Hypochondriacal neurosis: symptoms and treatment. How does hypochondriacal neurosis manifest Hypochondriacal neurosis symptoms in adults

Hypochondriacal neurosis is a serious illness that often occurs in people with an obsessive pathological form of neurotic personality disorder. It arises as an independent disease or becomes a manifestation of other types of psychoneurosis. Quite normal occurrence It is every person's responsibility to take care of their health. However, when instead there are constant fears, apprehensions, and concerns about one’s well-being, the situation becomes pathological. This person needs treatment.

Risk group categories

Signs of hypochondria are most often found in the weaker sex. For every 100 women affected by this disease, there are only three men. In most cases, attractive young women between the ages of 25 and 30 consult doctors about this disorder. This is due to the fact that it is during this period of life that the stage of stabilization ends, when you graduate from college, have a permanent job, and have a family. All the woman’s vital energy was directed towards solving these problems of personal growth. Now fear for one’s health comes to the fore and becomes pathological.

This syndrome is extremely rare in children. Doctors noted an important pattern: the later hypochondriacal neurosis occurs, the greater the risk of severe mental disorder after 35-40 years.

Clinical picture of hypochondriacal syndrome

The symptoms of the disease are the same:

1. The key manifestation of pathology is the patient’s excessive and painful attention to his health. Physically healthy people are constantly concerned about their condition; at the slightest discomfort they complain about their unhealthy condition and exaggerate its severity. These patients are convinced that they are feeling symptoms of certain non-existent illnesses, although there is no medical reason for this.
2. Mentally, a patient with obsessive hypochondria constantly imagines the sad outcome of his illness. He is full of gloomy thoughts and doubts.

At first, these symptoms can be assessed as a simulation, but this will be incorrect, because the patient really suffers and suffers. Hypochondria is supported by internal fears and pity, which the patient receives from the outside, from other people.

Causes of hypochondriacal phobia

Fear of illness is caused by various reasons:

1. Often a patient, complaining of poor health, unconsciously hides behind his illness from experiences and life difficulties.
2. There are psychotraumatic situations when a person or his close relative or friend suddenly falls ill with something. Later illness passes, but the fear about the illness that suddenly happened remains.

Treatment of obsessive hypochondria

The patient should consult a qualified psychotherapist. If necessary, specialists prescribe a course of therapy. Prevention of hypochondriacal phobia is important. If you consult a psychotherapist for early stage pathologies, the symptoms of the disease disappear or weaken.

A person can help himself:

1. It is important to find some kind of passion, hobby.
2. You shouldn't focus on yourself. We need to pay more attention to what is happening in society. Then a person will not have the time and desire to get sick.
3. There is no need to look for imaginary symptoms of diseases. It is important to follow the principles of a healthy lifestyle.
4. All experts recommend not diagnosing yourself and not studying medical literature. You should not communicate on the Internet about health on forums with visitors.
5. Hypochondriacal neurosis is a disorder that occurs in people with hypochondriacal anxiety. If a person knows about this feature of his personality, he should actively engage in sports. He needs swimming lessons in the pool at least twice a week, and it is important to visit a sports club 2-3 times a week.
6. Remaking a character is not an easy task. But it is possible to change your body, make it resilient and strong. Hypochondriacal neurosis always occurs against the background of asthenia. A person who is calm, balanced and not subject to anxiety is not prone to this disease.

Traditional recipes for therapy

They are time-tested:

1. A pine bath is very effective for fatigue and nervous tension. To prepare it, you need to take small twigs, needles, and pine cones. This fee needs to be filled cold water, boil. The result is a rich dark extract. Then it is left to infuse for 12 hours. For a full bath, 1.5 liters of pine extract is enough. This useful procedure perfectly restores normal psycho emotional condition patient, helps strengthen the nervous system.
2. To relieve stress, mix beet juice with half and half honey and drink ¼ cup of the mixture 3-4 times a day for 4 weeks.
3. Add 1 spoon of honey, a sprig of mint and peeled pine nuts to lightly brewed green tea. One cup of this healing drink relieves fatigue and calms the nervous system.
4. To alleviate the condition of a patient with neurosis obsessive states Bananas help.

