Hypochondria is frequent preoccupation with one’s health, experiencing exaggerated sensations of possible physical symptoms that lead to much alarmism and worry.
Hypochondriacs are very worried about suffering from an illness, which leads them to visit the doctor a lot or, in a completely opposite way, not to go for check-ups for fear of what they might find.
Knowing how to help a hypochondriac is not an easy task, but there are many ways to reduce your psychological discomfort and avoid wear and tear on your closest circle. Below we will see some ways to achieve this.
Hypochondria is a common health concern. experiencing alarm thoughts about symptoms that may have no medical meaning This syndrome has been aggravated in the Internet era, given that with free access to medical information, there are many people who believe they manifest symptoms where there are none, or exaggerate sensations and relate them to very serious medical conditions.
It is also because of the Internet that the population has access to unreliable sources of information that pose as truthful, which can lead them to take inappropriate health measures. People fall into the trap of self-diagnosis by reading these media, interpreting their state of health without really knowing how to do it or if it is even necessary to give greater importance to depending on which symptoms.
Whatever the cause of hypochondria, the truth is that Because of it, the person suffers physical symptoms, chronic pain without a real organic cause and mood disturbances. Excessive health-related behaviors can lead a person to engage in health-focused conversations or almost immediately feel some of the symptoms they have read about or heard about.
As a result, the patient visits the doctor many times to find the diagnosis that justifies his or her supposed symptoms, and to understand his or her suffering. When the doctor rules out the disease, the patient feels relief but, after a while, returns to his old ways The opposite case can also occur, where excessive concern about the disease leads the person to avoid doctors for fear of confirming it.
How to help a person with hypochondria?
There are several ways in which we can help people who suffer from symptoms of hypochondria.
1. Encourage him to ask for psychological help
When you try to reason with the person about what is happening to them, you run the risk of entering into a psychological game that wears us out and that doesn’t help either
Knowing how to overcome hypochondria is not an easy task, and it is quite likely that we feel a little far from the solution when we interact with our known hypochondriac.
In this case, It is best to encourage him to ask for psychological help so that a therapist can apply the proper treatment and reduce their symptoms, treating fear and obsession with diseases.
2. Understanding and patience
Among the main keys to helping hypochondriac people, the important thing is to be empathetic and patient. People who suffer from excessive concern about their health status The last thing they need is to see their family and friends drift away This can cause them more stress, which would further worsen their psychological condition.
Stress and anxiety have a direct effect on sensitivity to the slightest symptoms, increasing their perceived seriousness and fueling fear and worry. The best we can do is be patient and understanding, offering positive reviews.
In most cases, patients who suffer from hypochondria They feel that they are misunderstood and judged for carrying out behaviors that others may find exaggerated
3. Do not make negative evaluations
Another symptom of hypochondria is that patients tend to magnify their discomfort, which leads those around them to make negative evaluations of their own discomfort. Comments like “you’re exaggerating” or “it’s nothing” don’t help.
You should try to be empathetic and understand that your manifestations are the result of how you feel worries that he experiences as something of life or death.
4. Avoid overprotection
Sometimes it happens that those close to you fall into the trap of exaggerating the patient’s symptoms, and feeding their concern and thinking that they really suffer from a very serious medical condition, thinking that they can do something about such an imaginary illness.
You have to understand that Yes we can influence the health of our circle, whether or not you have a real health problem. If you have it, it is best to go to a doctor or psychologist, when necessary. If not, it is best to avoid falling into his game, but, as we have said, avoid judging him.
Overprotection should also be avoided if you have a real medical condition. There are things that do not depend on us, but on the progress of the disease itself.
5. Distraction
One of the main characteristics of hypochondria is the constant and obsessive preoccupation with any physical sensation. The person cannot take his or her attention off of any physical problem he or she feels, exaggerating its severity.
It is for this reason that a good way to reduce your problems is make him distract himself with hobbies such as reading, playing sports, cooking, watching series, listening to music… The goal is to do something that breaks your obsessive train of thought about illnesses.
6. Follow expert and official sources
One of the problems of the Internet age is information overload. This can come through different means, such as web pages, instant messaging chains in which hoaxes are posted, or simply abusing and misinterpreting information from reliable sources.
First, reliable information must be consulted on the Internet and, secondly, accompany the family member during this search to relativize the severity and realism of such symptoms Understand that, if you are not a doctor, what is on the Internet is only information that can be interpreted by professionals, and that searching for it and reading it diagonally is of no use.
7. Accompany you to the doctor
As we have already mentioned, hypochondriacs usually go to the doctor’s office. The best thing to do in these cases is to accompany him and, once the visit is over, highlight what the doctor has told him, indicating why the professional is a reliable and realistic source of his health condition.
The diagnosis given by the doctor is the confirmation or refutation that you suffer from a medical illness Obviously, it may happen that the doctor has committed negligence, but in these cases a second medical opinion can be sought, who will refute or confirm the first diagnosis.
