Hypochondria is a legitimate disease. It has only been seriously researched in the last 20 years and many doctors are often still reluctant to diagnose it. It is a disease of the nervous system and is usually identified during the middle to late adulthood stages of life although it can be present earlier than that. It discriminates against neither gender nor race and at this time there is no known cure.
             I think we¡ve all been there¡KAunt Velma just called again and her condition has worsened since you saw her last week in the grocery store. It¡s her ears this time, their ringing in harmonies now, which usually isn¡t a cause for concern but since that report she saw on Oprah night about the lethal combination of asbestos and children¡s chewable aspirin. She is sure this is got to be the big one that¡s gonna take her home to Uncle Hugh. Of course, upon further investigation, you finally discover that Aunt Velma is simply a victim of the bugle corp. that is practicing in the schoolyard next door.
             Hypochondria is very real, most especially to those who suffer from it. In this report I plan to define hypochondria, explain the symptoms and believed causes of the condition, discuss some warning signs, dissolve some myths pertaining to the disease and explore possible treatments of. However, because hypochondria has only recently become a diagnosable condition, many sources offer somewhat conflicting information. In this case, as in many others, education is the key to understand.
             For many years¡ hypochondria was often assumed to be an imagined illness of whiny complainers. Today however, psychiatrists have deemed it an actual affliction and defined it as ¡§The fear of having or getting a serious illness¡. The fear must last six months or more despite negative tests and medical reassurance, and it must cause noticeable distress in one¡s life (Cantor and Fallon, 1997). The illness can range from very mild to very severe, ...