I Am A Hypochondriac And I Have Anxiety: What Do I Do
Hypochondria is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by a deep obsession and intense fear of suffering from an illness, especially terminal. This type of condition is more common than they usually think and those who suffer from it tend to continually visit different doctors because they are afraid that only one may make a mistake and not realize that they really have a serious illness. It is very important to put a stop to this situation and eliminate this type of disorder that, although it may not seem so harmful at first glance, over time it can completely destroy the person’s emotional well-being.
In this PsychologyFor article, we will try to resolve the following question: “I am a hypochondriac and I have anxiety, what do I do? “To do this, we are going to give you a series of tips so that you can eliminate hypochondria and anxiety.
Hypochondriacs spend all their time thinking about what they can get sick at any time and suffer from some serious pathology or if they do not believe they already have it. They may even have the physical sensation that something is happening to them, however this sensation is caused by their high levels of anxiety. That is, hypochondriac people suffer without actually having anything.
Which are the causes of hypochondria ? If you are a hypochondriac person, this is surely a question that you have asked yourself on more than one occasion, which is why below I am going to mention the main causes of this type of anxiety disorder appearing.
To have witnessed death of a loved one due to a chronic illness.
Being an extremely anxious person.
Having the need for other people to focus their attention on you.
Feeling unable to enjoy life.
be going through periods of high stress.
Constantly watching news, articles or even being surrounded by people who talk about illnesses and death all the time.
What to do if I am a hypochondriac and have anxiety
“After having seen what are the main causes of an anxiety disorder such as hypochondria appearing, below we are going to provide you with a series of tips that will help you so that you can eliminate the following thought: “I am a hypochondriac and I have anxiety, what do I do? “
Focus your attention on the present
The main problem of hypochondriac people is that they spend all their time focused on the future, that is, they spend their time thinking about what will happen? They feel distressed just imagining that they may be having an illness right now and that tomorrow it could become more serious. They stop enjoying day to day and experiencing what they would really be experiencing moment by moment. All of this causes them to find themselves trapped in a vicious circle where it becomes increasingly difficult for them to get out and stop being worried.
If you are a hypochondriac person, it is necessary learn to enjoy everyday life, that you realize that at this moment nothing serious is happening to you and that you are experiencing a completely different situation from the way you are feeling, so keep your focus on the here and now. Gestalt therapy is a good approach to treating these levels of anxiety.
Learn to relax
Hypochondriac people have high levels of anxiety all the time, they live with constant stress that does not allow them to feel calm for most of the day, if not all day. Therefore, it is necessary to learn to relax the mind and body. One of the ways to do this is through meditation, practicing relaxation and breathing exercises, receiving relaxing massages, doing pleasant activities, etc. since in this way anxiety levels will be reduced and the obsession with health will also decrease.
Treatment of hypochondria: psychological therapy
Obviously psychological therapy is essential to overcome this type of anxiety disorder. What is worked on in therapy is with negative obsessive thoughts, modifying them with more rational and positive ones. The patient is taught strategies and techniques to deal with the anxiety crises that they may be experiencing at certain times and finally, over the course of the sessions, it is possible to reduce the high levels of stress and anxiety that they are experiencing.
Change your topics of conversation
The central theme of hypochondriac people is illness, so every time they can they talk about it with other people, they tell them how bad they feel, how sick that person is, the types of illnesses that exist today. day, etc. They also spend their time watching the news or reading articles about diseases, which means that they are focused on it all day.
So if you identify with this and want to know how to stop being such a hypochondriac, try to do the opposite and every time you catch yourself talking, reading or watching news about illnesses, change it to another unrelated topic. Get your mind used to think about something else that it is not only in diseases.
How to help a hypochondriac
If you keep the same thought in your head about “I’m a hypochondriac and I have anxiety: what do I do?”, remember that everything you think automatically becomes the emotions you experience. For example, a person who is thinking all day about how bad he feels, about all the worries he has, about how difficult his life is, etc. surely you will feel exhausted, sad, can even lead to depression if these types of thoughts persist in your daily life.
How to stop thinking I have cancer
Hypochondriacs have thoughts all day long such as:
“I don’t want to die”
“I’m sure I have a serious illness but it hasn’t been detected yet.”
“What if the same thing happens to me as my grandfather?”
“I am very afraid of getting cancer”
“Diseases are the order of the day”
So it is perfectly normal for them to be stressed, worried, sad, anxious, exhausted. But,what can we do to help us improve increase our emotional well-being ? Modify our thoughts, be aware of them and the moment we find ourselves thinking in a negative way, change them for more positive and objective ones. For example, in the case of hypochondria we could think things like: “I am healthy”, “if the doctor told me that I have nothing, it is because that is what it is”, “the same thing does not have to happen to me as that person” , etc.
This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to I am a hypochondriac and I have anxiety: what do I do we recommend that you enter our Clinical Psychology category.
