Hypochondriasis

A disorder characterized by persistent preoccupation with having or developing a serious illness, based on misinterpretation of bodily symptoms. The person frequently seeks medical reassurance but does not obtain lasting relief from negative test results. Alternatively, some avoid medical consultations out of fear of confirmation.

Symptoms

• Health anxiety (also: Persistent belief of serious illness and excessive health anxiety, Excessive concern about health – intense fear of serious illness, intense health anxiety, health anxiety, hypochondriacal fear)
• Obsessive body checking for symptoms of illness (also: Obsessive body checking for symptoms of illness, frequent checking of physical symptoms, obsessive checking for symptoms, monitoring body symptoms, frequent health status checking)
• Cyberchondria (also: Excessive searching for information about diseases (cyberchondria), Excessive searching for information about diseases (internet, literature), excessive searching for disease information, obsessive reading about diseases, excessive googling diseases)
• Frequent medical visits and reassurance seeking (also: Frequent medical visits and reassurance seeking, Frequent medical visits or seeking reassurance about health, frequent medical visits, frequent medical consultations, excessive doctor visits)
• Interpreting normal physical sensations as symptoms of serious illness (also: Interpreting normal physical sensations as symptoms of serious illness, interpreting normal symptoms as illness, over-interpretation of symptoms, interpreting symptoms as illness, catastrophising symptoms)
• Avoidance of medical tests due to fear of diagnosis confirmation (also: Avoidance of medical tests due to fear of confirmation, avoidance of medical tests due to anxiety, fear of tests, avoidance of diagnostics, fear of diagnosis)
• No relief after negative test results and doctors' reassurances (also: negative results do not reassure, short-lived relief after visit, further concerns despite normal tests, lack of satisfaction from reassurances, suspicion that doctors missed something)
• Doctor shopping – multiple specialists for the same concern (also: Doctor shopping – multiple specialists for same concern, multiple doctors for same complaint, multiple consultations, second and third opinions, searching for doctor who will confirm concerns)
• Focus on a specific organ or body system (also: heart obsession, focus on digestive system, concern about specific organ, fixation on 1-2 body systems, monitoring specific body part)
• Co-occurring depression or anxiety as complications (also: depression in hypochondriasis, accompanying anxiety, secondary GAD due to hypochondriasis, lowered mood, social withdrawal from health anxiety)

ICD-11 diagnostic criteria

• obawa przed poważną chorobą
• nadmierne monitorowanie objawów zdrowotnych
• poszukiwanie potwierdzenia diagnozy
• znaczne cierpienie lub pogorszenie funkcjonowania

How to recognise

In the ICD-11 framework, the core symptoms taken into account when recognising Hypochondriasis are:

• silny lęk o zdrowie

Differential diagnosis

When diagnosing Hypochondriasis, the following ICD-11 disorders should be considered in the differential diagnosis:

• Zaburzenie dysmorficzne ciała (6B21)
• Zaburzenie cierpienia somatycznego (6C20)
• Zaburzenie obsesyjno-kompulsyjne (6B20)

Synonyms and related terms

Persistent belief of serious illness and excessive health anxiety, Excessive concern about health – intense fear of serious illness, intense health anxiety, hypochondriacal fear, intense concern about health, fear of illness, excessive health anxiety, preoccupation with health, constantly afraid they are ill, worried about health, afraid of serious illness, constantly thinks something is wrong, has health obsession, constantly analyzes their health, frequent checking of physical symptoms, obsessive checking for symptoms, monitoring body symptoms, frequent health status checking, checking for signals from body, analysing physical symptoms, body monitoring, constantly checks symptoms, observes their body, checks if something hurts, monitors their symptoms, searches for disease symptoms, analyzes every symptom, Excessive searching for information about diseases (cyberchondria), Excessive searching for information about diseases (internet, literature), excessive searching for disease information

Frequently asked questions

What are the symptoms of Hypochondriasis?

Symptoms associated with Hypochondriasis (ICD-11 6B23) include: Health anxiety, Obsessive body checking for symptoms of illness, Cyberchondria, Frequent medical visits and reassurance seeking, Interpreting normal physical sensations as symptoms of serious illness, Avoidance of medical tests due to fear of diagnosis confirmation, No relief after negative test results and doctors' reassurances, Doctor shopping – multiple specialists for the same concern, Focus on a specific organ or body system, Co-occurring depression or anxiety as complications.

How is Hypochondriasis diagnosed according to ICD-11?

According to ICD-11, the diagnostic criteria for Hypochondriasis (6B23) include: obawa przed poważną chorobą; nadmierne monitorowanie objawów zdrowotnych; poszukiwanie potwierdzenia diagnozy; znaczne cierpienie lub pogorszenie funkcjonowania.

What disorders are in the differential diagnosis of Hypochondriasis?

The differential diagnosis of Hypochondriasis (6B23) includes: Zaburzenie dysmorficzne ciała (6B21), Zaburzenie cierpienia somatycznego (6C20), Zaburzenie obsesyjno-kompulsyjne (6B20).

WHO ICD-11 source

View this entry in the official WHO ICD-11 browser: 6B23 – WHO ICD-11