Hypochondria, Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment.

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Chapters

0:00 Introduction
1:15 Causes of Hypochondriasis
1:53 Symptoms of Hypochondriasis
2:52 Treatment of Hypochondriasis
3:43 Risk factors of Hypochondriasis
4:07 Prevention of Hypochondriasis

Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. An old concept, the meaning of hypochondria has repeatedly changed.[1] It has been claimed that this debilitating condition results from an inaccurate perception of the condition of body or mind despite the absence of an actual medical diagnosis.[2] An individual with hypochondriasis is known as a hypochondriac. Hypochondriacs become unduly alarmed about any physical or psychological symptoms they detect, no matter how minor the symptom may be, and are convinced that they have, or are about to be diagnosed with, a serious illness.[3]

Often, hypochondria persists even after a physician has evaluated a person and reassured them that their concerns about symptoms do not have an underlying medical basis or, if there is a medical illness, their concerns are far in excess of what is appropriate for the level of disease. It is also referred to hypochondriaism which is the act of being in a hypochondriatic state, acute hypochondriaism.[4] Many hypochondriacs focus on a particular symptom as the catalyst of their worrying, such as gastro-intestinal problems, palpitations, or muscle fatigue. To qualify for the diagnosis of hypochondria the symptoms must have been experienced for at least 6 months.[5]

International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) classifies hypochondriasis as a mental and behavioral disorder. [6] In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, DSM-IV-TR defined the disorder, "Hypochondriasis", as a somatoform disorder[7] and one study has shown it to affect about 3% of the visitors to primary care settings.[8] The 2013 DSM-5 replaced the diagnosis of hypochondriasis with the diagnoses of somatic symptom disorder (75%) and illness anxiety disorder (25%).[9][10]

Hypochondria is often characterized by fears that minor bodily or mental symptoms may indicate a serious illness, constant self-examination and self-diagnosis, and a preoccupation with one's body. Many individuals with hypochondriasis express doubt and disbelief in the doctors' diagnosis, and report that doctors’ reassurance about an absence of a serious medical condition is unconvincing, or short-lasting. Additionally, many hypochondriacs experience elevated blood pressure, stress, and anxiety in the presence of doctors or while occupying a medical facility, a condition known as "white coat syndrome". Many hypochondriacs require constant reassurance, either from doctors, family, or friends, and the disorder can become a debilitating challenge for the individual with hypochondriasis, as well as their family and friends.[11] Some hypochondriacal individuals completely avoid any reminder of illness, whereas others frequently visit medical facilities, sometimes obsessively. Some sufferers may never speak about it.

[julzlovesmusics]

I’ve been suffering from it, I always cried when I panic over my health. afraid of dying too

[hannaha]

Your health is one of the worst things to have anxiety over. I’ve been a hypochondriac for a couple years now, ever since my little brother passed away. I cry almost everyday because I’m so sick of being like this, but I can’t help it. If I feel the slightest bit different or find anything wrong with me, I google and that leads to obsessing over it. I hate that I’m like this 😣

[Ruby-epoc]

There's hypochondriacs that love pity and talk constantly about their health issues like my sister inlaw ..And there's hypochondriacs that are genuinely frightened that theres something very wrong with their health and they honestly DONT want to feel this way but they CANT help it.

[LillyDelRey]

Being a Hypochondriac had taken over my life. I can’t even shop at stores with my family without overthinking everything. I begin to panic and want to go home. It’s always a heart attack for me. I’m drained

[OA]

My stress even led me to this video because i looked up for it

[wdlybusiness]

Allright guys, trust me I’m your hero.

I’ve been dealing with hypochondria in the beginning of 2020. I visited the doctor regularly to just hear ‘everything is fine, don’t worry’ and then the cycle started over, and over again. You guys know what I mean… 



But trust me, I’ve recovered 100% full from it. Whenever I get a thought about getting an heart attack, that there is a tumor in my head, that I could do over a panic attack: I really show 0 emotion to it anymore.

Trust me guys. There is a way out. It didn’t even take me that long.

