Talk:Hypochondriasis

Prevalence

Poorly-cited statement about the prevalence of this mental illness prompted independent research. What I found were a slew of studies that indicate the exact OPPOSITE of the contention in article. Please cite verifiable and reliable sources for the following:

Puri B. K, Laking P.J, Treasaden I.H, (2000) states that hypochondrisis can manifest at any age, but usually between the ages of 20 and 30 years, occurring marginally more in males in contrast to other somatoform disorders which are more common in women. Kakarott (talk) 12:48, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Anxiety

I've just commented on the talk page about anxiety and its links with hypochondria. Anxiety, although conscious-borne, has real physical symptoms including palpitations which in an anxious patient can cause an elevated phobia of those symptoms. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.172.221.47 (talk) 14:41, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

state of mind?

I would rather disagree with sentence "In this case, the hypochondria is not so much a psychological disorder so much as a state of mind.". Yes, drug advertisements and general availability of information on health subjects surely spawned many 'wannabe hypochonders', but it often can be more than just a state of mind. Similar to depression, one can have mild type of this disorder, but that doesn't make it just state of mind - it still has psychologic roots, probably most often in low self-esteem and feeling of one's unimportancy.

Yeah but I'm no expert, although I've been diagnosed as 'those hypochondrical symptoms are there for sure' by one doctor and 'you certainly aren't hypochonder' by another. Analytik 19:31, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I am the author of that sentence. You have a valid concern, and this is an area that has not been completely explored in psychology. Popular psychology seems to leave little room for the mind to play in. That is to say, many things that people say, think, or do are attributed not to the person's own train of thought or creativity, but treated as an inevitable end that their mind reached subconciously as a normal process of known psychological effects. I beleive that is incorrect, and stems from a general trait of psychologists to beleive in the field of psychology's omniscience. While it is normal to want to explain things in known terms, many people want to explain away anything, even people's thoughts and actions in their own terms. I, for one, don't know why some people are incontent to admit the they don't know something- even when no one does.

This whole discussion is moot anyway, as someone has edited that paragraph out in favor of something more politically correct, sensitive, and bland. Phasmatisnox

My question is when is it a state of mind and when is it being a concerned patient. I mean, say we ignore a bad stomach ache and it turns out to be appendicitis? Or say we have symptoms that could be a number of things yet we ignore it and it does turn out to be serious? Maybe there is no such thing as hypochondria and instead, it's just an irritated doc or family member? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 12.47.15.38 (talk • contribs) 18:47, 26 September 2006.

From the Article:

"....Hypochondria is often characterized by fears that minor bodily symptoms may indicate a serious illness, constant self-examination and self-diagnosis, and a preoccupation with one's body....."

AND

".....A simple suggestion of mental illness can often trigger one with hypochondria to obsess over the possibility......" Pete318 (talk)

This may have been an accurate definition historically, however, there are more and more lay persons that have a detailed general knowledge of psychological symptoms. Thus the "Psychological Hypchondriac" (if there is such a term?) presents a peculiar challenge to their Doctor or Therapist. How can the professional honestly provide "....reassurance about an absence of a serious medical condition....".

Would this not cause a "snowball effect" for Psych. symptoms? In addition, the matter is further complicated by "Hypochrondria by Proxy" - that is, encouragement from armchair Psychiatrists (friends and relatives) that normal anxiety symptoms are, in fact, evidence of an bona fide illness.

Humans, individually and collectively, fear the unknown. Having an anxiety about an illness, without a diagnosis, might only compound that illness without ANY neurotic complications?? When this is missed on the first examinations, the matter becomes even more tangled.:::Pete318 (talk) 19:02, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Tips

After reading this article I am almost certain I suffer from this condition! Before I knew about it I was just fine...