How should a family member behave with such a patient:

1. The more close people react to the complaints of a patient with hypochondriacal neurosis with symptoms of phobia, the stronger this neurotic disorder will manifest itself.
2. It is generally accepted that the hypochondriac has a secondary benefit. It is psychological in nature. Such a patient does not want to take into account the problems of loved ones. He is characterized by selfishness. Complaining about your poor health, a hypochondriac with morbid suspiciousness abdicates responsibility for the normal functioning of his body. In this way he attracts the attention of loved ones if he needs it.

When a person with hypochondriacal phobia constantly perceives ominous deviations in his health without any reason, symptoms terrible disease, he needs to consult a psychotherapist.

“Love cures all diseases” – A film about a man who suffered from Hypochondria

It is common for every person to analyze the state of their health; this is the norm, because the instinct of self-preservation is inherent in all living beings. When health care becomes an obsession, it gradually turns into a personality disorder - hypochondriacal neurosis.

Taking care of your health is good, but sometimes it becomes an obsession

Hypochondriacal neurosis usually called functional disorder nervous system, characterized by increased attention to the state of their health. Like all types of neuroses, hypochondria can be an independent disease, or act as a pathological condition in other mental disorders, for example, schizophrenia.

With hypochondriacal neurosis, any change in the body is interpreted as a symptom of the disease, even if the data of all examinations prove the opposite. Often the symptoms are either fictitious or misperceived by the person. Nervous tension associated with constant experience about a non-existent disease can lead to a real disease, this is why hypochondria is dangerous.

Portrait of a hypochondriac

Hypochondria may occur with early years, children and adolescents with an immature psyche tend to incorrectly assess normal functional changes in the body, they may develop fears and various experiences about this. The peak development of the disease occurs in the mature age of 30–40 years, and elderly age 60 -70 years. The elderly are especially attentive to their health; most of their lives are behind them and they need to take care of their health in order to prolong their existence as much as possible.

Interesting fact:

Many people are familiar with the situation - grandmothers are sitting in line at the hospital and animatedly and excitedly discuss their illnesses. Such conversations take place in the corridors of the hospital, each granny holding massive outpatient cards. In such disputes, the winner is the elderly lady whose illness turned out to be more serious.

A person with hypochondriacal disorder has the following characteristics:

• - self-centeredness;
• - increased suggestibility;
• - uncertainty;
• - tendency to reason;
• - vulnerability to depression;
• - suspiciousness;
• - Availability psychological defenses;
• - obsessive ideas;
• - presence of fears, phobias.

Psychological defenses in a hypochondriac are manifested in the conduct of “rituals” - thorough washing of hands and body, disinfection of the room.

Hand washing is one of the psychological “rituals” of a hypochondriac

It is often observed ablutomania– pathological desire to keep hands clean; any contact with a “contaminated” object causes a negative reaction and shock.

Such people are indifferent to the life and everyday life of those around them, they are only interested in their health and everything connected with it. At the same time, they can be offended by everyone if they do not inquire about their health or condition. Hypochondriacs like to consider themselves unnecessary to anyone, unloved, they are always looking for a reason to make a scandal about the inattention of loved ones. Individuals with such a disorder can often be seen in the clinic; they can go there at least every day, stand in queues for a long time, and ignore other patients.

They tell doctors in detail all the symptoms, often supporting them with facts from medical encyclopedias or the Internet. If the doctor’s diagnosis does not suit the hypochondriac, he looks for another more “competent” specialist who will “shed light” and tell the truth about his condition. If other specialists try to convince a hypochondriac of his health, he is sure that they are hiding from him terrible diagnosis and this makes him feel even worse. People with such neurosis can argue and swear with doctors if they do not follow their lead, write complaints, go to various authorities in order to annoy unwanted doctors.

At the same time, the person suffers himself and causes inconvenience to those around him, his life becomes like a vicious circle consisting of endless examinations, visits to hospitals and constant grumbling about his condition.

