# Help the hypochondriac

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-the-hypochondriac/201435>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 13, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-the-hypochondriac/201435 "2003-09-13T21:10:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hanza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/eb8c5e/32.png) [@hanza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hanza)\
**Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-the-hypochondriac/201435/1 "2003-09-13T21:10:55Z")

</div>

So, I was browsing around on the internet the other day at 5a.m, after another sleepless night of worrying about skin cancer, incurable brain disease etc., when I came across a site with a definition of hypochondria  
seems like I’m a textbook case. Oh, plus I have various other anxiety related symptoms, panic attacks etc. It was quite a relief to finally be able to say- ah, THAT’s the problem. of course, I knew something was up, and i even referred to myself as a hypochondriac, but then so do a lot of other people I know in that kind of “I’m such a hypochondriac, ha ha, silly me” kind of way. Except there’s nothing remotely funny about it. So it was a relief to see that there is a real problem here that needs addressing, but how to address it???  
although i have had good experiences with therapy in the past, (for unrelated, teenage angst style problems), it is not really an option for me at the moment (see location- not my native land, and not a land in which i have any clearly defined rights to healthcare), so i’m wondering if i can beat this by myself. i had quite a lot of success managing my panic attacks once i had identified the problem- now i can calm myself down before they get really bad 9 times out of 10. can i do something similar with my hypochondriac episodes???  
just to give you some insight into my thinking on this subject- yes i realise it’s ridiculous on some level to believe you have a brain tumour when you have a headache. but i had a headache that didn’t go away for a second, for 2 weeks. turned out to be a bad sinus infection- but it’s not like i was making up the symptoms- there WAS a problem. and is it so ridiculus to be scared of skin cancer- when i am red headed, fair skinned and blue eyed, and have heard of cases where people younger than me (24) have caught it.- that basically sums up my whole approach to illness- some people say when they get seriously ill “i never thought it could happen to me” Well, the way i see it, i’m under no such illusion. plenty of healthier, younger, more deserving people than me contract terrible, fatal illnesses every day- so, why couldn’t it be me???  
So, any thoughts, help, shared experiences or advice- all very welcome and appreciated.