Symptoms of severe hypochondriasis

As people's living pressure gradually increases today, although people's living standards have been greatly improved, their mental stress is also increasing. Of course, this high level of stress will cause certain harm to our mind and body, and high stress will cause certain pathological conditions in our body. So let us take a look at the symptoms of severe hypochondriasis.

1. Causes

1. Personality foundation

Personality traits such as being unsociable, stubborn, introvert, overly self-focused, sensitive, self-centered, narcissistic, having narrow interests, timid, fragile, and highly suggestible can become the personality basis for the onset of hypochondriasis.

2. Social environmental factors

When you learn that your relatives or friends have died of a serious illness, you will wonder if you will follow suit. When I see others suffering from liver cancer, I feel discomfort in the liver area. Inappropriate remarks by doctors, excessive medical instrument examinations, unnecessary over-treatment, unnecessary surgery, etc. may all contribute to the development of hypochondriasis.

3. Physical factors

People in adolescence or menopause are prone to some changes in physical sensations and symptoms of autonomic nervous instability, such as palpitations, hot flashes, development or atrophy of reproductive organs, etc. The irrational cognition of such physiological phenomena will lead to the emergence of hypochondriasis.

4. Psychological factors

Some people believe that the disease is caused by abnormalities in perception and cognition. The patient's cognitive system will make inappropriate interpretations of some physical sensations and changes, leading to hypochondriacal ideas.

2. Clinical manifestations

The essential feature of this disorder is the persistent preoccupation with the individual's suffering from one or more serious progressive illnesses or currently unrecognized medical conditions. Patients are overly concerned about their own health and any slight changes in their body and make hypochondriacal interpretations that are inconsistent with their actual health status. Symptoms of hypochondriasis may be general discomfort, pain or dysfunction in a certain part of the body, or even a specific disease. Symptoms vary. Some are clearly located and described, such as a swollen liver, gastrointestinal torsion, congestion in the head, and a blockage in the throat. Others are experiences of discomfort that are not clearly located and have a vague nature.

Pain is the most common symptom, and in terms of location, it is mostly in the head, neck, back and chest. Symptoms of physical discomfort may involve different organs, such as nausea, acid reflux, diarrhea, palpitations, chest pain, and difficulty breathing. Some patients suspected facial irregularities, especially unusual shapes of the nose, ears and breasts, and complained of body odor or sweating. It is often accompanied by symptoms of anxiety, worry, fear and autonomic dysfunction. The patient could not believe or accept the various negative test results and the doctor's explanations and assurances, and still insisted on his hypochondriasis, continuing to go to various hospitals repeatedly requesting examinations and treatment. Because most or all of the patient's attention is focused on health problems, it significantly affects daily study, work, life and interpersonal relationships.

3. Diagnosis

1. Meet the diagnostic criteria for neurosis.

2. The main clinical signs are hypochondriasis symptoms, manifested as at least one of the following.

(1) Excessive worry about physical health or illness, the severity of which is clearly disproportionate to the actual situation.

(2) Making hypochondriacal explanations for commonly occurring physiological phenomena and abnormal sensations.

(3) A strong hypochondriac belief that lacks sufficient basis but is not a delusion.

3. Repeatedly seeking medical treatment or repeatedly requesting medical examinations, but the test results are negative or the doctor’s reasonable explanation cannot dispel concerns.