Health Anxiety / Hypochondriasis
Health Anxiety / Hypochondriasis
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
- Preoccupation with having or acquiring a serious illness.
- 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.
- 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).
- Illness preoccupation has been present for at least 6 months, but the specific illness that is feared may change over that period of time.
- 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.
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