2006-08-20 04:04:17 · 13 answers · asked by Polo 7 in Health ➔ Other - Health
Because that person/s has a form of psychiatric disorder.They cannot rationalise their fear,and continue to think have anxiety about their health.People with hypochondria are obsessed with bodily functions and interpret normal sensations (such as heart beats, sweating, and bowel movements) or minor abnormalities (such as a runny nose, a small sore, or slightly swollen lymph nodes) as symptoms of serious medical conditions.
They may also focus on vague and ambiguous physical sensations, like “a sore liver” or “tired veins.” One form of this disorder involves a preoccupation with a single organ (such as the lungs) or disease (for example, cancer). Negative results of diagnostic examinations do little to decrease a patient's anxiety about his or her health, and he or she continues to seek medical attention.
Because patients with hypochondria usually see their primary care physicians rather than go to mental health clinics or join psychiatric research programs, it is difficult to determine how many people actually suffer from this disorder. While many people may worry from time to time that minor physical symptoms may be a sign of a serious illness, a diagnosis of hypochondria is reserved for those who have a preoccupying fear of disease that lasts for at least 6 months.
People with hypochondria often have other psychiatric disorders; two thirds of patients also have major depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder.
However, the preoccupation with illness is not explained by one of these other disorders. The patient's beliefs are not delusions and are not restricted to concerns about appearance. The preoccupation causes clinically significant distress or impairment.
A patient may have symptoms of hypochondria for several months to several years and then have an equally long period without any symptoms. About one third of patients with hypochondria eventually improve significantly. Those who have a higher socioeconomic status, who have anxiety or depression that responds to treatment, and who don't have a personality disorder or a related nonpsychiatric medical condition seem to have a better chance of recovering.
2006-08-20 04:18:38 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hypochondria is a belief that real or imagined physical symptoms are signs of a serious illness, despite medical reassurance and other evidence to the contrary The affected person may recognize that the fear of having a serious disease may be excessive, unreasonable, or unfounded. Hypochondria is more of a state of mind than a physical illness and can be a way to hide from a real problem
2006-08-20 11:13:31 · answer #2 · answered by joepublic101 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hypochondria is more of a mental illness. The people with it don't neccessarily make it up, they actually think there is something wrong with them.
2006-08-20 11:10:10 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its classed as a mental illness.
2006-08-20 11:09:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lol, Good point!
It is a mental illness, not a physical illness.
2006-08-20 11:12:45 · answer #5 · answered by Cheryl S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because it can make you physically ill to believe that you are constantly physically ill. Besides, is not mentally healthy to subject yourself to this belief. Therefor, it is categorized as a mental illness. Because it is an illness,
2006-08-20 11:11:29 · answer #6 · answered by Clark W Griswold 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its a form of mental illness
2006-08-20 11:09:29 · answer #7 · answered by Well, said Alberto 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because it is a mental illness.
2006-08-20 11:19:25 · answer #8 · answered by Diana C 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because its not a physical but a mental illness - thinking you are ill when really you are not.
2006-08-20 11:15:10 · answer #9 · answered by Squiddly Diddly 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is classified as a type of "mental illness."
2006-08-20 11:09:45 · answer #10 · answered by sahara 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