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We all worry about our well-being to one degree or another. Regular preventive examinations and lifestyle are the right care for the body. However, sometimes a person begins to pay excessive attention to his physical condition, and he develops hypochondria.
In everyday life, we call hypochondriacs those who treat their well-being with exaggerated attention. Remember the hero of the story “Three in a boat, not counting the dog”, who, having nothing to do, began to leaf through a medical reference book and managed to find almost all the diseases described there?
“I began to console myself that I have all the other diseases that medicine knows, I was ashamed of my selfishness and decided to do without puerperal fever. On the other hand, typhoid fever completely twisted me, and I was satisfied with that, especially since I had obviously suffered from foot-and-mouth disease since childhood. The book ended with foot-and-mouth disease, and I decided that nothing threatened me anymore, ”he lamented.
What is hypochondria?
Joking aside, hypochondria is considered a type of mental disorder. It manifests itself in constant concern for one’s health, as well as in the fear of getting sick with any of the existing diseases.
A person is often haunted by obsessive thoughts: it seems to him that he is already ill with a serious illness, although the results of the examination do not confirm this. Fears and endless trips to the doctors become the background of his existence. According to statistics, up to 15% of people all over the planet suffer from hypochondria.
Who is afraid of disease?
It is difficult to name the exact cause of the development of such a disorder. As a rule, it affects anxious and suspicious people, as well as those who have experienced traumatic situations, faced with an erroneous diagnosis or long-term treatment of a serious illness. Usually hypochondria is one of the manifestations of neurosis, but it also occurs in schizophrenia.
How to recognize the disorder?
If you suspect that you have hypochondria, pay attention to its main symptoms:
- constant preoccupation with the presence of a serious illness — while normal sensations are interpreted as signs of illness
- obsessive thoughts about your illness
- senestopathies — unpleasant bodily sensations in the body, for which there are no objective reasons for the manifestation
- the desire to overcome the «ailment» by selecting «health measures» and self-treatment
Hypochondria should not be underestimated, as a mental disorder can progress. The most dangerous consequences of prolonged hypochondria are nervous breakdowns and the uncontrolled occurrence of obsessive thoughts, anxiety, which can even lead to a suicide attempt.
If it seems to a person that something terrible will happen to him soon, that he is ill with a serious illness, if he spends a lot of time on repeated examinations and tests in clinics and hospitals, this is a signal for concern.
Have you found any symptoms? See a doctor
Hypochondria must be treated. If the above resembles a condition — yours or a loved one — be sure to contact a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
The diagnosis should be established by the doctor on the basis of these and other manifestations. Only specialists will be able to determine whether a person is really suffering from a mental disorder, make an accurate diagnosis, prescribe medications and psychotherapy. Self-diagnosis, like self-treatment, is inappropriate here.
It is impossible to completely recover from hypochondria, but the onset of a long remission is very likely. The disorder can and should be kept under control, for this you need to follow the recommendations of your doctor, avoid watching programs about medicine and health, and also refrain from reading forums and articles on this topic.