What is hypochondrial disorder?

Hypochondrial disorder is a form of anxiety disorder. It is also referred to as illness anxiety or hypochondriasis.

It is quite common for people to worry about their health at times. However, in hypochondria, people become too worried that they are really sick or are going to get really sick, even if only having slight symptoms.

Some individuals suffering from hypochondria actually have an underlying medical condition which they obsess over. Others, who are otherwise physically fit, feel an intense dread about what their future health may hold. For instance, they may think: "What if I get cancer?" or that a lump they discover 'must' be cancerous.

Those with hypochondria become so troubled and anxious that they would not be able to handle some of their daily works.

What are the types of hypochondrial disorder?

An illness anxiety disorder sufferer fits into at least one of the following profiles:

• Care-seeking: You findyourself in the hospital constantly. You get recommendations from several experts and ask to be investigated for some particular disease.
• Care-avoidant: You avoid healthcare providers and medical care. You might not trust doctors or you think they don't take your symptoms seriously. This can create more fear and anxiety.

What are the symptoms of hypochondrial disorder?

If you have hypochondrial disorder, you have a persistent but unreasonable fear of seriously being ill. The particular illness that you worry about frequently changes.

Symptoms of hypochondria include:

• Avoiding people or places due to the fear of catching an illness.
• Constant research on diseases and symptoms.
• Magnifying symptoms and their severity (for example, a cough is now a sign of lung cancer).
• Extreme level of anxiety over personal health.
• Obsession about normal body functions like your heart rate.
• Showering your symptoms and health status with other people.
• You keep checking for signs of being ill in yourself, such as taking your blood pressure or your temperature.
• You seek reassurance from loved ones about your symptoms or health.
• Unease with healthy body functions, like passing gas or sweating.

What causes hypochondrial disorder?

Doctors do not know why certain people develop hypochondrial disorder. You may be more susceptible to hypochondrial disorder if you have a family history of:

• Childhood trauma, such as child abuse or neglect.
• Mental health problems like anxiety or depression.
• Childhood illness or serious illness in your family when you were a child.
• Trauma, such as rape or physical or emotional abuse.
• Health anxieties or other anxiety disorders in your family.
• Severe stress.

What are the complications of hypochondrial disorder?

Constant fear and worry cause stress, affecting your physical and mental health. Hypochondrial disorder disrupts your relationships and life. You will miss the opportunity to spend time with family members because of your fear over your health. You risk facing the following risks by suffering from hypochondrial disorder:

• Financial challenges due to medical costs and loss of working days.
• Medical disability and unemployment.
• Unnecessary medical tests and potential test complications.

Some people may feel extremely down and may even contemplate or carry out ideas of self-inflicted harm or suicide.

How is hypochondrial disorder diagnosed?

To determine if you have illness anxiety disorder, your provider will likely diagnose you or they will send you to a behavioral health specialist, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. The six scale of illness anxiety disorder are:

• Constantly worrying about becoming or being sick.
• You do not have symptoms or you have only very mild symptoms. If you have a medical condition and you experience illness anxiety disorder associated with that medical condition, the worries you are experiencing may appear disproportionate or even excessive to others.
• You feel anextreme level of anxiety and become easily alarmed by anything concerning your health.
• You often do things to monitor or review your condition such as examining for indications and symptoms of illnesses, or you often try to avoid scheduling appointments in the hospitals etc.
• These severe, health-related worry you have been experiencing for a period of at least six months. The symptoms need not be one-sided throughout but may also be different illness-related symptoms at different times
• There isn't any specific state of which an explanation for your symptoms is better given.

The most common symptoms of hypochondrial disorder are a chronic fear of having or developing a serious illness. Your doctor might diagnose you with hypochondrial disorder if you experience health anxiety (or other signs of hypochondrial disorder) for six months or longer even after tests have ruled out that you are not ill.

What are the best treatments for hypochondrial disorder?

Your doctor may collaborate with other mental health professionals, for example, a psychologist and psychiatrist, to treat the hypochondria, however, you will continue seeing your doctor regularly.

Treatment helps make symptoms of hypochondrial disorder manageable to improve quality of life. Hypochondrial disorder treatment often incorporates drugs, such as the following:

• Antidepressant medication or antianxiety medications.
• Mental health therapy, such as psychotherapy or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to talk through your fears and anxieties and learn healthy ways to cope.

How to prevent hypochondrial disorder?

There is no known preventive measure for hypochondrial disorder. But support from medical and mental health care professionals and loved ones (family, friends, etc.) would probably alleviate disease symptoms and help you cope better with the disorder.

What is the prognosis for people who have illness anxiety disorder?

A hypochondrial disorder is a chronic (ongoing) condition. You might go through times when you are very little or not at all concerned about your health - then it comes back again. You can do things to keep the symptoms of hypochondrial disorder at bay.

When should I call my doctor?

You might want to consult a doctor if you or someone else notices signs of hypochondrial disorder. Call your doctor when you have experiencing depression, anxiety, or other changes in mood.

What should I ask my doctor?

Some things to ask your doctor might include:

• How could illness anxiety disorder best be managed?
• Is there anything I should watch for to spot a complication?
• How can I distinguish between the fears exacerbated by illness anxiety disorder and fears that are grounded in reality and that should compel me to seek medical attention?

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