is there any treatment for hypochondria?

Question

i just found out recently that i have hypochondria. and its really bad. anytime I hear about someone got a disease on TV or Internet i think i might get it. and then i go and check symptoms for it. and i also need a doctor constant reassurances that i don't have the disease that i think i have at the time.also its like every couple weeks or i get over the fear of having that disease And i start to fear of getting another disease.is there any cure for this?

is it also true that hypochondria is connected to OCD?

Answer 1

There is no cure for hypochondria because it is a psychological issue (just like OCD). You should seek a counselor who specializes in there feilds. OCD is sometimes connected to hypochondria but so is paranoia. Good luck.

Answer 2

I am not sure about it being connected to OCD, but i do have it. I would imagine it is a bit of an OCD disorder b/c you are constantly obsessed with your health, i can see the relation to it.

I have always had a problem with being a little anxious (runs in the family and for some reason i am the lucky child to inherit it). A few years ago a few headaches I was getting led me to seek medical attention. Thinking i was getting migraines from studying for finals, i went to the dr - in turn, she sent me to an eye dr who detected something was wrong. long story short after a few months of mis-diagnosing, it was discovered that i had a blood clot in my brain - oh joys. It was from birth control and i was told to stop and it would dissolve on it's own. So, i never really thought too much about my body and such until those headaches turned into something. Since then i would start to worry about every little ache and pain i experienced even though i knew there was a logical answer.

Fastforward to this summer when the blood clot finally did dissolve, it caused a mini-stroke (i was 31 at the time) as it blocked the artery as it dissolved. Talk about scary - well - that threw me into a bit of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from it and let me tell you - i get so much as a muscle twinge and i freak out now. It had gotten so bad this fall that after raking leaves my left arm started to get sore (a few hours later) and i was convinced i was having a heart attack, so much so i gave myself a panic attack over the issue. But since the ordeal this summer - i have been glued to the internet thinking i've got one thing after the other wrong with me - and "symptoms" of all of them.

It is completely amazing the power of suggestion that your mind makes. My mind was literally giving me all these symtpoms. I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to talk to my dr. She suggested I try Cymbalta along with going to speak to somebody. I was skeptical about taking something b/c i figured i would be fine, but the cymbalta has really really helped me. I was just telling my boyfriend last nite - it's been over a week and i haven't obsessed about my health once. I think the key is the psycho-therapy along with the meds. The meds are being used as a crutch for me to get me back to a baseline and then hopefully i can wean off of them.

I am terribly sorry if this is long, but i totally understand where you are coming from and thought it may help you. Until all of the troubles started this summer i would be able to calm myself down and kind of 're-trace' my steps to find out the 'root' of the pain or ache and i could always find the logical answer to it and then would be able to calm myself down - try that and really i know it's hard - but stay away from looking up your symptoms - lol it'll drive you super crazy.

Good luck and feel better! :)

Answer 3

i have the same exact problem and have had it for almost 10 years.at 1st it was being worried that i had a disease,brain tumor,then i would shows like er and see something wrong with a person on there and then i would think i have the same problem and i sware to u i would start feeling the same symptoms that person had.and when i was pregnant i would watch those pregnancie shows on tlc and bug myself out thinking i had 1 of those problems.i get so bad sometimes that i have panic attacks and think that im going crazy or im gonna lose it!it is ocd.im on prozac for it.i have good and bad days.good luck to u and me lol

Answer 4

I don't believe in hypochondria as a disease. I believe it is one symptom of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Why? Because if you look at the symptoms hypoglycemia can cause, you can see that if someone has it severely, they would look/act like a hypochondriac.

There is a list of symptoms of hypoglycemia at the symptoms link at www.hufa.org. OCD can also be a symptom of hypoglycemia.

Answer 5

This is a very good blog, a beginner’s guide to abnormal psychology.
Short, clear and simple; and you can even post your question and contact the author regarding particular subject you are interested in

http://sensitive-psychoworld.blogspot.com/

Answer 6

try volunteering at a hospital. You will take care of people who are really sick and you will be able to take your mind off your own imagined illness for a while.

Answer 7

I'll bet it is related to OCD. You should get counselling for it.

Answer 8

i think it is related to OCD

Answer 9

radiation exposure