What is the difference between hypochondria and hypochondriac?

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.

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What is the difference between hypochondria and hypochondriasis?

People with illness anxiety disorder -- also called hypochondria or hypochondriasis -- have an unrealistic fear that they have a serious medical condition or fear that they're at high risk of becoming ill. They may misinterpret typical body functions as signs of illness.

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Why is it not called hypochondria anymore?

In the updated edition, hypochondriasis and several related conditions have been replaced by two new, empirically derived concepts: somatic symptom disorder and illness anxiety disorder. They differ markedly from the somatoform disorders in DSM-IV.

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What is the new term for hypochondriac?

Background: In the DSM-5, the diagnosis of hypochondriasis was replaced by two new diagnositic entities: somatic symptom disorder (SSD) and illness anxiety disorder (IAD). Both diagnoses share high health anxiety as a common criterion, but additonal somatic symptoms are only required for SSD but not IAD.

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How do you know if you're a hypochondriac or is something wrong?

A hypochondriac is someone who lives with the fear that they have a serious, but undiagnosed medical condition, even though diagnostic tests show there is nothing wrong with them. Hypochondriacs experience extreme anxiety from the bodily responses most people take for granted.

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

16 related questions found

Do hypochondriacs feel fake symptoms?

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.

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What triggers a hypochondriac?

Certain activities can trigger an episode of serious concern in someone who is susceptible to hypochondriasis, including: reading about diseases on the internet. watching something on television. knowing someone with a serious medical condition. feeling unwell or noticing lumps or bumps.

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What is the root of hypochondriac?

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.

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Are there different types of hypochondriac?

According to Columbia's Brian Fallon, there are three types of hypochondria. A person with the obsessional-anxious type repeatedly worries, repeatedly asks for assurance, and cannot get out of his mind that something serious may have been missed by the doctor.

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How do I stop being a hypochondriac?

Here are some self-help tips to help you with health anxiety.
  1. Keep a diary. Note how often you check your body, ask people for reassurance, or look at health information. ...
  2. Challenge your thoughts. Draw a table with 2 columns. ...
  3. Keep busy with other things. ...
  4. Get back to normal activities.

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Do hypochondriacs fake illness?

Munchausen's syndrome differs from two, more common, types of feigned illness, hypochondria and malingering. People who have hypochondria actually believe they are ill, but do not manipulate test results.

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Are hypochondriacs aware they are hypochondriacs?

Patients with hypochondriasis often are not aware that depression and anxiety produce their own physical symptoms, and mistake these symptoms for manifestations of another mental or physical disorder or disease.

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Do hypochondriacs live longer?

Scrupulously controlling for as many variables as possible, this research team found that individuals who complained about their health were three times more likely to die in the next 30 years than those who perceived themselves as more able-bodied and hearty.

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Is hypochondria a form of psychosis?

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.

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What mental illness are associated with hypochondria?

In one general medical outpatient clinic, 88% of patients with hypochondriasis had one or more concurrent psychiatric disorders, the most common being generalized anxiety disorder (71%), dysthymic disorder (45.2%), major depression (42.9%), somatization disorder (21.4%), and panic disorder (16.7%).

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Is hypochondria a form of OCD?

While some people's obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) focuses on their health, health anxiety (sometimes called hypochondriasis) is not a form of OCD, and OCD can involve thoughts and anxieties that aren't related to illness. If you're experiencing OCD, health anxiety, or both, effective treatments are available.

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What personality type is a hypochondriac?

In addition to paranoia, other personality features were found to be common among patients with hypochondriasis in this study: obsessive compulsive, avoidant, borderline, self-defeating and passive-aggressive.

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What should you not say to a hypochondriac?

Don't dwell on illness. Encourage them to verbalize fears about their health, but don't join in. Be supportive, but don't show too much concern and try to stay neutral in your answers. Express that you understand their struggle, without encouraging their obsessive thoughts.

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What organs are hypochondria?

The term is one of the oldest medical terms and used to describe disorders believed to be situated in the hypochondrium, which is the area under the “khondros,” the cartilage, ribs, especially stomach, spleen, and liver.

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Is hypochondria a brain disorder?

Hypochondriasis is a mental disorder in which a person experiences extreme anxiety related to a perceived illness or medical condition, even when no physical disease is present. People with hypochondriasis are afraid that they are seriously ill or have some other kind of significant physical problem.

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How do I know if I'm a hypochondriac?

Being preoccupied with having or getting a serious disease or health condition. Worrying that minor symptoms or body sensations mean you have a serious illness. Being easily alarmed about your health status. Finding little or no reassurance from doctor visits or negative test results.

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Are hypochondriacs selfish?

One characteristic frequently related to hypochondriasis is narcissism, or self-centeredness, he said. "Physicians sometimes can recognize the hypochondriac because the patient is very 'me-oriented,' focusing entirely on his symptoms.

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Who is most likely to be a hypochondriac?

Risk factors may include: Age between 20 and 30 years. Serious childhood illness or trauma. Mental disorders, such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, personality disorders, and depression.

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Is hypochondria caused by trauma?

Experiencing physical or emotional trauma can lead to hypochondria. This can include previous health trauma caused by the person having a serious illness, or by observing someone else experience a serious illness. People who experience extreme stress which they cannot relieve are also vulnerable.

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What medication is good for hypochondria?

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)

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