HYPOCHONDRIA

By: Melanie Gibbish

www.quickmeme.com
WHAT IS
HYPOCHONDRIA?

Hypochondria - Also known as Hypochondriasis;

abnormal anxiety about ones health, especially with
an unwarranted fear that one has a serious disease.

Originates from Greek word Hupokhondria

meaning the area below the ribs.

Hypochondriac - A person who is abnormally

anxious about their health.

Psychosomatic Disorder - A disease which involves

the mind and body.
arabia.msn.com
SYMPTOMS

Long-term intense fear or anxiety about having a sickness/health condition

Think you have serious illness from small symptoms (sneezing coughing
etc)

See doctors frequently/ switching doctors when they tell you you arent
sick with anything major

Constantly talking about what diseases you presume you have

Obsessively researching symptoms/ health

Constantly checking for signs of illness (bumps, sores, pulse, blood

pressure)

Thinking you have a disease after hearing/reading about it

lupusuva1phototherapy.com
CAUSES

No real idea

Thought to be inuenced by personality, life experiences, inherited traits

Having serious illness during childhood

Knowing people with serious diseases

Death of loved one

Believing good health means you have no physical symptoms

Feeling vulnerable to illness

Have abusive/neglectful parents

www.beliefnet.com
TESTS AND DIAGNOSIS

Physical exam

Psychological evaluation

Lab tests
! To be diagnosed with hypochondria you have to have a preoccupation
lasting at least 6 months that you have a serious illness based on body
symptoms, worry about the preoccupation, and have difculty in social/
work/and daily life.
freddysopenmind.blogspot.com
TREATMENT

Visit psychiatrist/psychologist/counselor

CBT

Psychotherapy

Anti-depressants/anti-anxiety medication
frimminjimbits.blogspot.comurl
OTHER HELP

Get active

Avoid drugs/alcohol which can

worsen symptoms of depression
and can affect any medications
being taken
theperfecthypochondriac.blogspot.com
FACTS

Similar to anxiety disorders (panic disorder, OCD) -compulsively checking

health/ panic about being sick

Equally likely in men and women, at any age, but most often starts in early
adulthood.

There is no sure way to prevent hypochondria, but the sooner you address
it, the less of an impact it can have on your life

Most people who have the disorder do not know that they have it

Chronic condition (long-term)

Only a small percentage of patients recover completely

MENTAL EFFECTS ON
LIFE

Make you miserable from constantly worrying about your health

Can cause health risks from getting unnecessary medical procedures

Depression

Anxiety

Substance abuse

Frustration
cherierunsthis.com
PHYSICAL EFFECTS ON
LIFE

Work/school problems

Relationship difculties

Financial problems
abnormalpsych.wikispaces.com
I AM DYING
~ JEFF PEARLMAN
I know I am dying, because, well, I just know. I'm certain of it. I can feel it.
That pain on the left side of my stomach still hasn't gone away.
It's been there for eight or nine months now. The ultrasound came up negative. So did the CT scan, the MRI and the
colonoscopy.
"It's probably nothing," said one doctor.
"You likely pulled a muscle," said another.
"I'd ignore it," advised a third.
They are wrong. I know they are wrong. So, with nowhere else to turn, I seek out reassurance. "What do you think my
stomach pain is?" I ask. "Do you think I'm OK?"
Eyes roll. "You're ne," my father says. "You're ne," my mother says. "You're ne," my sister-in-law says.
"You're 37 years old. You run marathons. You play basketball every Monday. You've never even broken a bone," my wife
says. "You're ne."

But in fact, all illnesses are psychosomatic, contends Suzanne Koven, an internist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
"All illnesses involve both mind and body," which suggests that one way conditions differ is in the relative
contributions of psyche and soma. Koven points out that "the simplest sore throat brings a tide of emotionsometimes
fear (What if I miss too much work? Will I lose my job?), sometimes guilt (Will anyone catch this from me?), sometimes
anger (Who did I catch this from?). And conversely, emotions often communicate in the language of the body: a tension
headache, for example, or stress-induced upset stomach.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200912/hypochondria-the-impossible-illness
SOURCES

"Hypochondria." Risk factors. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-

conditions/hypochondria/basics/risk-factors/con-20028314>.

"Hypochondria: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S.

National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 18 May 2014. <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
ency/

"Hypochondria: The Impossible Illness." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. <http://
www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200912/hypochondria-the-impossible-illness>.

"Hypochondria: denition of hypochondria." Oxford Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014.
<Oxforddictionaries.com/us/denition/american_english/hypochondria >.

"Mental Health: Hypochondriasis (Hypochondriacs)." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 May 2014.
<http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/hypochondriasis>.

"Psychosomatic Disorders." Patient.Co.UK. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2014. <http://

www.patient.co.uk/health/psychosomatic-disorders>.