The climate of uncertainty and tension of recent months can exacerbate the fear of getting sick in some people. In some cases a real one develops ipocondria. Those who suffer from it are convinced that they suffer from serious and deadly diseases even without having a reason. Often the hypochondriac interprets small disturbances, often normal body signals or related to minor problems, as indicators of serious illness. Or he begins to feel the symptoms of any disease he has just read or heard about.
Typically, he obsessively monitors his own parameters (such as temperature, heart rate or pressure), many times a day. There are those who continually turn to a doctor, with a request for assistance that becomes disproportionate and excessive, in the hope of preventing. Other hypochondriacs on the other hand, paradoxically, avoid it altogether, for fear of discovering a pathology.
Of course it is normal to have anxieties and fears when suffering from some disease. And it is also true that a certain fear of getting sick or a tendency to exacerbate the symptoms can happen to everyone. It becomes a serious problem when these thoughts affect daily activities, impeding a normal life. And by subjecting the person to such stress that it truly becomes a disease.
Don’t hesitate to seek psychological support
What to do when the fear of getting sick ruins your life? If the manifestations persist for months and do not represent a transitory phase, it is important to contact a professional.
Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy or the psychoeducational interventions, perhaps in groups, they can solve the problem. It is good to overcome reluctance and seek the most congenial approach.
There are a few tips to follow right away when you suspect you have hypochondria. Recall that it is an anxiety disorder, in particular related to health.
Some apparently reassuring attitudes fuel hypochondria.
What to do when the fear of getting sick ruins your life: avoid feeding certain mechanisms
Avoid excessive self-monitoring, and repeated checks, disproportionate to the extent of symptoms. Although immediately seeing that the values are normal is reassuring, other doubts and fears will soon arrive. So it is good to do prevention and checks on a regular basis, but following the instructions of doctors and specialists. Constant attention to the body and even the most insignificant signals increases alertness and stress. And even lead to somatization, that is, to truly cause certain pains that were not there before. Similarly, an obsessive request for reassurance from everyone may seem harmless, but it becomes an addiction and fuels this focus on the body.
Knowledge is precious, it is therefore right to inquire. But spending entire days reading about symptoms and diseases on the internet and doing self-diagnosis is absolutely not recommended.
What not to do absolutely
It is important to avoid the abuse of self-administered medications, even when they are over the counter.
Not only do they keep thinking about the idea of disease, but they can actually cause physical damage if taken indiscriminately. Even more serious is taking prescription drugs that have not been prescribed, perhaps obtained through family and friends.
Another mistake to avoid is to withdraw into oneself and avoid any effort or situation that is potentially at risk. It doesn’t mean being reckless and reckless: but being in company, talking, distracting yourself, exercising and letting off steam are all ways to keep anxiety at bay. Living life to the fullest and engaging in enjoyable activities to take your mind elsewhere could make some symptoms exacerbated by anxiety disappear.
