Illness anxiety disorder (IAD) is a primary anxiety disorder in which a person believes that they have or will develop an intense, definite illness and constantly seek reassurance that they do not. It leads to persistent worry, even when medical tests show no signs of physical illness.
This disorder is also known as hypochondriasis, health anxiety or self-illness. According to statistics, the prevalence of this disorder among adults is 13%. These statistics show that it is critical to focus on identifying and treating this disorder. Individuals with this disorder often interpret minor issues such as skin rashes or normal bodily sounds as symptoms of serious illness, leading them to seek frequent medical attention.
Familiarity with Illness anxiety disorder
Illness anxiety disorder Is characterized by excessive anxiety about having an illness, even when patients have no physical symptoms or minimal physical symptoms and the severity of their concern does not match their symptoms.
People suffering from this disorder act exaggeratedly. One of these actions is to ensure that there is no disease. For example, they constantly do tests to rule out that disease.
Or vice versa, they perform avoidance behaviors, for instance, seeking health care and seeing a doctor to reduce their anxiety about the signs and symptoms of their illness.
These people have Intense and extremely intrusive thoughts about their medical signs and symptoms, which increases their health anxiety.
People with illness anxiety perform safety behaviors in an attempt to reduce the perceived threat, which leads to an increase in mental preoccupations related to the illness. On the other hand, these people experience disturbing and unwanted thoughts related to the disease.
The difference between patients with IAD and non-clinical individuals is not related to the presence of symptoms of the disease but to differences In the interpretation of these symptoms and related thoughts. Therefore, a person can learn how to respond to thoughts and manage them correctly.
During the conducted research, the existence of a relationship between beliefs, such as catastrophic interpretations of feelings, body symptoms, and anxiety disorder, has been confirmed. On the other hand, double thinking about health and illness, in which absolute health is considered, can be one of the cognitive causes of this disorder.
Illness anxiety disorder Is similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder in some ways. A person suffering from an illness anxiety disorder, like an obsessive person, is involved with thoughts of illness and believes that to reduce his anxiety, he must perform repeated actions such as frequent visits to the doctor, conducting medical tests, checking the place of pain, etc.
The Important issue about illness anxiety disorder is that a person with this illness does not pretend to be ill but rather believes that he is sick and sometimes experiences symptoms such as severe anxiety, muscle tension, and fatigue.
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Symptoms of anxiety disorder
Symptoms of illness anxiety disorder may include:
- The person is not confident enough in the doctor or the test results.
- He easily worries about his physical health.
- He visits the doctor many times to make sure he has the disease.
- He avoids going to the doctor due to the fear of medical diagnosis.
- He constantly talks about his health and possible illnesses.
- Frequently checks your body for signs of illness or disease.
- Worrying too much about possible illnesses interferes with his daily life.
- He worries that minor symptoms or sensations in his body could be an intense and dangerous illness.
- He searches too much on the Internet for the causes and symptoms of his possible illness.
- He is overly afraid of a particular medical condition that has a history in his family or that he may have the disease himself.
Since all these symptoms can be related to health problems, they should be evaluated and investigated. Anxiety disorder is a long-term condition that can fluctuate in severity. It may increase with age or during times of stress.
Causes of disease anxiety
The exact cause of anxiety disorder is not known, but the following factors may play a role in its formation:
Cognition and thoughts: A person may have unrealistic thoughts about unpleasant and unusual feelings about his body.
Family: If a person has parents who worry too much about their health or their health, they may develop health anxiety.
Past experiences: A person may have experienced a severe illness in childhood, so feeling physically uncomfortable may be scary for him.
On the other hand, a history of abuse in childhood, external stressors such as the death or illness of loved ones, and the personality trait of being sick can be the causes of this disorder.
Complications of disease anxiety
Illness anxiety disorder may disrupt a person’s relationships because excessive worry can hurt others.
It can lead to problems in the workplace because the affected person takes time off or is absent from work due to feeling sick.
Co-morbidity with other mental disorders such as depression, obsession, or personality disorders
Treatment of illness anxiety disorder
There is little information about preventing illness anxiety disorder, but seeing a therapist and doing a cognitive-behavioral approach and medication can help.
Cognitive behavioral therapy can help a person in the following ways:
- Accurately identify your fears and beliefs about having a disease.
- By changing negative thoughts, learn different ways to observe and express your body’s feelings.
- Be aware of the harmful effects of these excessive worries and your behavior.
- Change the way your body responds to emotions and symptoms.
- Learn skills to deal with and manage anxiety and stress.
- Reduce some positions and activities due to physical feelings.
- Reduce frequent behaviors of checking your body and making sure it is healthy.
- Improve your daily functioning at home, work, relationships, and social situations.
- Treat other psychiatric disorders, such as depression and obsession.
Pharmacotherapy
Antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), may be prescribed to treat anxiety disorder.