I am unsure if I want to keep/put the tips section. I think it could be useful as several articles that i've read show how CBT uses some of the techniques i've mentioned there, and I have benefited from independantly doing those things (as a hypochondriac). Maybe merge it with treatment somehow? --Spindled 19:38, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

As a psychiatrist, I know of no medical literature to support taking Magnesium for prevention/treatment of panic attacks. Suggest deleting this tip. Otherwise, great start on a complicated illness.24.2.59.252 01:28, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

thehypochondriac.com

I have removed this site because it provides no information that isn't already here, links to pages and pages worth of spam, and contains a forum with very little information at the moment. Maybe in time, in a few months say, when it is an established site it would be worth having, but currently it is only being added probably as an attempt to increase it's hits on google. Sparkleyone 06:13, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

A number of people have already emailed me who found the site through Wikipedia saying that it believe that it is a great site for those with hypochondria. I admit that the forum participation is small at this point, but the membership is significant enough for it to be of help to those with hypochondriasis. It is not for you alone to decide on what other will find helpful. If the site doesn't help you then you don't have to visit it, however it has already begun to help others who have found the site via this link. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Thehypochondriac (talk • contribs) 06:24, 5 May 2006 (UTC).

Can I suggest that you read External_links and take note of what it is suggested should be avoided - especially noting that you should not add sites that you own or maintain, there should be content that is informative that is not already in the article, and there should not be an especially large amount of advertising. Sparkleyone 06:33, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

---

I disagree with Sparkleyone. I found this page through Wikipedia and I think that it has a lot of good information on Hypochondria that isn't available here (see especially the diagnosis and treatment pages plus the forum). It also looks like the site webmaster has made a lot of changes in the past couple of days and has definately removed many of the numerous ads that he/she had there before. (207.195.240.48 02:32, 6 May 2006 (UTC))

The forum has had two posters besides the moderator. All of the other information present on the site is either available here or at the other links that were here previously. But in the spirit of adding links with tiny bits of information I have added several other links, two with forums totalling thousands of posts. Sparkleyone 06:53, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

Anatomic region?

Hypochondriac also refers to an anatomic region, on both sides of the epigastric region (above the transpyloric plane, and to the sides of the mid-clavicular line). Basically it's where your ribcage ends, on the right and the left. It's misspelled in the Human abdomen article. Painc 03:12, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Reminder to keep this in mind. Information about this important area, which could be affected so to cause real medical concerns such that would include "melancholia" from such conditions as breathing disorders, regurgitation of food or stomach acid (GERD), contributing to certain digestive disorders (IBS) or a shifted ribcage (xiphoid movement dysfunction, poor thoraic mobility, etc) is easily written off with the general sense of "hypochondria". There are still potential true "itis" of this region.

ocd

lol its a form of ocd isnt it? well, it is for me, i have to look up and persuade myself i don't have any of these illnesses all the time, ive been getting really bad ocd the last few weeks, and constantly think im developing schizophrenia. Fortunately finally realising i have ocd (and not schizophrenia) has made it better coz i know what's causing it, but i can never be sure!

but i'm sure there are some hypochondriacs out there who genuinely believe that they have all the illnesses they've thought they've had, and it's not ocd that causes it coz they genuinely believe that they have them ... i dunno

what about munchausens? does that have anything to do with hypochondria? ya'aseh shalom —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 134.225.239.62 (talk) 13:42, 12 February 2007 (UTC).

Hypochondriasis and OCD have some similar symptoms, but they are different disorders. Sometimes they co-occur in a person; however, it is not very frequent. If a person is afraid of having an illness (e.g., worrying that a skin bump is a sign of cancer), it might be indicative of hypochondriasis. On the other hand, if one is afraid of getting an illness (e.g., contracting an infection from touching a public restroom doorknob), it is consistent with OCD. Again, these fears and worries must be disproportionate to the risk and more intense and long-lasting than in most people. Skrinsk nat 22:32, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

so there different? i have hypochondria AND ocd then...im not scared of GETTING an illness, but i have other obsessions/compulsions which are caused by ocd and it has been professionally diagnosed. i wonder if its possible to have hypochondria about hypochondria :D

Sounds that you might have both hypochondria and ocd... Interestingly put, "hypochondria about hypochondria" :) For some reason makes me think of depression... Skrinsk nat 03:00, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

