Hypochondria

Have I got health anxiety?

If you can answer"yes" to most of the following questions, it's likely that you are affected by health anxiety andmight benefit from talking to your GP.

During the past six months:

Have you been preoccupied with having a serious illness because of body symptoms, which has lasted at least six months?
Have you felt distresseddue tothis preoccupation?
Have you found that this preoccupation impacts negatively on all areas of life, including family life, social life and work?
Have you needed to carry out constant self-examination and self-diagnosis?
Have you experienced disbelief over a diagnosis from a doctor, or felt you are unconvinced by your doctor's reassurances that you are fine?
Do you constantly need reassurance from doctors, family and friends that you are fine, even if you don't really believe what you are being told?

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 21 Dec 2018

Articles for hypochondria

Introduction

Most of us worry about our health from time to time, and some of us have to manage serious medical conditions. But for some people, health worries become overwhelming and a problem in itself.

What causes health anxiety?

There are many reasons why someone worries too much about their health. You may be going through a particularly stressful period of your life. There may have been illness or death in your family, or

Types of health anxiety

People with health anxiety can fall into one of two extremes: Constantly seeking information and reassurance for example, obsessively researching illnesses from the internet, booking frequent GP a

Health anxiety can be a vicious circle

If you constantly check your body for signs of illness, such as a rash or bump, you will eventually find something. It often won't be anything serious it could be a natural body change, or you could b

Have I got health anxiety?

If you can answer"yes" to most of the following questions, it's likely that you are affected by health anxiety andmight benefit from talking to your GP. During the past six months: Have you been pr

How your GP can help

Once your GPhas established thatyou do suffer from health anxiety, and there is noserious underlying physical cause for any symptoms you might have, theyshould investigate whether you might have a pro

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