Hypochondria Constant fear of evil in the body

Fear of illnesses: Hypochondes fear evil in the body

03/11/2015

When it grumbles in the stomach, beeps in the ear or the arm feels somehow numb, people with a hypochondriacal disorder usually think right away that a bad illness is behind it. They perceive body symptoms intensively and always suspect the worst. With a therapy you can get the disorder under control.

Hypochondriacs always suspect the worst
Fear of a headache causes brain cancer, and having a bruise in the chest is certainly a heart attack: People who suffer from a hypochondriacal disorder perceive body symptoms very intensively and always suspect the worst of it. A bit hypochondriac is probably in all people. For who has never read about an illness and suddenly found the described symptoms in themselves? Normally, anxiety recurs quickly, but those who actually suffer from a hypochondriacal disorder find it difficult to get rid of their illness anxieties.

Exaggerated self-observation of one's own body
The President of the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN), Iris Hauth, said in a message from the news agency dpa: „The sufferers have pronounced fears of having a really serious illness.“ An exaggerated self-observation of one's own body is an essential factor of the disorder. „They perceive the bodily functions very intensively“, so Hauth. It does not necessarily have to be something bad. „An observation of one's own body certainly makes sense“, says Harald Gündel from the board of the German Society for Psychosomatic Medicine and Medical Psychotherapy (DGPM). But hypochondriacs just suspect the evil in their own body.

Affected can not be reassured
Gaby Bleichhardt, who along with Florian Weck the book „Cognitive behavioral therapy in hypochondria and anxiety“ wrote, explains: „The prototype of the hypochondriac has a clear hypothesis.“ So he has a firm supposition of what illness he suffers. „Most hypochondriac patients are afraid of cancer“, so Bleichhardt. In addition, it is part of the heart of the hypochondriacal disorder, not to be soothed: It is typical, therefore, that the patient initially feels better after visiting the doctor, says Bleichhardt. But soon the doubts come back and sufferers wonder if the doctor has also examined thoroughly enough and not overlooked something. „The thoughts continue to circle“, so Gündel.

Causes of the disorder are unclear
The disorder has an impact on the private life, on the job, runs through everyday life and affects the happiness of life. Not only the doctor is trying to satisfy the need for security - in the short term. „Almost every hypochondriac reads - and reads a lot“, explains Gündel. For symptom search, among other things, the Internet is used. Even if doctor visits are typical, some sufferers avoid the doctor for fear that this will find something, explains Hauth. It is unclear why some people develop this disorder. „An anxious character structure is certainly a risk factor“, so Gündel. Bleichhardt adds that those affected may have grown up with anxious parents. Often these are people who have already experienced illness and death in their lives.

Get control of a disorder with a therapy
According to Hauth, cognitive behavioral therapy has proved effective in treatment. For example, patients should feel how well they are focusing on their own bodies, says Bleichhardt. One goes through with those affected their worst ideas to deal with the fear. Additionally, in hypochondria, various stress-relieving exercises and techniques such as yoga, autogenic exercise, or progressive muscle relaxation may be helpful in reducing physical and mental stress. Psychotherapeutic treatment would, in most cases, reduce the fear of serious illness, according to Bleichhardt. „The worry can not be remedied“, Hauth explains. In the best case, however, it could be achieved that those affected would be able to assess the signals of their bodies more realistically in the future and limit their exaggerated safety behavior somewhat. However, the old patterns of behavior under stress could recur at any time. (Ad)

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