Effects of Hypochondria

"The effects of hypochondria" section is quite questionable from a scientific point of view. There is no definite proof that hypochondria CAUSES depression or panic attacks (As rehearsed in college textbooks, correlation does not mean causation.) As far as other symptoms, they can be attributed to either anxiety, depression or both. For example, "fear of the impending doom" is one of symptoms of panic attacks. Decreased motivation, fatigue, or loss of interest in sex could be manifestations of depression. Skrinsk nat 22:10, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

hypochondria and mental illness

My main ocd is a fear of having or being just about to develop (and therefore having to stop myself developing and protect others from their harmful consequences) very serious mental illnesses, such as borderline, schizophrenia, alzheimers, manic depression, multiple personalities, autism etc. does anyone know how common this is in sufferers of ocd/hypochondria as opposed to physical illnesses, and whether there are statistics? user:XYaAsehShalomX

Autism can't be developed. I have it, and I was BORN WITH IT. It's not always low functioning, sometimes it's high functioning, and I have high functioning autism. Educate yourself before you make such controversial statements. user:pokefan098 —Preceding undated comment added 00:40, 23 November 2009 (UTC).

Spurious nonsense

On May 4th, 216.146.48.14 inserted the following nonsensical sentence:

If one believes oneself to suffer from hypochondriasis, but one does not, then one does.

I am taking the liberty of removing this immediately. Neoprote 13:48, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

Hypochondria vs poorly understood illnesses

Some balance should be included in this article to note that doctors are not infallible, diagnoses are not always correct, and some types of illness are so poorly understood by the general practitioner of medicine, that the patient may need to seek many medical opinions and do much research on their own, to finally find a proper cure for whatever it is that ails them.

Some examples of problematic nonspecific diseases that are hard to diagnose and even harder to treat include Lupus Erythematosus, fibromyalgia, and neuropathic pain. For people with these problems, dealing with doctors can be a frustrating experience because the patient doesn't have any idea what is wrong, while the infallible doctor meanwhile labels the person a hypochrondriac and an annoyance.

DMahalko 19:14, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

Very good point. 156.111.216.125 17:29, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

Seen on headstone: "I told them I was sick!". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.240.79.248 (talk) 22:34, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Ha, ha, that should be in the article. Raquel Baranow (talk) 17:13, 24 March 2014 (UTC)

This just happened to me. I've experienced chronic pain for 2 years, causing insomnia. Three doctors observed running rash and swelling in the area, but several sets of tests come back negative for any kind of infection, and cancer is unlikely. The doctors admit the area of the body is poorly understood. Nevertheless I was prescribed heavy courses of antibiotics to no avail. Third doctor at an international hospital refers me to an 'expert' doctor who performs an examination that lasts seconds, after which accuses me of hypochondria on the basis that I am also complaining of insomnia, and am attempting to self-diagnose using the internet. He states he sees no symptoms (30 minutes after the third doctor observes an obvious rash and prescribed medication for it), and says it will go away when I stop worrying about it. Charges a fat bill for the 5 minute consultation. This is the state of modern medicine, a religion as well as a science. Some ailments are simply difficult to diagnose, and not worth the doctors time. Psychosomatic illnesses certainly exist, but a section that describes research into the fallibilities of diagnosis and the dangers (to patients) of mislabelling difficult-to-diagnose patients as hypochondriacs will be informative and will balance this article. I guess it's hard to understand until it happens to you, because only you can feel pain in your own body. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.122.118.160 (talk) 06:39, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

As a fibromyalgia patient I believe this is an umbrella diagnosis given by doctors for chronic pain and a condition that they do not understand. New research is showing that certain hormones can increase the permability of the gut, along with diet and gut flora. Most doctors do not want to hear and will dismiss these patients as 'delusional'. I do not think that this is the correct approach. Whilst the condition may have some of its roots in a mental dysfunction, it is unscientific to dismiss the patient as having an 'imaginary' condition and will often just leave the patient feeling more confused and anxious.

