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
Personal health is extremely important to everyone around the world. But it is especially important to citizens of the United States of America. Being one of the leading countries in Health technology and also in food and beverage leaves most people choosing between living a healthy lifestyle and indulging in the varieties of food we offer. Across the country, many people are living with pre-existing conditions, living in food deserts, living below the poverty line and a long list of other factors that either hinders them from eating healthy or force them to eat healthily. When trying to live a healthy lifestyle in this country not only does the promotion of prevention matter, but also the promotion of Career and job opportunities matter just as much. In the United States, Money equals Power and money also equal the opportunity to create and live a healthier lifestyle.
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.
Nicknamed, “illness without a specific cause,” hypochondria is a health anxiety disorder that often times is chronic. It is also known by the name hypochondriasis. “When you have hypochondria, you become obsessed with the idea that you have a serious, or life-threatening disease that hasn't been diagnosed yet, and there's no clear medical evidence that you have a serious health problem (Mayo Clinic, para. 1, 1998-2014).”
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.
There are so many types of mental illnesses that affect people every day. When some people think of mental illnesses they think of the ones that would cause people to have physical symptoms as well, but that’s untrue, there are many more that you would never know anyone has if you were to see them on the street. As defined by the 2008 encyclopedia “a mental illness is any disease of the mind or brain that seriously affects a person’s ability or behavior. Symptoms of a mental illness may include extreme moods, such as excessive sadness or anxiety, or a decreased ability to think clearly or remember well.” A mentally ill person has severe symptoms that damage the person’s ability to function in everyday activities and situations. Every nation and every economic level can be affected by a mental illness. In the United States alone about 3% of the population has severe mental illness and to add to that number about 40% of people will experience a type of mental illness at least once in their lives. Some cases of mental illnesses can go away on their own, but some cases are so severe that they require professional treatment. There is so much more available to help people recover from their symptoms than in the past.
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.
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
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
Since the 1800s, treatment methods for mental illness have developed significantly worldwide. From electrotherapy to modern practices like psychotherapy, treatment for mental disorders has greatly progressed as scientists and psychologists learn more information on the causes of mental illness and the best therapy for each particular disease. The past 200 years mark the most defined era since the beginning of humans for the progression of treatment for mental illness. Not only has treatment improved for the mentally ill, but also the perception of mental illness has greatly changed and will continue to do so as more is learned about the human mind.
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.
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...
Health psychology is a relatively new concept rapidly growing and could be defined as the biological and psychological influences affect ones behaviour also bringing in social influences of health and illness (MacDonald, 2013). Biological determinants consider genetic and biological factors of an illness whereas psychological determinants focus on the psychological factors such as why people behave the way they do when dealing with issues such as anxiety and stress. Models such as the Health Belief Model and Locus of Control were developed in attempt to try and explain psychological issues around a chronic illness such as breast cancer (Ogden, 2012). Sociological factors can cause an enormous amount of pressure for one to behave in a certain way for example gender roles in society and religious considerations when dealing with health beliefs. Health Beliefs can be defined as one’s own perception to their own personal health and illness and health behaviours (Ogden, 2012). There are also theories and models used to explain pain and coping with diagnosis such as Moos and Schaefer (1984) Crisis theory and Shontz (1975) cycle of grief people go through when being diagnosed with a serious illness.
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several