Hypochondriacs are a common subject of jokes. Completely wrong. This disorder can effectively make life difficult and, even worse, cause actual loss of health. The main problem is that, apart from the obvious, absurd cases, doctors often have a problem with diagnosing hypochondriacs, because how are they supposed to know if the patient really hurts and how much?
The essence of hypochondria is the conviction that there is at least one serious somatic or physical disease. For a patient to be considered a hypochondriac, this belief must persist for at least six months. However, cases in which a patient thinks they have only one condition are rare – usually at least two.
– I once had a patient who said that something was wrong with his digestive system and heart – says Dr. Maciej Zych, an internist. – The symptoms that troubled him from the digestive system were abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhea and… noises that his stomach was making. As for the heart, it was suspicious that his heart rate increased significantly during exercise.
The above situation describes the behavior of hypochondriacs very accurately. They very often take the normal, physiological reactions of the body as a disease state. Of course, if abdominal pain appears on its own and is not related to any external causes, it is cause for concern. However, if we are simply struggling with stomach problems after eating too much, there is no need to run to the doctor.
Hypochondria is a mental disorder. Some specialists describe it as a health phobia. It usually develops in people who are withdrawn and tend to be depressed. Often the trigger for ailments is death or illness of a loved one. In such situations, mental malaise can even trigger a number of real somatic symptoms. We are then not dealing with a misinterpretation of healthy, physiological reactions of the body, but with the actual occurrence of symptoms that cannot be explained by any somatic disease.
– Unfortunately, nowadays hypochondriacs are additionally harmed by the Internet – says Dr. Zych. – Imagine that the described patient types the previously mentioned symptoms (abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhea) into the browser. To this let’s add the word converting. What do we get as a result? Ulcers at best, Crohn’s disease at worst, and even bowel cancer.
It turns out that there are so many people who search the Internet for potentially contracting diseases that the phenomenon has already gained a separate name. This is cyberchondria, classified as a specific type of hypochondria.
– Such a patient carefully reviews the description of the disease and the characteristics of its symptoms and comes to the doctor with a ready medical diagnosis. This means that hypochondriacs often undergo tests that they do not require, such as a colonoscopy.
However, the doctor points out that these tests are only seemingly unnecessary. When a specialist comes into contact with a new patient, there is no reason to suspect hypochondria, and before discovering that he or she is dealing with the person actually has a mental disorder, he or she must eliminate other possibilities.
“Hypochondria can take many forms,” says Dr. Zych. – Personally, I have not met with such a case, but one of my colleagues told about a patient who was terribly afraid that he would get cancer. He was suffering from a kind of cancerophobia. On average, he appeared in the office every two weeks with a list of symptoms: those that indicated liver cancer, and those that indicated cancer of the intestine. Each time he received reassuring test results, he returned with a new obsession over time.
It turns out, however, that the image of a hypochondriac as a person constantly in hospitals or private offices is not entirely correct. There is a certain group of patients who, living in the conviction that they have something serious, intentionally avoid visiting a doctor, hire a rule, better not to know, they will find something else.
This group is also particularly susceptible to the so-called white coat syndrome. Its essence is best illustrated by blood pressure testing in the presence of a doctor. The patient is so upset by the test itself and the possibility of an abnormal result that he does increase his blood pressure.
This group of hypochondriacs may develop a life-threatening condition. Imagine a hypochondriac has been avoiding a doctor for years because he is afraid that he will find cancer in him. Meanwhile, he develops a simple, easy-to-treat infection, but the disease, if not detected in time, goes into a serious stage.
Can you live with hypochondria? Of course you can, but it’s much better to treat it. A number of studies show that psychotherapy brings very good results. In some cases, it is necessary to use pharmacological treatment by administering drugs from the group of selective seotonin reuptake inhibitors.