Interesting fact:

In psychiatry there is a concept called “health hypochondria”. It is the opposite of hypochondriacal neurosis and hypochondria in general. The person denies the presence of the disease, although examination data may indicate an existing disease. It is difficult to persuade such a patient to go to the doctor and undergo a course of treatment, since he considers himself absolutely healthy and tries to convince others of this.

Causes of hypochondria

A predisposition to hypochondria consists of many factors. Most often these are:

• - lack of attention from others;
• - a loss loved one;
• - presence of a sick relative (behavior model is copied);
• — genetic characteristics;
• - previous illnesses;
• - physical violence;
• — miseducation;
• - state of stress.

According to the teachings of I. Pavlov, the development of hypochondriacal disorder is also facilitated by a person’s personality type, the characteristics of his higher nervous activity. Hypochondria can also occur in people with increased anxiety and suspiciousness.

Stress may be a cause of hypochondriacal neurosis

The modern environment has its own influence on the manifestations of hypochondriacal tendencies - you can find a lot of information on the Internet various diseases, where the symptoms and picture of the disease are described in detail. Television programs about health play an important role; a person with hypochondriacal disorder dreams of being the hero of such programs. For hypochondriacs, this is a good recharge; after learning something new, they immediately run to the hospital to tell the doctor everything in their hearts.

According to psychologists, hypochondriacs tend to misjudge signals within the body, therefore, any change in condition for them is a sign of illness. Often the triggers for the disease are difficult life situations, which a person cannot cope with, but the person himself can deny it.

Interesting fact:

Absolutely healthy people can be prone to hypochondria. These include medical students educational institutions While undergoing training and practice, they often find symptoms similar to those of patients or described in textbooks. This tendency occurs closer to graduation.

Symptoms of hypochondriacal neurosis

It is difficult to identify hypochondriacal disorder; the incidence of such a disease is approximately 15-20% of the entire population. Hypochondria is often confused with malingering - acting out a non-existent illness. But if the malingerer is confident in his health, then the hypochondriac believes that he is seriously ill and tries to convince everyone of this. For a pretender, illness is necessary to gain his own benefit; for a neurotic, illness is a way of avoiding problems.

Despite the complexity of diagnosing the disease, there is a certain pattern in the formation of symptoms of neurosis. Hypochondriacal neurosis is characterized by following symptoms:

• - a strong belief in the presence of one or more diseases (to determine neurosis, this situation must persist for six months);
• - presence of fears and phobias in relation to various diseases;
• - nervousness, irritability;
• — constant search information related to the disease;
• - unstable emotional state, vulnerability;
• - monotony in conversation;
• - deviation from everyday topics of communication on the topic of illness;
• — aggressiveness (directed at those who deny the disease);
• - tendency to constantly clean;
• - apathy;
• - loss of appetite;
• - state of depression.

The hypochondriac is sure that he is definitely sick with something serious and dangerous

A person can make a diagnosis for himself based on his symptoms. The most favorite places for “sores” among hypochondriacs are heart - vascular system, gastrointestinal tract, excretory system. Often found in hypochondriacs false symptoms– numbness of the limbs, tingling. With advanced neurosis, synesthesia can also occur - a painful condition of all body systems.

All symptoms can manifest themselves to a greater or lesser extent depending on the person’s personality type, his character, as well as the variants of the course of hypochondriacal neurosis. Let's take a closer look at them.

Variants of hypochondriacal neurosis

Depending on the symptoms and severity of the neurosis, the following types of hypochondriacal neurosis are distinguished:

• Hypochondriacal depression

Depression can occur against the background of a traumatic situation - the death of a loved one or as a result of conflicts with others or loved ones, especially if no one wants to take into account the position of a neurotic. This condition is characterized by low mood, pessimism in the perception of reality, fear for one’s life, often a person has suicidal thoughts.

A depressed person may be bothered by thoughts about an unfavorable outcome of the disease, he may write complaints about doctors who do not treat him, prepare for the worst, some may write a will. Focused attention to your illness can lead to the formation of obsessive thoughts and various fears.