Here is some very, very helpful tips:


1 Just notice your thoughts and do nothing with them, don’t engage, let them be. Notice them & don’t react.
2 When I say don’t engage, I literally mean: don’t engage. Because this could be a trap. I’ll explain: If you get a thought ‘I might get an heart attack’ and you go outside to catch a breathe, you engage. Because you acknowledge that you need some way out. Stop this, trust me.
3 Life a healthy lifestyle. This will give you less stress overall. Which results into having less anxiety. Eat a healthy diet, enjoy a sport, enjoy a hobby, visit friends (I know how hard this can be, because of overthinking, but it’s important that you don’t stop visiting your friends), start a business, etc
4 Have faith. In yourself, that everything will be fine. And in God :)

Noticed how I said ‘trust me I’m your here’? This is important too, it sounded fun. View your hypochondria as laughable. Whenever you get an thought like ‘I might get an heart attack, just say: yes sure, I might. Or just laugh about it…

[mitchgillilan]

It started out with a breathing problem for me, I felt like I couldn't breathe right, and I'm an athlete and could run and mountain bike every day.... then it turned into more worry, and then actual chest pains, more worrying, weird pains in my spine and legs, and more worry. The cycle got worse until I had a nervous breakdown and was hospitalized 3 times. The doctors always say my lungs are great, my heart functions good, and no other weird stuff in all the x rays and CT scan. I am slowly getting better but I still feel like crap most the time. It's been 7 months since this all started. The anxiety and terror I feel is really horrible along with the weird pains and breathing problems. I feel like I'm detoxing from heroin some days even though I've been sober for 8 years now.... it's just strange.

[OA]

Seriously man, my stress is hidden but it affects the functioning of my body so severely. I have an illness, which is recurring and not healing but it's not life threatening. But i feel like doctors are missing out something real serious and later we all are gonna regret not getting the tests done earlier. I look up for minor sensations on internet and they increase my stress and anxiety. The stress even affected my menstrual cycle. Even a thing as normal as getting period, i start to over stress on the day of my date.

[nicholaskane]

I started becoming a hypercondriac after I had COVID, I am 21 years old, and I have anxiety problems before but not at this level, every little thing I think of something serious, like my shoulder and chest pain is a heart attack, stomach ache is like cancer, and even fatigue being all kinds of those serious diseases. I was even scared about when I see red things on my stool, I showed my family and when they looked at it, it was from food which I had to think about what I had. I even have lymph nodes on my neck even though there are small. I have sinuses and allergy problems. What scares me the most is that younger people are getting hit hard, with serious diseases like cancer, heart disease, and other things that caused me to change my diet and I started losing weight, I even panicked, cried to myself non stop, and couldn't concentrate on my school work. I couldn't do anything for 10 minutes without worrying, I have been looked at and x-rayed by the doctors and they said there was nothing wrong with me, I wanted to believe I'm fine, but I don't even know what to do, I became so afraid of having a serious disease that I kept crying and even felt very sorry for myself. It felt like when I talked to people how I feel, they don't even care.

[fonzieskatesurf]

This is me in my early 40s, never thought it was a thing or could happen. I'm 45yrs old and I overthink things once I feel anything like shortness of breath, heart problems, muscle tension, headaches etc etc.

My solution to endure or overcome is drink lots of water to stay hydrated, breathe slowly, and full body stretching along with some squats and pushups then usually I feel better.

Hope any of my tips are helpful to anyone looking for answers, just sharing from my ongoing experiences, praying for you all out there *Stay Strong* y'all 🙏💯✌️

[cellyyymo]

It’s been a real problem for me for almost 2 years. Even when I’m just breathing I get scared that I’ll accidentally stop breathing so my brain forces me to breathe faster. I despise it.

[EllaHarut]

Thank you for this video, this was an excellent breakdown of hypochondria. I sent this video to my husband, and I hope he finally understand his condition.

[Jayeeda_]

even when i get a check up at the doctor i stl feel like there's something wrong😪

[hernandez]

Always worried about cancer and researching everyday every symptom yup that’s me

[feizzu_]

I have suffered with this badly since I was 9… guys please don’t Google, it makes everything 10x worse (I say googling symptoms)

[lemontree]

I've become terrified of leaving my home in the city to go visit family in the countryside, because the doctors there might not be able to help me in case of an emergency.

I'm even scared to leave the house because I need to be close to a hospital.

This fear started less than a year ago when I was diagnosed with hypertension, and I've been in near constant terror about the slightest sensations in my body.

[mikepopins]

I have started feeling like this...chronically for a month now. Though this is a short time. But let me sure anyone reading this, on the road to therapy, this works and does wonders. Reliefs that cycle of stress and anxiety. I have contacted family and loved ones with their support without therapy, which had me feeling better. So, do not think you can manage this stupid disorder. Do not google. Talk to a professional. Together, all of us can get better.

[I_Am_NiiTA]

I really wish I can stop. I could be having a normal day then next thing you know, my body is telling me my heart isn't beating. Then, the rest of my body follows suite and I hurt all over. Then, after I've cried, I go back to normal. It's a terrible cycle 😔

[fixpacifica]

Can you move the Medical Centric logo so that it doesn't cover up the end of the banner at the bottom of the screen?

[Matthew-yrlx]

I was up all night because I thought I had hypothyroidism. Cried the whole time