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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffYour primary health provider may suggest that the two of you discuss your health fears or that you have an evaluation with a mental health provider. Or, if you recognize that your health fears are excessive, you may seek out a mental health evaluation on your own. But if you're like most people with hypochondria, you have a hard time believing that your symptoms and health anxiety could be psychological in nature, and you may refuse an evaluation. But try to keep an open mind and understand that if multiple doctors can't find an underlying health problem, then you may indeed have hypochondria.
What you can do
Being an active participant in your care can help your efforts to manage your condition. One way to do this is by preparing for your appointment. Think about your needs and goals for treatment. Also, write down a list of questions to ask. These questions may include:
- Why do you think I might have hypochondria?
- How can you be sure that I don't have a serious illness that just hasn't been detected yet?
- Can I get over hypochondria on my own?
- How do you treat hypochondria?
- Will psychotherapy help?
- Are there medications that might help?
- How long will treatment take?
- What can I do to help myself?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take home with me?
- What Web sites do you recommend visiting?
In addition to your prepared questions, don't hesitate to ask questions at any time during your appointment if you don't understand something.
What to expect from your doctor
During your appointment, your doctor or mental health provider is likely to ask you a number of questions about your mood, thoughts and behavior, medical appointments and procedures, and symptoms that make you think you have a serious illness. You may be asked such questions as:
- How is your daily life affected by your symptoms?
- How much time do you spend each day thinking about your health?
- What treatments, if any, have you had?
- What tests and procedures, if any, have you had?
- What have you tried on your own to feel better or control your symptoms?
- What things make you feel worse?
- Have friends or family commented about your thoughts or behavior?
- Have any relatives had a mental illness?
- What do you hope to gain from treatment?
- What medications or over-the-counter herbs and supplements do you take?
- Hypochondriasis. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Oct. 28, 2008.
- Oyama O, et al. Somatoform disorders. American Family Physician. 2007;76(9):1333-1338.
- Abramowitz JS, et al. Hypochondriasis: Conceptualization, treatment, and relationship to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2006;29:503-519.
- Bouman TK, et al. A psychoeducational approach to hypochondriasis: Background, content, and practice guidelines. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 2008;15:231-243.
- Thomson AB, et al. Psychotherapies for hypochondriasis. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2007:CD006520.
- Harding KJ, et al. Advances in understanding illness anxiety. Current Psychiatry Reports. 2008;10:311-317.
- Greenberg DB, et al. Somatization disorder. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 10, 2008.