• VSD hypochondria

Often hypochondria can occur against the background vegetative-vascular dystonia– disorders of the autonomic nervous system. This violation occurs when stressful situations and is characterized by the following features:

• - headache, dizziness;
• - paleness or redness skin;
• - chills;
• - compression in the chest;
• — dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract;
• - increased heart rate;
• - increased sweating;
• - shortness of breath;
• - dry mouth.

Normally, such manifestations are characteristic of all people, regardless of age category; with excitement, these symptoms manifest themselves in one way or another. When symptoms haunt a person constantly, then doctors diagnose VSD and prescribe treatment.

Hypochondriacs suffering from VSD are confident that the symptoms are signals of a serious illness. For example: if a person suddenly experiences arrhythmia, tachycardia, he is convinced that this is a symptom of a heart attack.

With VSD, hypochondria may occur in a person panic attacks . Attacks arise as a result of anxiety for one’s life; a person may feel that his heart, breathing, etc. will suddenly stop.

With this variant of neurosis, the person is very withdrawn, he is focused on his condition, unsociable, and prefers not to go out anywhere. He regards any vegetative manifestations as an attack of illness.

• Hypochondriacal phobia

A phobia arises out of a painful fear for one’s health or life. Most often it manifests itself in anxious personalities, as well as in traumatic situations. A phobia in hypochondria is obsessive in nature, and it is quite difficult to get rid of it.

A person suffering from hypochondriacal neurosis is overcome by fear of illness

Manifestations of a phobia are varied: a person can avoid contact with people so as not to “get infected”, constantly take tests to detect HIV infection or AIDS (while going to a doctor’s appointment every time in a semi-fainting state), constantly wash the house and disinfect surfaces, refuse from visiting guests. He may be bothered by various autonomic disorders: increased heart rate, shortness of breath, tingling in the chest. Hypochondriacal phobia is difficult to eliminate; it is difficult to convince such a patient that there is no reason for fear.

Treatment of neurosis is quite lengthy; in addition to doctors, loved ones can also help a hypochondriac.

Treatment methods for hypochondriacal neurosis

Treatment takes place under the supervision of a psychiatrist, after comparing all the examination results. Treatment is complex and includes:

• - taking medications;
• — psychotherapy;
• - treatment at home.

Medicines prescribed by a doctor to eliminate alarming symptoms, various sedatives: persen, sympathetic, novo-passit. If depression has developed against the background of neurosis, then antidepressants and tranquilizers will help. Sleeping pills may often be prescribed before bedtime.

IN psychotherapy neurosis, the main attention is paid to neutralizing the traumatic situation for the patient. To do this, he may be placed in a clinic or sent to another place to live.

It is important to instill in the patient a sense of trust in the specialist; it is thanks to this that the treatment will take place in a favorable environment. The psychiatrist can conduct various conversations with the patient, as a result of which the essence of feeling unwell person and ways to eliminate such problems. It is important to explain to the patient the psychogenic nature of his disease, only then will the person accept the situation and wish to get rid of the neurosis.

If neurosis manifests phobias, obsessive fears or panic attacks, then it is used hypnosis, which is effective method in the treatment of neuroses.

At home treatment Special attention is given to the patient’s free time; relatives should help him with this. A person needs to be distracted from obsessive thoughts, for this they come up with various activities, hobbies, everything that will be interesting to a hypochondriac. It is also necessary to remove all medical literature from the hypochondriac’s field of view, limit the use of the Internet and the viewing of such programs.

Treating neurosis requires a lot of time and effort, so loved ones need to be patient in order to help the hypochondriac with this.

Thus, hypochondriacal neurosis is a disease that includes various manifestations: both somatic and mental levels. Despite the complexity of diagnosis this state, the disease, although difficult, is treatable. Treatment in in this case will be complex in nature, since all spheres of human life must be affected.

Constant anxiety, fear, unreasonable worries about health, nervous tension and stress - this is how symptoms of hypochondriacal neurosis can manifest themselves. Take a closer look at the behavior of your loved ones - because of such an illness, they can greatly harm themselves.

Description of the condition of hypochondria

The phenomenon when a person is indifferent to his health is constantly checked by specialists - it is normal and even desirable. But if healthy people begin to exaggerate problems, are very afraid of getting sick, they constantly imagine that they are already sick - this is a problem.

