Hypochondriasis Disorder
By: Melanie M. and Sarah T.
Definition of Hypochondriasis
(a Somatoform Disorder)
• Somatoform Disorder: a physical
symptom that cannot be explained by
any known physical disease.
• Hypochondriasis Disorder : When a
person who suffers from
misinterpretations of basic bodily
functions and infers them to be
seriously harmful to their health.
Video clip of a Hypochondriac
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=JXlXN84
NiEI
Signs and Symptoms
• There are NO real symptoms of suffering from
Hypochondriasis, other than having the irrational
fear that every normal body function is a sign of a
disease.
• Going to see multiple physicians hoping that one will
say, that you have the medical condition you believe
you have
• Having many medical books and pamphlets
describing various illnesses that you check daily
• Being unable to perform normal daily activities for
fear that you may contract a disease from anything
What Causes It
• UNKNOWN, but there are theories that
include:
• The belief that the illness is deserved because of
some past or imagined wrongdoing
• A person will reap the benefits for being sick by
being lavished with attention or sympathy for
their illness
• May be related to another psychiatric disorder
such as anxiety or OCD (Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder)
Treatment Examples
• Drug Therapy that is associated with
maintaining mental health conditions
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps
you identify thoughts that contribute to
fears about illness and to correct the
misinterpretation of body sensations.
How do you know if you suffer
from hypochondria?
Example #1
• If you turn on the news and catch the tail end of a
medical report about ovarian cancer and hear that
one of the symptoms is abdominal discomfort, do
you rush to the computer to do a search on ovarian
cancer because you were feeling slightly gassy that
day?
Example #2
• You are sitting at your desk and feel a
slight twinge in your back muscle. Do
you instantly rush to your medical
dictionary or visit WebMD.com to look
up the symptom “back spasm?”
Example #3
• Is your copy of the medical dictionary
well-worn, dog-eared, or full of Post-It
notes?
• If any of the examples relate to you or
someone you know, you or that person
may have Hypochondriasis Disorder
Citations Used
• http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch099/ch099a.html for
Somatoform Disorder definition
• http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/healthinfo/docs/3700/3783.asp?index=9886 definition for
hypochondriasis disorder
• http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/hypochondriasis000089.htm for what causes it & treatment examples
• http://youtube.com/watch?v=JXlXN84NiEI for video clip
• http://www.essortment.com/family/hypochondriahow_safk.h
tm for examples of hypochondriasis disorder