Zingledot
05-23-2009, 12:46 AM
I've long been a dormant hypochondriac (I find the irony in self-diagnosing hypochondriasis amusing), and recently with a huge and sudden increase in stress at the workplace I've started getting physical symptoms of stress and this has awakened my psychosis in this regard. If you are plagued by both anxiety and hypochondriasis, it seems to be a self-reinforcing feedback loop where the more anxiety you have the worse you feel and the more anxiety it gives you.
Like any good hypochondriac I search for constant reassurance that there isn't anything wrong with me (doctors, friends, etc), and I found this wiki article to be one of the best yet, because it isn't telling me why I have or don't have a specific medical condition, but rather reads like a case study on the last year of my life and is, in a way, the ultimate reassurance. I hope this also helps someone else out there...
Edit: Well I guess I can't post links yet... search Hypochondriasis on the wikipedia.
Examples:
"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. Many individuals with hypochondriasis express doubt and disbelief in the doctors' diagnosis, and report that doctors’ reassurance about an absence of a serious medical condition is unconvincing, or un-lasting."
"Patients with hypochondriasis often are not aware that depression and anxiety produce their own physical symptoms that might be mistaken for signs of a serious medical disease. For example, people with depression often experience changes in appetite and weight fluctuation, fatigue, decreased interest in sex and motivation in life overall. Intense anxiety is associated with rapid heart beat, palpitations, sweating, muscle tension, stomach discomfort, and numbness or tingling in certain parts of the body (hands, forehead, etc.)"
"The media and the Internet often contribute to hypochondria, as articles, TV shows and advertisements regarding serious illnesses such as cancer and multiple sclerosis (some of the diseases hypochondriacs commonly think they have) often portray these diseases as being random, obscure and somewhat inevitable. Inaccurate portrayal of risk and the identification of non-specific symptoms as signs of serious illness contribute to exacerbating the hypochondriac’s fear that they actually have that illness."
Like any good hypochondriac I search for constant reassurance that there isn't anything wrong with me (doctors, friends, etc), and I found this wiki article to be one of the best yet, because it isn't telling me why I have or don't have a specific medical condition, but rather reads like a case study on the last year of my life and is, in a way, the ultimate reassurance. I hope this also helps someone else out there...
Edit: Well I guess I can't post links yet... search Hypochondriasis on the wikipedia.
Examples:
"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. Many individuals with hypochondriasis express doubt and disbelief in the doctors' diagnosis, and report that doctors’ reassurance about an absence of a serious medical condition is unconvincing, or un-lasting."
"Patients with hypochondriasis often are not aware that depression and anxiety produce their own physical symptoms that might be mistaken for signs of a serious medical disease. For example, people with depression often experience changes in appetite and weight fluctuation, fatigue, decreased interest in sex and motivation in life overall. Intense anxiety is associated with rapid heart beat, palpitations, sweating, muscle tension, stomach discomfort, and numbness or tingling in certain parts of the body (hands, forehead, etc.)"
"The media and the Internet often contribute to hypochondria, as articles, TV shows and advertisements regarding serious illnesses such as cancer and multiple sclerosis (some of the diseases hypochondriacs commonly think they have) often portray these diseases as being random, obscure and somewhat inevitable. Inaccurate portrayal of risk and the identification of non-specific symptoms as signs of serious illness contribute to exacerbating the hypochondriac’s fear that they actually have that illness."