Hypochondriasis
What is hypochondriasis? “Hypochondriasis is the excessive worry that you are or may become seriously ill, says Mayo Clinic.” Hypochondriasis is known to be an illness anxiety disorder. Hypochondriasis, when diagnosed to a person, is known as being a hypochondriac. Mayo Clinic also says that “It is not just worrying every so often that something might be wrong with a person, but it’s that the person is constantly worrying about themselves.” It will cause them to think the worst about them being ill and monitor their own body and expect something is wrong with themselves all of the time. (Carolyn Steber) Here are some symptoms, causes and treatments for hypochondriasis.
Before people consider themselves a hypochondriac, they
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(Carolyn Steber) A cause of hypochondriasis is stressful life events. It can be the threat of a serious illness because of the threat of a serious illness that turns out not so serious. Beliefs are another cause of hypochondriasis. Their beliefs could make someone not be able to understand the meaning of body sensations or have a poor understanding of diseases. A cause of hypochondriasis could also be that if the person has had past experiences such as a severe illness. A person could have had an illness in the past and it could be a lot more scary to them as they find out more and more about the illness or any sickness they may come down with. Just like a parent with an illness, it could frighten them just as much as their …show more content…
The biggest thing for treating hypochondriasis is going to therapy known as psychotherapy. It can be effective for illness anxiety disorders because this kind of therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy. According to Mayo Clinic, cognitive behavioral therapy can help you identify fears and beliefs about having a serious medical disease. It can help you adjust the way a person reacts with their emotional and physical health. Cognitive behavioral therapy let’s a person learn how to manage and accept stress and anxiety. There is also something called imaginal exposure, which is another treatment option. Imaginal exposure lets you express your thoughts by writing short stories about the person’s health. The OCD Center of Los Angeles says that imaginal exposure allows them to experience the exposure to feared situations. There is no specific medicine for it, but a person with hypochondriasis can take antidepressants such as serotonin inhibitors. A serotonin inhibitor may treat an illness anxiety
When diagnosed with hyponatremia treatment usually immediately begins. Treatment must be a restriction of both salt and water (Gheorghita et. al 2010). Hyponatremic patients must receive a slow increase in sodium with a restriction of liquids. Intravenous hypertonic saline solution of 3% NaCl can be administered to patients who have been diagnosed with hyponatremia. There is a precise formula that is used in determining the quantity of NaCl that is used in increasing sodemia and the rate at which it should be administered (Gheorghita et. al 2010).
“Nosophobia and hypochondriasis in medical students”. Wikipedia, encyclopedia. 20 May 2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosophobia. Web. 15 Ap 2014.
The onset of Generalized anxiety disorder begins in childhood or adolescents, and It can have a lifetime prevalence of 3-5% with a higher risk in women. One major effect of Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive worry or anxiety lasting up to 6 months at a time, although individuals that have Generalized Anxiety Disorder don’t identify their worrying as excessive all of the time, but they will recount subjective distress because of a constant worry, or may have difficulty with control over the worrying, or even experience social impairment. Anxiety can be associated up to 6 symptoms which include inability to sleep, fatigued, lack of concentration, easily agitated, muscle tension, and sleep disturbances. Most of which can affect everyday lifestyle and greatly effect physical health, not only can they cause personal distress but may also cause distress in those around.
The cause of hypochondria is unknown. Hypochondriacs do not make up their symptoms on purpose. The severity in which a person pe...
Symptoms of hyponatremia differ in individuals depending on the severity. Most symptoms begin with lethargy even at mild levels. Individuals can often suffer from stomach aches, drowsiness, and vomiting. Admission to the hospital usually comes with severe symptoms such as lethargy, no orientation of time or place, and an altered state of conscious. After admittance to the hospital, routine bloodwork is completed in determining the initiating causes of these symptoms. If the results display sodium levels below the reference range of 135-145 mEq/L then patients are considered to be in a hyponatremic state (Pietrini 2010). These symptoms often worsen when treating with a hypertonic saline solution and in turn can initiate CPM development.
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One kind of anxiety disorder is obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This disease can ruin a person's life because it causes them to have repetitive thoughts and behaviors towards certain things. Life can become very difficult because this way of thinking and acting is very difficult to overcome, especially since the obsessions have no point and are stressful for the person. It begins to interfere with the person's school, work, and/or home.
The mental health assessment is a crucial part in everyday nursing care as it evaluates an individual’s mental condition to assess for risk factors of mental illnesses and provide optimal care and treatment. Mental health is described as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” (CDC) If the patient not mentally healthy, they can develop mentally illnesses, which can affect treatment and the disease process of physical ailments because without mental health a person cannot be completely healthy. “Suicide Risk Assessment in High Risk Adolescents” is a nursing article that outlines suicide risk factors and prevention strategies for assist nurses in performing mental health assessments. Suicide, the act of
A mental health counselor develops a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families and groups to accomplish mental health and career goals. Helping others to accomplish their goals and listening to various stories of hardship have always played a part in my life. Stories of others have helped me get through rough times, and so did my own personal stories do the same for others. My story may help save a life tomorrow. It is a rewarding career path that one may enjoy which requires excellent communication skills and a commit between each other.
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Another treatment is therapy, some people often fear talking with someone because of trust but, if they do therapy a therapist will help cope with symptoms. Some coping skills like relaxation therapy, ways to reduce anxiety or how a person socially interacts with a person. Art therapy is also another treatment that can be used by painting, doing clay, music, dancing or drama.Depending how severe of paranoia a person has they possibly could be admitted into the hospital. Because doctors have little of an understanding of this disorder it is not possible to
A psychosomatic illness “is a disease which involves both mind [psyche] and body [soma]” and “is thought to be caused, or made worse, by mental factors.” These mental factors include stress and anxiety. Stress causes the release of a wide variety of hormones into th...
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