What is hypochondriasis?

The essential characteristic of this problem is the preoccupation with the possibility of contracting a serious illness, or the belief that you are already suffering from a specific illness.

This concern for one's health makes the person repeatedly consult a doctor and have medical analyses done. In spite of the fact that the results are negative (i.e. the person is told that he/she is not ill, that there is nothing physically wrong with them), the person suffering from hypochondriasis is not at ease (sometimes they manage to calm themselves down for a few days, but then later the preoccupied state returns), and the fear of becoming ill continues.

Because of this preoccupation for their health, people suffering from hypochondriasis are continually seeing themselves with the symptoms or physical sensations, just in case 'something is wrong with me'. Thus these people can interpret a few accelerated heartbeats as the possibility of having 'a heart problem'; a small superficial wound on the skin 'will maybe become a cancer''.

These people have such a sensitivity to illnesses, that they are repeatedly looking for information on themselves, characteristic symptoms, recommended therapies, medicines. They even become afraid and start to worry when they hear other commentaries about illnesses, or hear the news on television, the radio, etc.

Obviously, given all of the above, we can expect their daily lives to be clearly damaged and upset, and not only as far as they are concerned, but also for the people around them. Thus they are continually complaining, asking other people what they think, asking them to go with them to their medical checkups, which at the same time implies spending important sums of money, for example in visits to specialists.

If you also feel seriously unwell, or one of the areas of your life (leisure, work, academic, family, etc.) is being affected by this problem, it is possible that you have a problem with hypochondria. But remember: this is only an approximation to the process of assesment that is necessary before initiating any treatment. If you think you might have this problem, consult a health care professional so that you can decide if you wish to receive treatment.