HEALTH & MEDICAL OCD
HYPOCHONDRIA
OCD that focuses on medical and health worries is called hypochondriasis. Hypochondriasis is an exaggerated obsessive worry about one's health (in the absence of supporting medical evidence, or out of proportion to an actual but non-urgent health risk). People worry about COVID19, cancer, HIV, AIDS, heart attacks, germs, infectious diseases, epidemics, dementia, brain damage, stroke, asbestos, chemicals, unplanned pregnancy, and food poisoning, to name a few.
Take the test to see if you're really sick or have Hypochondria, a type of OCD, which is a treatable condition according to Doctor Steven Brodsky
Health OCD can mimic erectile dysfunction, AIDS, HIV, Herpes, or pregnancy symptoms,
explains anxiety specialist Dr. Steven Brodsky, and does not require medical treatment. Find out by taking a test.
Find out if you have hypochondriasis. Email a question to Dr. Brodsky or arrange a free consultation. If you feel ready, make an appointment online instantly or call 212-726-2390. In-person sessions are available in New York and New Jersey. Virtual teletherapy is available nationwide in 42 states for OCD from Miami, Florida to Omaha, Nebraska. We're everywhere you are!
Read more and preview or order this book by a former client who suffered with Hypochondriasis about her therapy with Dr. Brodsky
They avoid people, places, and things that they see as a health risk--crowds, hospitals, public restrooms, school, certain ethnic groups, cleaning fluids, and certain foods. They worry about themselves, loved ones, or spreading an infectious disease to others. The sufferer might compulsively do endless internet research for medical information, visit multiple doctors (or avoid doctors), get multiple lab tests, adopt extremely restrictive diets, use new age alternative providers, consume a long list of "cures," take dozens of fraudulent online tests by unqualified authors, and seek reassurance from others. Find out if you're actually sick or are experiencing OCD by taking a valid test.
Hypochondria OCD sufferers search medical symptoms online, and don't question what they find regardless of reliability, cautions Dr. Steven Brodsky who treats OCD.
With Hypochondriasis or health-related OCD, ordinary physiological sensations can be misinterpreted as cancer, heart disease, a stroke, ulcer, unplanned pregnancy, and numerous other major illnesses. It can also be misdiagnosed as more severe mental illnesses, such as Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Borderline or Nacissistic Personality Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Autism, ADHD, etc. The problem is worse because most of the following sensations are themselves classic physical symptoms caused by anxiety itself:
"Cyberchondria" is the updated version of Hypochondria, according to OCD specialist Dr. Steven Brodsky. In the internet age, sufferers mistake their symptoms for severe medical or mental health conditions,
OCD anxiety can cause intense physical pain equal to a medical illness, explains therapist Dr. Steven Brodsky, but it's very treatable.
Dr. Steven Brodsky, a specialist who treats health related OCD fears, explains that sufferers constantly check their ordinary bodily sesnsations.
Google is not a cardiologist or oncologist, says OCD specialist Dr. Steven Brodsky who treats Hypochondriasis
To see if you have hypochondriasis health related OCD, email a question to Dr. Brodsky or arrange a free consultation. If you feel ready, make an appointment online instantly or call 212-726-2390. In-person sessions are available in New York and New Jersey and teletherapy is available nationwide in 42 states for OCD from Jefferson County, West Virgina to Green Bay, Wisconsin. We're everywhere you are!
(Learn about Dr. Brodsky, the Treatment FAQ, other Types of OCD, Insurance)