Illness Anxiety, An Increasingly Common Disorder

Fear of being contaminated, of contracting diseases, obsession with frequently consulting the Internet to check if the discomfort felt are symptoms of something serious, etc. Anxiety due to illness has manifested itself more frequently in recent months. This is so real that many people have lived their lives in a limited way and dominated exclusively by this fear.

The first thing we think when reading this description is that we are facing the classic hypochondriac profile. Well, it should be said that this term is no longer used as diagnostic terminology in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), in 2013.

It is also worth pointing out two things: it is not easy to live with the permanent anguish of getting sick. There is discomfort, there is fear, and there is even a clear impossibility to develop personally and professionally. All of this fuels the suffering even more. On the other hand, there is another fact added to this: the difficulty in diagnosing this psychological condition.

On average, when a person seeks help in primary health care saying they have these symptoms, the doctor is more likely to focus on the manifestations and order tests. The person’s anxiety is not always taken into account, and this mental state can be fed by this situation. Let’s delve a little deeper into this subject.

Anxiety due to illness: symptoms, causes and treatment

Two curious things often happen in anxiety about illness. The first is that when people seek medical help and are diagnosed with good health, they are not satisfied and seek other opinions. They don’t surrender. On the other hand, there are also those who believe they have a large number of symptoms, but do not seek medical help out of fear, because they feel a real panic.

“What if I am diagnosed with something serious?”, “What if they tell me that there is no treatment for what I have?” As we can see, these are states in which fear turns into a vicious circle. The most complex part of all this is that these situations are usually chronic, that is, there may be people who started to suffer from it in adolescence and maintain the same pattern in adult life.

If they do not receive help, their lives are very limited, focused exclusively on their own body, on taking care of the sensations, on looking for symptoms that will later be compared with the clinical descriptions found on the Internet. It is worth pointing out again that we are not referring to people with hypochondriasis. This pejorative look has already been eliminated from diagnostic manuals and now takes more factors into account. Let’s explore the subject below.

What are the symptoms of anxiety illness?

Until recently, everyone called that person who is afraid of contracting practically all existing diseases a hypochondriac. However, there is much more behind this behavior: there is emotional suffering, problems in performing daily tasks, in performing at work without worrying about viruses, bacteria, etc.

Thus, to make a correct diagnosis, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) indicates the need to pay attention to the following criteria:

• The patient is lost in a state of constant worry that has lasted more than 6 months. Their anguish lies in contracting different diseases or suffering from certain psychological disorders.
• It is easily alarmed by any discomfort: itchy skin, stomach pain, eye tremor, sore throat, cough, etc.

• Despite feeling these fears, he has no real illness or medical manifestation. When subjected to examinations, he does not show any disease.
• The person with anxiety due to illness often goes to medical appointments. On the other hand, there are also those who have a high fear of going to appointments, avoiding them as much as possible. This further intensifies the discomfort… “I think I’m sick, but I don’t want to go to the doctor to hear that I really am.”

What is the origin?

Illness anxiety disorder usually has more than one parallel reason behind it. That is, on average, behind the person who fears getting sick there are more problems, more psychological conditions and situations that may be dragging on for years. Studies such as the one carried out by the University of Madhya Pradesh in India were able to collect data of great interest.

• Most people who seek medical help suffer from anxiety due to illness.
• About 18% of these patients have a family history of the same condition.
• 32.1% were abused in childhood.
• 25% suffered from depression
• 23% suffered from some type of anxiety disorder (phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, etc.)

That is, illness anxiety usually has triggers behind it and, in turn, interacts with more psychological problems.

How is the treatment?

Is there a solution for people suffering from anxiety illness? Of course, yes. However, it is necessary to undergo psychological therapy and, more specifically, cognitive-behavioral therapy. What makes this look easier is dealing with anxiety states, leaving aside dysfunctional thoughts, which intensify problems and suffering.

Little by little and daily, the person is able to apply reasoning, reflections and healthier thoughts to get their behavior to be more adjusted and, therefore, more reassuring, free from the fear of getting sick. Likewise, it is essential to address the root that may be behind this situation (childhood abuse, traumatic experiences, etc.).

Complementarily, anxiolytics or antidepressants (such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors) can be used. However, this is something to be decided only by doctors. The most effective in these cases is always psychological therapy. We need to take all of this into account!