I am the daughter of a hypochondriac. It is not abnormal for my mother to assume I have the bubonic plague when I tell her I have a cough, she has taken my brother to A&E over a black eye and once gave me her own iron tablets because she was convinced I was anaemic. So I can say first hand, that yes I do think that being anxious about your health can make you ill. A string of symptoms appear when my mum becomes stressed, she struggles to eat and gets an intense stomach ache. She then attributes these symptoms to another illness, sees a doctor and remains unconvinced when they tell her no.
Health anxiety (or hypochondrias) is when an individual may worry often about their health, they may apply certain symptoms they have to serious illnesses and remains convinced despite professional advice. In my opinion, the rise of the internet has encouraged this kind of behaviour. People can access a wide database of symptoms and causes, and although this is amazing and can be helpful to an extent, it has caused people to jump to conclusions. For example, when you search headaches, you do get the most common causes listed (drinking alcohol, cold etc.) but also strokes, tumours and meningitis – which should be diagnosed by a professional and not by yourself. Well it’s a relief for most that you don’t have some of the more serious conditions, a new study shows that this obsessive behaviour is indeed, making us ill.
A study of more than 7,000 people has confirmed that people with health anxiety have around a 70% increased chance of developing heart disease over 10 years, over those who don’t. In a more immediate way, constant worry can cause panic attacks, chest pain, dizziness and more. It’s a vicious cycle, as these physical symptoms are the confirmation the individual is looking for to conclude that they are indeed sick with another kind of illness. They may need constant reassuring from doctors, book frequent tests and research health related issues online.
The NHS advise answering these questions to decipher whether or not you have health anxiety.
In the last 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 distressed due to this 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?
If you answer yes to any of these, they advise seeing a GP to discuss your options.
I hope that in light of this study, people take health anxiety as a very real illness. I’m sure we all know someone who has watched a TV advert on moles and is now convinced they have a form ofcancer, and we’ve probably joked about them being over the top or silly for worrying. I know I have joked about my mum constantly jumping from one illness to the next, because to me it seems incomprehensible. But the irony is, worrying about being ill is making people ill, and there is help you can seek. There are lots of avenues to go down, Cognitive behaviour Therapy has been most effective in helping patients understand what causes the physical symptoms of anxiety, how to cope and how to change the thought pattern you have when a symptom occurs. If you find yourself constantly worrying about your health and nothing puts your mind at ease, speak to a professional and explore the possibility that you may suffer from health anxiety.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.