Hypochondria

In most cases of illness anxiety disorder, the patient doesn’t have consistent physical symptoms but does have a constant preoccupation with finding out if he or she has a very serious illness. Normal body functions or slight discomforts (like a skin rash) can also aggravate this disorder. Here are a few symptoms that inevitably show up in a person with illness anxiety disorder:

• Being constantly preoccupied with having or getting a serious disease to the extent of disrupting normal routines and habits in life.
• Excessively worrying about minor symptoms being the signs of very serious ailments.
• Changing doctors frequently despite negative test results and reassurances that there isn’t any serious ailment.
• Being increasingly preoccupied with the thought of getting a particular disease because a family member has it.
• Repeatedly checking the body for signs of disease and getting excessively alarmed by the simplest of symptoms.
• Being so crippled with fear about getting diagnosed with a disease that doctor visits and routine checkups are skipped for months or years. 
• Making frequent medical appointments (with one or more doctors and specialists) to get small symptoms checked out.
• Avoiding social activities, food, drinks, places, etc for the fear of getting a disease.
• Constantly worrying about health status and incessantly talking about it.
• Searching online for possible diseases, symptoms, medications and treatments constantly and obsessively.
• Self-medicating after misinterpreting or reading too much into a symptom due to a fear of the symptom leading to a major illness.

The exact causes of illness anxiety disorder are not clear, but there are a number of factors and stressors that can trigger this disorder. Illness anxiety disorder usually starts in early to middle adulthood and is known to affect both men and women equally. Here are some of the major factors that can play a role in triggering illness anxiety disorder:

• Childhood abuse or a serious childhood illness can lead to a fear of certain sensations. These sensations, like a stomach ache or headache, for example, can trigger excessive anxiety about getting a serious disease or relapse to a previously experienced disease.
• If you fear being diagnosed with a disease that a family member has, or your parents worry too much about their own or your health, you might constantly feel stressed about getting that disease. For example, if there’s a history of thyroid or diabetes in the family then you might be constantly worried about being diagnosed with these issues yourself.
• If you are uncomfortable about normal body sensations you might misinterpret these as symptoms of a major illness. For instance, you might have a simple headache but fear that you actually have brain cancer or brain tumours.
• If you already have a diagnosed disease or disorder, you might assume that you have another, maybe more serious disease, that affects the same body system or organ - even if there is no relation between the two. For example, if you already have irritable bowel syndrome or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and worry incessantly or excessively about getting stomach cancer or esophageal cancer.
• If you have recently had a major stress in life, it can trigger your fear of getting a major illness.
• Having another mental disorder, like clinical depression, anxiety, OCD, psychosis or delusional disorders, can flare up your fear of getting a major illness. These can also make you feel that your symptoms are very serious.

There is, unfortunately, no known way to prevent illness anxiety disorder. However, there are a number of ways to reduce the severity of the symptoms of this disorder, especially since stress and anxiety are integral parts of illness anxiety disorder. Here are a few things you should definitely keep in mind in order to manage the symptoms of illness anxiety disorder:

• Build a relationship with a doctor you trust and open up to them about your fears of getting a serious disease. 
• Consult a psychologist or psychiatrist about your health anxiety for methods on how to keep away from situations that can trigger illness anxiety disorder.
• Practice relaxation techniques like meditation and yoga to manage stress. If you can manage your anxiety levels, you can keep triggers at bay.
• Do not believe in hearsay or check your symptoms on the internet to learn what’s wrong with your health. Most websites will alarm you unnecessarily and trigger illness anxiety disorder. It’s better to trust reliable sources, like doctors, mental healthcare providers, and websites that are recommended by these experts.
• If you know anybody who is showing signs of illness anxiety disorder then be patient and supportive. While telling them that there’s nothing wrong with them won’t help (it may even frustrate them and strain your relationship), you should make sure that they get the help they need to manage this mental health disorder.

It is very important to open up to a doctor or healthcare provider and be absolutely honest for a diagnosis of illness anxiety disorder to be made. The diagnosis depends on the description of symptoms by the patient, family members or close friends, and the doctor will need to know exactly when the issue first started, how severe the disorder is and how frequently does this fear occur. 

According to the DSM-5, a mental health expert can diagnose whether a patient has illness anxiety disorder or not based on the following criteria:

• The patient is preoccupied with having or getting a serious disease. In severe cases, this preoccupation will disrupt regular life function.
• The patient has been preoccupied with illness for six or more months, even though the exact illness they are worried about might have changed over this period. 
• The patient shows no or mild somatic symptoms, which means there will be minimal physical symptoms to indicate the existence of a serious ailment.
• The patient gets anxious and highly alarmed about personal health issues.
• The patient repeatedly checks his or her health status.
• The patient avoids doctors, hospitals and health checkups - even at the cost of their health. 
• The patient’s symptoms do not match with those of depression or any other mental disorder.

Patients who are diagnosed with illness anxiety disorder have to achieve three goals to be able to manage their issue properly:

1. Prevent mental distress and anxiety
2. Stop overusing medical services, medications, etc
3. Function as normally as possible

The treatment for illness anxiety disorder needs to be tailored keeping these three goals in mind. To do this the patient’s primary healthcare provider, mental health professionals, and family members need to play a key role.

1. Treatment by primary healthcare provider
2. Treatment through cognitive behavioural therapy
3. Treatment through antidepressants

While illness anxiety disorder is not life-threatening, it can appear to be so to the patient and can lead to a number of complications. Since this disorder usually hits those in their early or middle adulthood - which are some of the most productive years of life - these complications can leave a deep impact on the patient’s life as well as the lives of those around them. The following are some of the complications associated with illness anxiety disorder:

• The patient’s excessive worrying can strain relationships with family members, friends, spouses, etc. Distrust and frustrations can build up in these relationships and harm them irrevocably.
• A patient with illness anxiety disorder is more likely to take sick or medical leaves from work. This, and the constant fear of diseases, can disrupt their professional performance immensely.
• Daily life functions, even normal acts like eating food or sleeping, can be disrupted to the extent of being disabling.
• A patient with this disorder is likely to pay huge amounts of money towards frequent tests, procedures, etc which in turn can lead to financial problems.
• Undergoing unnecessary procedures too frequently can lead to other health complications.