Ways To Control Hypochondria On

Is it possible to control hypochondria? How can you reduce this continuous obsession with your health? People who are obsessed with what is happening to their body believe that sore throat can be a symptom of a serious infection. They are convinced that abdominal pain can be something that will eventually require surgery. As you can see, many people need to reassure themselves about what they are feeling, real or imagined.

The current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) eliminated the concept of hypochondria as a disorder. They replaced it with two new ones: somatic symptom disorder and disease anxiety disorder. However, a hypochondriac is still defined as someone who is convinced that they have a serious undiagnosed disease. This is despite repeated consultations where a doctor tells them that they are fine.

It is important to emphasize that the impact on the quality of life of those suffering from this type of anxiety disorder can be great. Thus, many of these patients may go into depression at worst. They do this by holding on to their irrational fears because they are difficult to deal with. This is because they are caused by self-diagnosis and anxiety about the unknown.

These people fear cancer and, for example, that they will get a virus. In addition, they panic when they think they may get the disease that someone they knew once had. The personal universe of a person trapped in this clinical condition can be quite worrying. However, it is helpful to know some strategies for dealing with this type of thinking.

Keys and strategies for controlling hypochondria

Several things happen when a person goes to therapy. They expose their phobias about bacteria along with the fear of leaving home and getting a virus or an incurable disease.

First, they are fully aware that many of these ideas are irrational, they just fail to control them. They fail to be logical with their own fears.

Besides, they are ashamed and have a sense of contradiction and anger for not understanding why they do what they do and feel what they feel.

Anxiety about a disease or somatic symptom disorder generates a lot of wear and tear at all levels. They experience discomfort with themselves, experience social problems because they feel disconnected, and often think that the health service does not give them the attention their special case deserves. All this increases their dissatisfaction, and with it they feed the basic anxiety even more.

Therefore, when it comes to understanding how to control hypochondriac thoughts, you need to understand one thing. Studies such as those conducted at the University of Valencia by Gemma Garcia and Amparo Benlloch emphasize the importance of focusing on intrusive ideas and dysfunctional beliefs to treat this disorder.

Hypochondria is really a type of anxiety

This type of obsession is not a disease, and what lies behind it is not just fear of disease. Thus , you need to find out what motivates this condition to control hypochondria. Therefore, you need to understand that what you are experiencing is an anxiety disorder.

Define, understand, rationalize and remember that your anxiety is a result of your emotions. It is your mind that experiences things that are not even real.

Body experiences as a result of stress and anxiety

It is true that you can have a variety of body experiences. It is also true that you may experience headaches, sore throats and chest tightness, etc. Do not worry, as the symptoms of anxiety and stress are as wide as to be limited at times. Do not look up possible diseases on the Internet every time you feel a new feeling or discomfort.

Remind yourself that the real cause is your negative thoughts and anxiety. Do not be afraid of what your body feels. Learn to accept them without becoming obsessed with them, and you will feel much better.

This way of thinking is an emotion, understand it and relax

“I have trouble swallowing. I think the neck is swollen. Could it be an infection? Maybe it’s cancer! “To control such hypochondriac thoughts, you have to understand one thing. A variety of emotions cause you to have one type of thought and not others.

Fear, insecurity, anguish, sadness and frustration. Many of these emotional realities cling to your mind by changing the way you think. Thus, stop yourself every time you make yourself think of a disease you may have. Then try to identify the feeling in you in that moment. Start working on it as soon as you can name it.

Accept the fear, but do not feed it and do not make it bigger

Are you afraid of infections? To develop cancer? Are you anxious about having a chronic illness? All this is normal and understandable fear. Everyone has them. This is because fear is a normal emotion with a specific purpose. Therefore, take action when something scares you, but do it rationally. In other words, take care of yourself in a healthy way.

As you can see, the last thing you should do is feed the fear and turn it into a crisis. Do not let it control you. Housing fear will only increase your anxiety.

Reward yourself after being able to control hypochondria

You wake up in the morning and feel dizzy. You wonder if you will get sick. What could be the cause of such discomfort? The next thing you do is turn on your computer and do an internet search. Well, to control hypochondria you need to have some daily strategies.

For example, if you are dizzy, sit down and wait for it to go away. Remind yourself (rationally) that this is just a symptom of your anxiety. Do something that makes you feel better. For example, take a walk, take a bath or read a book. All of these are ways to avoid feeding your fears by looking up symptoms online. That in itself is a good thing and a big step. Therefore, you must reward yourself for making progress.

To conclude, keep in mind that these strategies do not always yield positive results. Thus, you should consider seeking professional help so that they can help you implement some cognitive restructuring techniques.