Illness Anxiety/Hypochondriasis involves an intense fear related to health/illness.

Key Symptoms

• Intense fear of having a serious condition, and frequent worry that minor symptoms indicate something serious
• Either frequent visits to doctors and/or frequent changing of doctors, or avoidant of doctors and physical exams
• Fear and worry causes emotional distress and/or impairment in functioning

Diagnostic Criteria 

1. Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness.
2. Somatic symptoms are not present or, if present, are only mild in intensity. If another medical condition is present or there is a high risk for developing a medical condition (e.g., strong family history is present), the preoccupation is clearly excessive or disproportionate.
3. The individual performs excessive health-related behaviors (e.g., repeatedly checks his or her body for signs of illness) or exhibits maladaptive avoidance (e.g., avoids doctor appointments and hospitals).
4. Illness preoccupation has been present for at least 6 months, but the specific illness that is feared may change over that period of time.
5. The illness-related preoccupation is not better explained by another mental disorder, such as somatic symptom disorder, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or delusional disorder, somatic type.