Hypochondriacal neurosis is a set of symptoms that characterize a special type of disorder, main feature which is a constant fear of disease. He has an obsessive nature.

A person worries about his health and loved ones. As soon as any symptom appears (often somatic or vegetative), he imagines that he is already sick with something and needs to be cured urgently. Hypochondria often occurs in weak-willed, suspicious, unstable people.

Against this background, depression, stress, anxiety and panic, and Parkinson's disease appear.

Types of pathology

There are several various types such neurosis.

• True hypochondriacal neurosis is a course of the disease in which the sick patient himself does not want to fight the disease and deliberately does not notice its presence.
• Parahypochondriacal neurosis - occurs after severe exposure to stress or another serious factor on the nervous system and psyche. In this case, the victim himself tries to fight the disease, defeating apathy, depression, stress and other accompanying symptoms.
• Parental hypochondria is a great fear of parents for the life and health of their children, excessive guardianship, they forbid children to make their own decisions and live their own lives.
• Childhood hypochondria is the fear of children for the health of their parents.
• Iatrogenic hypochondria - appears after observing the actions of doctors in the hospital.

Risk group

Hypochondria can often develop as a result of previous illnesses. nervous soil. If it is not treated on time, then over time the psychopathological symptoms will intensify.

• teenagers (often over 14 years old),
• middle aged women,
• elderly people.

Causes of the disease

Men rarely suffer from this disease, unlike women. This can be explained by the specific structure of the brain and the difference in the perception of the surrounding world.

The development of hypochondriacal neurosis is promoted by:

• Offensive suitable age for the development of the disease.
• Cerebral pathologies in childhood.
• Focusing on the experienced problem or situation.
• Past experience associated with some kind of illness.
• Overprotection of parents and relatives, which contributes to the development of hypochondria in a child in later life.
• Genetics.
• Lack of attention from relatives and surrounding people.
• The illness of a loved one, whose suffering a person sees, he copies his behavior, fearing to get sick too.

Symptoms of the problem

For this type neurotic disease characterized by psychosomatic symptoms. The patient feels depressed and is haunted by obsessive thoughts. There is no desire to do anything, severe apathy sets in, which can suddenly develop into depressive state, aggression and short temper. There may be a disturbance in sleep patterns (anxiety-depressive) and wakefulness. Loss of appetite, weakness, headache, dizziness, darkness before the eyes, tachycardia, pain in the heart.

Patients carefully observe the rules of personal hygiene, wash several times a day, disinfect by special means apartment. It seems to them that there are germs and bacteria around that want to kill. If you don’t ask them about their health status when you meet, they may be offended and accuse you of inattention.

In addition to these symptoms, there is a constant fear for their health and life: patients, as soon as they hear any symptoms of the disease, imagine them in themselves.

As soon as one appears, they panic, cannot get rid of thoughts about the presence of a serious illness and rush to visit the clinic. There they begin to present their symptoms and demand surgical intervention physician or medication prescription. More often than not, after a thorough check, the patient finds healthy person or has minor diseases which can be easily cured. But even this result does not satisfy the patient. It seems to him that he is being deceived, the doctor is not competent enough, they ask for additional examination. The patient can only be helped by consulting a psychotherapist.

Sometimes there is VSD-hypochondria. This neurosis occurs against the background of vegetative-vascular dystonia - a disorder of the nervous system. It can worsen and manifest itself under the influence long-term stress and experiences. The symptoms of this disease are very similar to VSD symptoms is a state of depression, which can sometimes even lead to panic attacks.

Possibility of cure

Diagnosis of hypochondriacal neurosis in a patient is carried out by a psychotherapist. First, he directs the patient to undergo a head tomography and electroencephalography. This will give accurate information about the state of the cerebral cortex. It is important that the doctor is able to identify hypochondriacal neurosis among other types of neurotic diseases or even schizophrenia; listens to his patient and understands him. It is necessary to find out in detail what could have caused the illness, what illnesses the patient suffered in the past, what kind of stress and fears he experienced. This is the only way to determine how to deal with the disease. In such a situation you need individual approach, according to the standard it is impossible to cure the patient.

