PSYC 235 : PSYC 235 Chapter 6.docx

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 235
• Professor: Christopher Bowie

Document Summary

No identifiable medical condition causing the physical complaints: hypochondriasis: physical complaints without a clear cause. Severe anxiety focused on the possibility of having a serious disease. Belief that it is a serious, chronic disease can differentiate it from pd. Medical reassurance does not seem to help. Ex: headache is a brain tumor, minor chest pain is a heart attack etc. Individuals who fear developing a disease, and therefore avoid situations they associate with contagion, are different from those who are anxious they actually have the disease (illness phobia: fear of developing a disease) Individuals with high disease conviction are more likely to misinterpret physical symptoms and display higher rates of checking behaviours and trait anxiety. 60% of study group with illness phobia developed hypochondria & pd. Onset at any age and runs a chronic course. Culture specific syndromes: koro : belief, followed by sever anxiety/panic that the genitals are retracting into the abdomen.