Interesting question! There is so much evidence in medicine today that demonstrates the power of our thinking process. The brain is one of the most puzzling organs but it is the study of the mind that continues to amaze scientists. Hypocondria is defined as "fear of having a serious illness and continues thinking he is seriously ill despite appropriate medical evaluations and reassurances that his health is fine."
It is not uncommon for people with hypochondria to focus on one particular organ, such as the lungs, or just one disease, such as cancer. The brain is an organ as well, so it is very possible that a hypocondriac person may also fear mental illness. But I think the behavior of a hypocondriac already assumes some "real" mental condition: fear, obsessive compulsive, anxiety, panic disorder, etc.
In a recent article in medicalnewstoday.com this is what it said:
"A large proportion of hypochondria suffers also suffer from some psychiatric disorder. Over 60% of hypochondria patients also suffer from major depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. A sufferer from some psychiatric disorder is thought to also suffer from hypochondria when his preoccupation with illness is not explained by the disorder.
I believe that our thoughts are very powerful and we can create symptoms that appear real. You have probably heard of the placebo effect. This is very real and it is derived from a strong believe within. So real symptoms could also be created by the mind, including those conditions in the mental illness category.
If you tell yourself you suffer of panic attacks, you are probably more suceptible to getting a panic attack than someone wbo does not think about it. If you think you suffer bi-polar disorder and are convinced of that, I would not be surprised that the condition would manifest as well.
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Interesting question! There is so much evidence in medicine today that demonstrates the power of our thinking process. The brain is one of the most puzzling organs but it is the study of the mind that continues to amaze scientists. Hypocondria is defined as "fear of having a serious illness and continues thinking he is seriously ill despite appropriate medical evaluations and reassurances that his health is fine."
It is not uncommon for people with hypochondria to focus on one particular organ, such as the lungs, or just one disease, such as cancer. The brain is an organ as well, so it is very possible that a hypocondriac person may also fear mental illness. But I think the behavior of a hypocondriac already assumes some "real" mental condition: fear, obsessive compulsive, anxiety, panic disorder, etc.
In a recent article in medicalnewstoday.com this is what it said:
"A large proportion of hypochondria suffers also suffer from some psychiatric disorder. Over 60% of hypochondria patients also suffer from major depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or generalized anxiety disorder. A sufferer from some psychiatric disorder is thought to also suffer from hypochondria when his preoccupation with illness is not explained by the disorder.
I believe that our thoughts are very powerful and we can create symptoms that appear real. You have probably heard of the placebo effect. This is very real and it is derived from a strong believe within. So real symptoms could also be created by the mind, including those conditions in the mental illness category.
If you tell yourself you suffer of panic attacks, you are probably more suceptible to getting a panic attack than someone wbo does not think about it. If you think you suffer bi-polar disorder and are convinced of that, I would not be surprised that the condition would manifest as well.
Interesting! Thanks for the question.
March 2, 2009 - 10:34pmThis Comment
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