The doctor should become a sick friend whom he can trust. An experienced specialist convinces the person seeking help that he is completely healthy, real threat there is no life, and the problem lies in his self-hypnosis. It is necessary for the person suffering from hypochondria to understand what the essence of the problem is, and he himself wants to fight the disease, side with the doctor and follow all his instructions.

After making a diagnosis, the doctor can prescribe the necessary symptomatic treatment.

• Physiotherapy, herbal medicine - pine baths, salt rooms, radon baths, aromatic oils.
• Autotraining - removes increased anxiety and fear.
• Hypnosis - with very obsessive fears when a person is unable to get rid of them on his own, which causes involuntary panic.
• Acupuncture.
• Drug treatment - anxiolytics for good and proper sleep(“Medazepam”, “Oxazepam”, “Bioson”, “Lorazepam”, etc.), sedatives or tranquillizers (Nifedipine, Novo-passit, Menovalen, Sedasen, Sedofiton, Persen ", "Verapamil"), vitamins and mineral complexes to support the body of any age.

If the disease is detected in the early stages, then the symptoms can be simply eliminated, and the patient’s condition will improve. If this is an advanced form, everything is much more complicated. The disease can also cause other types of neurosis - hysterical, phobic, etc. Such combinations are much more difficult to diagnose and correct. Treat medications hypochondriacal neurosis begins only in the later stages.

Preventive measures

To ensure that the chances of getting sick in the future are very low, you need to raise your child correctly and give him a lot of attention. It is important to instill in him love for healthy image life, sports, healthy food. Teach your child to adequately relate to the events of the world around him, not to take insults and failures to heart.

Children who, despite their small age, have already experienced stress or loss, need increased attention. The impact on the psyche has already been exerted; the development of pathologies must not be allowed. Spend more time with them, communicate, be in their circle of trust, do not let them withdraw into themselves, make them believe in themselves.

As soon as you notice suspicious signs appearing in your child’s behavior, do not be lazy to contact child psychologist or a neurologist.

He will be able to identify the disease at an early stage, prescribe therapy and cure it immediately, or simply tell parents the reason for the anxiety. Those people who have recently overcome the disease also need to be under the supervision of a specialist. Their psycho-emotional state has not yet strengthened, so sometimes it requires adjustments and the help of a specialist.

Conclusion

Hypochondriacal neurosis - dangerous disease neurotic character. The patient is very afraid of getting sick, sometimes does not trust opinions experienced doctor and can significantly harm oneself by self-medication. It is imperative to seek help from a specialist - a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, medical psychologist or neurologist. He will appoint necessary treatment, the patient has every chance of becoming completely psychologically healthy again.

Hypochondriacal. The origin of the term is curious: hypochondrion - in Greek hypochondrium. Let's clarify: left. Why? And there is the spleen. According to ancient canons, it is the refuge of the soul, where she has a bottle of vodka, a can of sprat tomato sauce and a can opener. And when she, the soul, becomes unbearable, she hides there and begins to drink and whine. By the way, S.P. Botkin experimentally managed to show that changes in the psycho-emotional state (fear, surprise, excitement) noticeably affect the size of this organ.

In general, hypochondriacal symptoms are found everywhere: from schizophrenia to cyclothymia and asthenic psychopathy. Within the framework of hypochondriacal neurosis, it is worth emphasizing once again that the depth and severity of the symptoms do not reach the level of psychosis, and the symptoms themselves are reversible and do not have an organic basis (that is, something that can be, if not touched, then at least in analyzes and on reflect in the photographs. Either something is there or not, but this something does not reflect all the richness and colorfulness of the complaints being made).

Naturally, the patient will reach the psychiatrist at the very end of the series “Indiana Jones and the Crazy Doctors”, having been announced in all surrounding areas. medical institutions persona non grata and with a malicious grin he dismissed his adored competitors. For some time he may be stuck with an epileptoid homeopath or a hyperthymic chiropractor, but in the end he will still cross the threshold of a psychiatric dispensary, carrying a weighty volume of tests, images, conclusions of various specialists with a predominant interlinear summary like: “crush me with a tomograph, if there’s anything here - it really is!”

