Hypochondriasis (Illness Anxiety Disorder)

Hypochondriasis, now usually called illness anxiety disorder or health anxiety, is a condition in which a person worries intensely about having or developing a serious illness, keeps worrying after normal test results, and reads ordinary body sensations as signs of disease. The fear is real and treatable. “Hypochondriac” is used as an insult; the condition is not a character flaw.

Also called: health anxiety; illness anxiety disorder (the DSM-5 name since 2013, partly because “hypochondriasis” had become disparaging); hypochondriasis (health anxiety disorder) in WHO’s ICD-11.

This is a short definition. Our guide, Health Anxiety: When You Fear Every Symptom, explains the cycle, why it is hard in Nigeria, and what treats it.

Signs and symptoms

constant worry about your health
checking your body for lumps, tingling or marks, again and again
asking family or doctors for reassurance, which helps only briefly
searching symptoms online for hours
or the opposite: avoiding doctors altogether

The sensations are usually real. What goes wrong is the interpretation, and each check teaches the mind the danger was real.

Causes

The cause isn’t clear. ICD-11 groups it with obsessive-compulsive and related disorders because of the checking loop. A relative who died suddenly or a belief that an illness runs in the family can set it off, and it tends to last without treatment.

Treatment

CBT adapted for health anxiety has the best evidence: cutting the checking and reassurance step by step, re-examining what a sensation most likely means, and learning to live without a guarantee nobody can give. It pairs with one agreed medical plan with one doctor: scheduled checks, nothing extra. A doctor may prescribe an antidepressant such as an SSRI in severe cases.

In Nigeria

Private labs will run whatever you pay for, so someone can spend a great deal confirming, again and again, that nothing is wrong. “Nothing is wrong with you” lands as dismissal. Stories of undetected illness are everywhere, so caution is hard to tell from the disorder.

Hypochondriasis vs somatic symptom disorder

In illness anxiety disorder the fear is the problem and physical symptoms are mild or absent. In somatic symptom disorder, distressing physical symptoms are present, whether or not a cause is found, and the thoughts around them are out of proportion.

When to get help

If you search symptoms most days, have had repeated clear tests without lasting relief, or the fear affects sleep, work or relationships, treatment is worth more than another scan. You can book a licensed therapist on Mytherapist.ng for anxiety, or start with our anxiety assessment.