Excessive Worry About Health Could be Signs of Illness Anxiety Disorder (Sean Mowbray, Jan 20, 2025, Discover)
Those with illness anxiety disorder will often have trouble finding reassurance in a reasonable way, which can drive “repetitive behaviors or escalating strategies to try to relieve that,” says David Smithson, outreach manager with Anxiety UK.
This can lead to frequent visits to the doctor and recurrent medical testing to gain that reassurance. It can also lead to behaviors that can be harmful to health, such as social isolation, substance misuse, and can lead to other mental health issues such as depression.
“People become preoccupied with that, in some cases, and worry about the slightest suggestion or hint of one of those symptoms being present in their body,” says Smithson. “If you suspect you’ve got a serious life-threatening illness, it can become very debilitating and can be extremely concerning to you as an individual.”
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