By focusing on your health, you can burn through metal, and the confidence that not everything is fine with your health is stronger than a continental plate. Oh, there’s something wrong with my heart: somehow it’s not beating right, it even seems to ache... no, it just feels like it’s there, but that’s not normal! And the pulse started to run... it almost froze... no, it started running again - well, does that happen to healthy people? This is an obvious pathology. The intestines and stomach are also clearly not in order: is it normal to grumble and gurgle like that? And there’s something squeezing my side, as if...What? The liver on the other side? It's a pity... And the pain - oh, their description will be highly artistic and detailed. Plus the firm conviction that if the disease was not found, it means they didn’t look hard enough. No, what are you saying, I, of course, almost believe the professor, it’s just that the picture was taken, apparently unsuccessfully, and in the biochemical laboratory the reagents ran out of steam. Now, if I could repeat it, but in three-quarters of a turn, and take more material for analysis, I wouldn’t mind it! And the most interesting thing is how the question is asked: “Doctor, tell me honestly, is this incurable?” And if, God forbid, even the slightest real reason for complaints appears, such as gastritis or short-term constipation - hold on, doctors! This will immediately be regarded as at least oncology with the appropriate localization and the entire diagnostic cycle will enter a new round, everyone is crying and making collective attempts to kill themselves on the diagnostic equipment. There is a slight suspicion that the creators of many super dietary supplements, which are expensive homeopathic medicines and healing devices left and right were aimed precisely at this audience.

What is natural is that the symptoms intensify against the background of conflict situations for the patient, unpleasant events for him, or during a period when time pressure sets in in life, in the arrangement of ideological guidelines: something has been accomplished and achieved, but the next milestones and beacons have not yet been set. There is no movement towards a bright goal - the patient gets stuck in the quagmire of his own experiences.

Despite the relative favorable prognosis, this neurosis is prone to a protracted and sluggish course and often leads to the formation of neurotic personality development of the hypochondriacal type, when painful symptoms become an integral part of this very personality.



Hypochondriacal neurosis is a condition in which a person pays pathologically close attention to his health. The disease is typical mainly for women, but can also develop in men. The age category of patients is people 30-40 years old or elderly. The patient may have obsessive thoughts about the presence of a serious illness, which are based on signs of somatic and physical nature and are not causes of violations.

Even with good test results, the patient is not convinced that his health is not in danger, and the lack of confirmation of an imaginary diagnosis is perceived as hiding the truth from him. As a result, hypochondriacal neurosis provokes a state of persistent confidence in incurability.

Over time, the perception of reality is disrupted, the patient is dominated by thoughts about death and fears associated with it. Going to all kinds of tests and examinations turns into an obsession. Sometimes this neurosis is actually combined with some kind of disease, but its symptoms, as a rule, are extremely exaggerated by the patient and are perceived by his psyche as a disorder incompatible with life. Due to constant nervous tension suffers vegetative system, which ultimately undermines everyone's work internal organs.

Causes of hypochondriacal neurosis

A number of factors are considered as reasons why hypochondriacal neurosis may develop, one of which is increased suspiciousness and a tendency to suggestibility. Hypochondria can develop only from the fact that a person receives strong impressions from a story about a disease. Sometimes the development of hypochondria begins with caring for a seriously ill relative and negative emotions due to his suffering.

An important role is also played by factors such as diseases suffered in childhood. Such events leave a mark on the psyche, and the child can no longer help but fear the return of the terrible disease.

Another factor is hereditary predisposition. There is a significant risk of developing hypochondriacal neurosis in those patients whose immediate relatives suffered from of this disorder. Also at risk are lonely people who do not have constant employment and communication with others.

Classification of hypochondriacal neurosis

Hypochondriacal neurosis is divided into 5 types depending on the symptoms:

1. Obsessive neurosis

Patients suffering from this type of disease realize that their fears for their health are excessively exaggerated, but they cannot get rid of them. This condition can be caused by watching a film with a plot about some disease, or a careless phrase from a doctor or friend. Such neurosis is mainly characteristic of psychasthenics.

