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What causes someone to be a hypochondriac?
Symptoms and Causes Childhood trauma, such as child abuse or neglect. Extreme stress. Health anxieties or other anxiety disorders in your family. Childhood illness or serious illness in your family during childhood.
How do you know if someone is a hypochondriac?
Signs and symptoms may include:
- 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.
What is an example of hypochondria?
Hypochondriacs experience extreme anxiety from the bodily responses most people take for granted. For example, they may be convinced that something as simple as a sneeze is the sign they have a horrible disease. Hypochondria accounts for about five percent of outpatient medical care annually.
Can a hypochondriac be cured?
Curing hypochondria, or the obsessive search for cures, does not happen instantly. It takes time, effort, and commitment to changing one’s life for the better. However, with therapy, medication if necessary, and positive lifestyle changes, you can train your mind to use its curative powers for good rather than ill.
What is the root of hypochondria?
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.
Do hypochondriacs really feel pain?
Pain: Hypochondriacs typically complain of mild or severe chest pain. It may be present constantly or recur throughout the day. Some people manage to live with it, while others may report intense pain and the feeling of tightness in the chest.
Can anxiety make you a hypochondriac?
“Many of the symptoms that hypochondriacs feel are often physical sensations caused by anxiety or depression that can go along with hypochondria. The constant worrying can release harmful stress hormones and do real physical damage.”
What’s the difference between Munchausen and hypochondria?
Hypochondria, also called illness anxiety disorder, is when you’re completely preoccupied and worried that you’re sick. Munchausen syndrome, now known as factitious disorder, is when you always want to be sick.
Is hypochondria a schizophrenic?
Hypochondriasis (HYPO), an obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorder, is frequent in patients with schizophrenia (SCH) (20\%), especially among those treated with clozapine (36.7\%).
How do you live with a hypochondriac husband?
“Encourage [the suffering person] 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,” say experts.
What makes someone a hypochondriac?
Though the exact causes of hypochondria are not known but in a generalized form the main cause of the disorder is supposed to be a panic disorder. But, technically a person would be diagnosed with panic disorder may not be a hypochondriac.
Why do people become hypochondriacs?
Hypochondria causes people to become preoccupied with the belief that they are suffering from one or more physical diseases. This belief causes great psychological suffering on the part of the hypochondriac. Anxiety and depression often result. However, most cases of this disorder respond to treatment.
Do hypochondriacs actually feel pain?
Aches in the body: This is a common symptom of hypochondriacs. They seem perpetually to be suffering from headaches, stomach aches, or whole-body aches. Most often, these are subjective complaints, although some patients may really have pain.
Is hypochondriac a mental health issue?
In fact, it is widely recognized as a mental health problem known as somatic symptom disorder. Related Article: Types of Mental Health Treatment. The reason hypochondria has been classified as a medical disorder is that the symptoms experienced by individuals who suffer from it are not voluntary.