme or extreme anxiety — especially when being away from the office. being diagnosed – “can seriously impair daily happiness and well-being.”
A person who does this is often called a hypochondriac.
What is a hypochondriac?
A hypochondriac is someone who worries excessively about having an illness or condition, “despite medical tests to the contrary,” says Dr. Jason Nagata, an adolescent medicine specialist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San Francisco. He says the condition is officially called hypochondriasis, but in 2013 it was split into two known conditions and described as “anxiety about illness” or “somatic symptom disorder” in another diagnosis. and one determined by unique factors. “Both disorders are characterized by serious health concerns, but the key difference is that somatic symptoms include significant physical symptoms, while physical symptoms are absent or mild in the disease caused by anxiety,” he explains.
In any case, a person with hypochondria may be so convinced that they have a serious medical condition that nothing can convince them otherwise. “They may switch doctors frequently as they seek reassurance that they are sick,” says Juanita Guerra, PhD, a clinical psychologist in New Rochelle, New York.
Meanwhile, such people tend to experience persistent and unrelenting anxiety, and their preoccupation often “leads to significant impairment in daily functioning,” says Nagata.
If this condition is not treated, it can lead to negative health effects. “Research shows that chronic anxiety associated with hypochondria can increase the risk of conditions such as heart disease, which makes it an important mental and physical issue,” he adds.
To complicate matters further, hypochondria, or anxiety disorder, affects 8% of the population, says Aron Tendler, a psychiatrist and chief medical officer of BrainsWay, which he says does not affect anyone. everyone who is only affected, “but it also causes a great burden on the health system.”
What makes a person a hypochondriac?
Despite the prevalence of the condition, “we don’t know exactly what causes hypochondria, but it can be linked to things like a family history of serious illness, excessive stress and anxiety, fear of a person’s health, or emotional trauma resulting from child abuse, neglect, rape or other forms of emotional or physical abuse.”
Guerra adds that the condition can also be caused by excessive use of the Internet related to health research or following social media reports related to fear. It can also be as simple as having frequent strange thoughts or having personality traits like being an anxious or overthinker.
Tendler says the condition is often a “disease of comorbidity” – meaning that people who struggle with it frequently have other mental illnesses such as OCD, depression, personality disorders, anxiety or depression. (PTSD).
What are the best ways to get help for a hypochondriac?
Whatever the cause of the condition, it’s usually treatable — as long as the affected person is willing to get help “by talking to a doctor or mental health professional,” says Nagata.
Guerra advises starting with a person’s primary care physician, as they can begin to rule out the presence of any condition. “Once the doctor determines that there is no physical illness, they can refer you to a therapist or mental health professional for treatment,” he says.
Pathak explains that common treatments for anxiety disorders or somatic symptoms include talk therapy or cognitive-behavioral therapy, “which can help people change their thinking patterns.” He adds that sometimes medications such as antidepressants can also be helpful and that health professionals are able to provide customized treatment plans for each patient. “The goal of treatment is to reduce symptoms and improve daily life,” he says.
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