2. Astheno-hypochondriacal syndrome

People with this disorder are convinced that they are extremely and terminally ill. They complain of weakness headache and other similar symptoms. As a rule, such patients are extremely unsure of themselves, impressionable and withdrawn, and their circle of interests is very narrow.

3. Depressive-hypochondriacal syndrome

Patients with this type of neurosis have a personality disorder that combines anxiety about health with overvalued hypochondriacal ideas that are difficult to correct. Their symptoms are fictitious, they themselves are uncommunicative and constantly depressed. This nature sometimes becomes the cause of suicidal behavior based on ideas about an incurable disease.

4. Senesto-hypochondriacal syndrome

Among the symptoms of this disease the manifestation of senestopathic disorders prevails over other signs. Such patients fear for their lives due to imaginary damage to vital organs. When no medical diagnostic method confirms their beliefs, they change doctors and ask him for a new examination.

5. Anxiety-hypochondriacal syndrome

Provoke it pathological condition can be severe stress and the resulting nervous system disorder. Patients with such neurosis are afraid of getting sick serious illness, are in a state of permanent nervous tension and direct all their thoughts to discovering symptoms of AIDS, cancer and other diseases.

Symptoms of hypochondriacal neurosis

The hypochondriacal type of neurosis is characterized by patients' confidence in the presence of fatal disease. Among the symptoms described are weakness, malaise and other signs of various pathologies. As a rule, patients check with medical reference books, after which their confidence in the presence of the disease grows stronger.

A typical sign is that patients claim that their test results are inaccurate and that their treating physicians are inattentive and incompetent. The state of extreme dissatisfaction extends to all areas of life, and in general the patient's character becomes irritable and hot-tempered.

Diagnosis of hypochondriacal neurosis

To identify hypochondriacal neurosis in a patient, the doctor conducts a detailed conversation with him about his condition and listens to complaints. Next, the information received must be compared with the results of the examination and all tests performed. These are various types of blood and urine tests, an electrocardiogram and other measures prescribed at the discretion of the specialist.

Based on the data obtained after the examination, the doctor makes a conclusion about the condition of the patient’s body. If necessary, can be assigned additional examinations, the list of which includes ultrasound diagnostics, X-ray examination, consultations with specialists of a narrow profile.

If, based on the results of all the checks carried out, doctors do not find any pathologies of internal organs in the patient, he is referred to an appointment with a psychotherapist to confirm suspicions of hypochondriacal neurosis.

Treatment of hypochondriacal neurosis

The process of treating hypochondria is complex and requires integrated approach in several stages. Measures to combat this disease are divided into psychotherapeutic and medicinal. The first includes a consultation with a psychotherapist, aimed at correcting the patient’s perception of his health and reprogramming it from negative to positive. In addition, with the help of psychotherapy, the optimal way to deal with constant stress, which often causes the development of hypochondria, is selected. Working with a psychologist helps ease the patient's fears and help him regain self-confidence. When obsessive fears, the patient is shown hypnosis sessions.

Drug treatment is carried out using antidepressants, sedatives and tranquilizers. These drugs are used when neurosis occurs with accompanying dysphoria and anxiety disorders. Ignore the development of these mental pathologies it is impossible, since in this situation the disease can transform into severe hypochondriacal syndrome.

Forecast and prevention of hypochondriacal neurosis

Preventive measures that could reliably prevent hypochondriacal neurosis, in modern medicine does not exist. Since, as described above, this neurosis develops mostly in lonely people who do not have permanent employment and goals in life, we can assume that the prevention of this disorder consists of an adequate work and rest schedule, the presence of hobbies, social circles and life aspirations. Keeping a diary has a good effect as a means of relieving mental stress.

The prognosis of hypochondriacal neurosis is relatively favorable, but this does not mean that this pathology does not require any treatment. If the disease is ignored, it develops into much more serious problems mental nature. Such patients, as a rule, do not see any future for themselves and suffer from severe depression and often think about death, and painful symptoms become an integral part of their personality.