Fibromyalgia shares symptoms such as nerve pain, back pain and fatigue with other more serious conditions like cancer and arthritis. The gut houses 70-80% of our immune system and so a compromised gut may lead to the manifestation of a more serious condition.

Histamine intolerance, wherein the body's mast cells become overactive causing itchiness, flushing, inflammation and joint pain, may be a commonality among fibromyalgia patients. The enzymes diamine oxidase and HNMT neutralize the histamine found in food and are produced in the cells of the gut wall. The idea is that if a person were to have too much histamine producing bacteria, or have a compromised cell wall, or a genetic MAST cell disorder, they will then express symptoms of fibromyalgia.

There may be a difference between chronic and acute fibromyalgia and not all fibromyalgia may have the same symptoms. It needs further research. If we poured as much funding into the gut and immune system as we do football and Donald Trump I reckon we'd get a long way in a short amount of time. Franknsensed (talk) 07:47, 17 February 2019 (UTC)

What in the world does this mean?

It was found in a small english pasint seed. I have no idea what it means. I suspect it is nonsense that should be removed, does it make any sense at all?--RLent 20:42, 13 August 2007 (UTC)

Found the line below twice in the article. I removed the one that lacked a citation.

"Hypochondria is often associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and anxiety, and can also be brought on by stress. It is distinct from factitious disorders and malingering, in which an individual intentionally fakes, exaggerates, or induces mental or physical illnesses." —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.104.228.239 (talk) 07:12, 13 November 2007 (UTC)

One Step At A Time

While using the Internet to do what this article says not to do (sorry), I came across this article and found this in the 'tips' section:

"Breaking one's habits of worrying one step at a time."

There's nothing specifically wrong with the statement except that it reads a little like something out of a self-help book, in that it's a little nebulous. Positive, certainly, but nebulous. The other tips are more specific and helpful. - Shrivenzale (talk) 03:45, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

I've changed [cancer and multiple sclerosis] "some of the common diseases hypochondriacs think they have" to "some of the diseases hypochondriacs commonly think they have", as I suspect this is what is really meant and in any case I don't think multiple sclerosis is generally regarded as a "common" disease.

Cultural References

The "Cultural References" section in this article was one of the most superfluous piles of tripe I've ever seen. I usually don't mind these things very much, but this one was particularly egregious; nearly every single one was merely "[X], a character from story [Y], is a hypochondriac." Granted, the Moliere story was mildly interesting, but not at all relevant. None of them add to the understanding of hypochondria - not that examples are necessary, since it is obviously such a commonly referenced condition (as evidenced by the ever so long list of appearances in popular culture.)

I decided to be bold (if you can even call it that; I'd say it's merely the appropriate course of action) and remove it. Smw543 (talk) 09:19, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Need sources

I was just reading through this as part of another discussion, and after adding a Fact tag to one statement, I started looking at others and finding whole paragraphs or sections without any references. For this reason, I'm adding a Refimprove tag to the article head. --Rob (talk) 08:06, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

Hyperchondria

I was about to revert the unexplained deletion of the "hyperchondria" paragraph, but in restoring it, I thought I should see if I could source it. About the closest thing to a MEDRS I could find for this was Urban Dictionary...hardly a MEDRS-quality source, so I've left the deletion standing. --RobinHood70 (talk) 21:38, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

DSM 5 updates needed

This needs to be updated as "hypochondriasis" doesn't exist in the DSM-5. "Illness Anxiety Disorder" takes its place. 24.97.201.230 (talk) 02:06, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

It's mentioned in the 3rd paragraph. Raquel Baranow (talk) 02:25, 8 April 2014 (UTC)

In the DSM5 illness anxiety disorder is the new diagnosis for about 25% of previously diagnosed hypochondriasis and 75% of the rest are now classified as having "somatic symptom disorder".page 310. In the UK it is now classed as either Health anxiety or a Generalised anxiety disorder. --Iztwoz (talk) 15:19, 30 July 2020 (UTC)

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