One of the most popular forms of treatment is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). This approach is one of the most effective to learn how to break the cycle of health anxiety. CBT will help you understand the link between your thoughts, behaviours and the anxiety they fuel.
Causes of Health Anxiety
Experiencing a serious illness when you were a child. A family member having a serious illness. You or a family member being prone to anxiety or being a 'worrier' Going through a stressful or traumatic event such as suffering a bereavement.
You may be more likely to have health anxiety if you had parents who worried too much about their own health or your health. Past experience. You may have had experience with serious illness in childhood, so physical sensations may be frightening to you.
A vicious cycle develops of noticing a sensation or learning of an illness in the world, misinterpreting it as threatening, then becoming anxious, and finally going to the doctor for reassurance. Reassurance from the doctor reduces the anxiety and brings relief temporarily. Soon the cycle starts again.
Health anxiety can interfere with your life, but it's highly treatable.
You may have health anxiety if you: constantly worry about your health. frequently check your body for signs of illness, such as lumps, tingling or pain. are always asking people for reassurance that you're not ill.
Antidepressants are most commonly prescribed medications for illness anxiety disorder. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are typically the first-choice antidepressants. SSRIs include medications like: Fluoxetine (Prozac)
Practicing excellent self-care: Catastrophic thoughts are more likely to take over when a person is tired and stressed. Getting enough rest and engaging in stress-relieving techniques, such as exercise, meditation, and journaling, can all help a person feel better.
People who have hypochondria actually believe they are ill, but do not manipulate test results. People who malinger pretend to be ill to gain some sort of benefit, such as avoiding military duty or trying to obtain compensation.
It is not clear why people have hypochondria, but it is more common in people who: have had major stress, illness or a death in the family. were neglected or abused as a child. have a serious physical illness.
There is no 'cure' for either condition, but both are considered treatable, mainly through psychotherapeutic techniques such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy), which aim to help the patient to relax and not to catastrophise when interpreting bodily sensations.
Illness anxiety disorder (previously called hypochondriasis) is a psychiatric disorder defined by excessive worry about having or developing a serious undiagnosed medical condition.
Benzodiazepines (also known as tranquilizers) are the most widely prescribed type of medication for anxiety. Drugs such as Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Valium (diazepam), and Ativan (lorazepam) work quickly, typically bringing relief within 30 minutes to an hour.
Doctors and mental health experts said the 50s, 60s and up can be when symptoms provoke more anxiety than they once did. This is when many first experience serious illnesses like diabetes and heart disease.
Health anxiety is an anxiety condition that is often housed within the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) spectrum of disorders. Those affected by health anxiety have an obsessional preoccupation with the idea that they are currently (or will be) experiencing a physical illness.
Hypochondriac comes ultimately from the Greek word hypokhondria, which literally means “under the cartilage (of the breastbone).” In the late 16th century, when hypochondriac first entered the English language, it referred to the upper abdomen.
Illness anxiety disorder is a chronic mental illness previously known as hypochondria. People with this disorder have a persistent fear that they have a serious or life-threatening illness despite few or no symptoms. Medications and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can help.
Hypochondriasis may occur in an individual who had a childhood illness or had a sibling with a childhood illness. May be related to another psychiatric disorder, such as anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorder. Hypochondriasis may develop from, or be a sign of, one of these other disorders.
If left untreated, this condition can lead to an obsessive preoccupation with the idea of being unwell and it can interfere with person's daily life. Hypochondriasis is not about the presence or absence of illness, but the psychological reaction towards it.
Hypochondria is itself a form of mild psychosis. The hypochondriac has a deep and ungrounded worry about having or developing a serious mental illness. Paranoia and suspiciousness are classical traits of psychosis but they can be subtle.
Do hypochondriacs feel real symptoms? Yes. Hypochondria can trigger symptoms associated with anxiety including: stomachaches, dizziness, headache, dry mouth, muscle tension, fatigue, increased heart rate, sweating, shortness of breath, and a frequent urge to use the bathroom.
Catastrophic thinking, also known as catastrophizing, is irrational thinking that may cause you to assume that adverse outcomes will occur. There are many potential causes for catastrophizing, such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and chronic pain.