It’s amazing how anxiety can take so many different forms … Hypochondria is an anxiety disorder that afflicts many people and is characterized by constant concern or fear of being severely ill.

The hypochondriac person is sure of having serious illnesses and for this help and continued assistance search. All their attention is polarized on the body and every little signal is amplified to the point of becoming a serious concern.

Yes, the hypochondriac person lives this certainty with intense anxiety that makes life impossible!

This is hypochondria … The extreme and worrying concern of fear or conviction of being severely ill, resulting from the erroneous interpretation of normal signals coming from the body.

In addition, concern remains, despite medical reassurance of the absence of a disease.

The hypochondriac person never heals from their illness, because they does not face the root of their real problem, which is his sense of inadequacy and lack of self-esteem.

Namely, there is a great sense of fragility and insecurity behind the fear of illness!

Definition of Hypochondria

The DSM-5- (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) definition is this … hypochondria is an anxiety disorder linked to worry or the belief that you have or contract a serious illness based on the mistaken interpretation of somatic symptoms by the subject.

Concerns persist despite proper medical evaluation and medical reassurance.

The duration of the disorder is at least 6 months.

The term hypochondria is a modern but ancient term of a couple of millennia … It goes back to Hippocrates describing the “hypochondria”.

An illness of the body that came from a disorder of the mind and caused great melancholy and fear of dying.

In medicine, hypochondria are the highest portions of the abdomen and it is precisely this that derives the term hypochondria.

Hypochondria, how to recognize it

The hypochondriac person is very worried about their health and feels extreme weariness. Just tiredness or psychosis is considered to be the most prevalent symptom.

What are its characteristics?

• The first psychological characteristic of the hypochondriac is the hunt for the disease. It is completely focused on the feelings of his body and interprets each physical sensation as a sign of possible illness. It is constantly worried about his health and is not distracted for any reason to the world from this thought.
• The second psychological feature is the search for reassurance. It continues to look for disease through infinite medical examinations, verifications and requests for opinions. It wants to be constantly reassured, but this only gives relief … then comes the doubt!

The real problem of hypochondriac

The hypochondriac does not look deep inside of itself and therefore does not recognize the true psychological nature of its problem.

Indeed, behind the fear of illness there is a great sense of vulnerability and insecurity from which it is defended incorrectly, going for the search for impossibility of absolute sanity.

The symptoms of hypochondria

• Concern and fear of being suffering from some serious illness
• Attention focused on pains or annoyances at the physical level that create alarm and anxiety
• Awe-inspiring attention to your health
• Continue searching for information on the internet or magazines
• Continued medical consultation on hypothetical illnesses
• Any medical consultation, even specialist, increases the conviction of being sick
• No medical reassurance can convince the absence of illness
• It senses every symptom of the diseases has heard about

The hypochondriac is an anxious person with a fragile self-esteem.

They feel insecure and hears within strong feelings of inadequacy that defensively compensates through the search for the disease.

It needs attention and reassurance and fears the judgment of the other.

In short, the person suffering from hypochondria erroneously interprets every small harmless physical signal, formulating constant thoughts of serious, sometimes mortal illness.

It wants to be constantly reassured, but this only gives relief momentarily … Then comes the doubt!

How to cure hypochondria?

The hypochondriac is a person suffering from anxiety, for this, a person who is afraid. Try to compensate for insecurity and poor self-esteem through excessive control.

To cure hypochondria you have to work on self-esteem, because by increasing your self-esteem the person will feel more confident about yourself.

It will be able to abandon its dysfunctional mechanisms centered on symptom control and increase the sense of confidence in itself and in others. From hypochondria can heal …  Increasing self-esteem makes the difference!