Hypochondriasis Disorder
Hunter Boumans
Central Louisiana Technical Community College
• DEFINITION-
Also referred to as “Illness anxiety disorder (IAD)”, these patients are convinced they have a certain disorder or disease despite not having any symptoms or possibly having mild symptoms. They may worsen their symptoms on purpose or fabricate symptoms to exaggerate to the physician that they have the diseases (different from malingering because with this, they believe they have the disease). These patients are genuinely worried for their health and when medical exams reveal that there is nothing wrong with them, severe anxiety may consume them to the point that they develop an actual illness.
• POSSIBLE CAUSE-
The exact causes remains unknown, but is believed to be psychological impairment owning to environmental factors.
• RISK FACTORS-
According to Cleveland Clinic: o HX of childhood illness o HX of childhood neglect or abuse o Possible symptoms such as severe headaches o Severe life stress o Having another mental disorder (Major depression, phobia, anxiety, schizophrenia)
• SIGNS/SYMPTOMS-
According to Psych Central:
1. The time the disturbance has affected the person must be longer than 6 months
2. The disturbance is not better accounted for by another underlying psych disorder
3. The disorder causes distress in their work life, social life, and other areas of daily functioning.
4. Misinterpreting minor symptoms often
5. Visiting the doctor
This could cause mental illness, psychological problems, and disorders if they do not have enough social support, enough sleep, or recognition.
This disorder can begin to create problems when they are involved in structured situations or those that require
Anxiety disorder , unspecified (ICD-10-F41.9) – This condition is manifested by excessive worry and fear than lasts for more than six months. Some of the symptoms include irritability, sleeplessness, fatigue, muscle tension and shortness of breath (Bystritsky et al., 2013).
They tend to explain the development of their psychological illness as problems with their husband, his family, familial concerns, isolation and boredom, and simply being overworked. Due to this explanation they tend to view anhedonia and fatigue in terms of being physically exhausted due to being overworked. This exhaustion causes them to be unable to work and to feel disturbed in their mental processes. Added to this they tend to view work as a necessity and not a choice. They also tended to view their mental illness as part of their own personalities (being a woman) (Karasz, Dempsey, & Fallek,
The cause for this disorder is still unknown, however, it is believed that it could be triggered by
Munchausen Syndrome "is a condition manifest by persons feigning or inducing illness in themselves for no other apparent gain than adopting the sick role and thus exposing themselves to painful and sometimes damaging and disfiguring medical procedures (7)." The name of
In response to obtaining this disorder the person can expect it to follow them throughout life. With the possibility of gaining and development of interpersonal boundaries, and personality challenges. in a unique way to paint the picture up which this person will live daily, a brief excerpt of a typical reaction I may find myself within the simplest
Disorder description in DSM-II included ineffectual responses to any physical, intellectual, social, or emotional demands placed on the individual. Despite the lack of any real physical or intellectual deficits, these patients appear poorly adapted to their environment, are inept, have poor judgment, are socially unstable, lack physical and emotional stamina, and chronically cannot cope with everyday stress and strain. Detailed, behaviorally specific criteria were not provided for any of the disorders in DSM-II.
This is mental disorder where an individual overthinks about his/her symptoms. Thoughts are harder to control than physical actions in my opinion and this is a disorder that is brought up because of thoughts and emotions. When discussing conversion disorder, a disorder in which medically unexplained bodily symptoms affect voluntary motor and sensory functions, the emotions that are so hard to get rid of actually induce physical symptoms. Our mind and bodies are connected more than we think and this disorder proves it. I find this disorder difficult to question is legitimacy because the symptoms are real. Even though the doctors cannot find physical causes, they can find physical proof of the disorder.
Again, most of the people diagnose should have problems with self-care interpersonal relationship and occupational dysfunctions of which their set goals are always deviated from the normal as well as academic level marked below level prior to the onset of the condition. Much of it are the level of functioning of societal norms; of which they go against it the most to be the deviants in the society.
Hypochondriasis is a mental illness wherein an individual is preoccupied with the fear of having or the idea of having a serious disease. It involves the misunderstanding of bodily symptoms. The sensations of most hypochondriacs are intense and disturbing, leading to incorrectly connecting the symptoms to a serious disease. It said that hypochondria is caused by a patients excessive worrying with having or developing a disease. Often these patients seek medical attention, but a doctor's reassurance does not help the situation. Hypochondriacs will still think they are sick no matter what the do. Generally, patients who suffer from hypochondriasis also suffer from anxiety. There are many effective treatments for hypochondriacs such as
cause for many years is a chemical imbalance in the brain. This could be an
Most people with this disorder do not seek medical attention, but are confronted with intervention therapy when it becomes dangerous.
Somatoform disorders are a group of psychiatric disorders that cause unexplainable physical symptoms. The DSM IV lists the symptoms as weakness, seizures, or abnormal movements that are not attributable to a general medical condition or to feigning and that are judged to be associated with psychological factors.
Hypochondria is an obsessive, irrational fear of having a serious medical condition, it’s based on an individual’s misinterpretation of symptoms, despite medical reassurance that this individual does not have the disease or illness. Hypochondria are also called Hypochondriasis or Health Anxiety, or Illness Anxiety. They say that Hypochondria is to be similar to those that have OCD except that people with OCD fear of getting a disease while those with Hypochondria fear that they already have the disease or illness.