The Fear Of Illness Is Killing Me

Illness, loss of health, is something that no one wants. The fear of illness is in all of us. It is one of the most universal fears, related to the fear of death or the fear of madness.

A person who is somatically and psychically healthy does not want to die, since the self-preservation instinct remains intact. But sometimes, this fear of illness and death takes on exaggerated proportions, hindering the existential process itself.

It can be very difficult to live when our existence is steeped in fear of illness, pain, or death. It may even be the case that the fear of death is so intense that it produces unbearable suffering that leads the person to suicide, in the most extreme cases.

The fear of illness is real

Hypochondriacs are, par excellence, those who most identify with this fear. A fear that, as a rule, makes them apprehensive and pessimistic. They imagine a future full of pain, viruses, discomfort, incurable diseases, etc. Thus, it is rare for us that they end up engaging in compulsive hygiene behaviors, such as washing many times a day, to regain a sense of control.

Another characteristic of hypochondriacs is the continuous self-observation to which they submit their body. They interpret a small discomfort, a bodily sensation, a spot on the skin, etc. as a symptom of a serious or fatal illness. They subject their body to continuous scrutiny, looking at it with an imaginary magnifying glass that enlarges every signal it detects.

This causes them great anxiety, so they frequently resort to the doctor. However, they are constantly assailed by doubts that come from a background of insecurity that underlies their personality. So they also don’t stay calm when the doctor tells them they have nothing. On the other hand, they understand that their behavior is not habitual but they also think that it is logical and coherent, imagining what happens to them.

When the disease is psychological

In reality, hypochondriacs are not that they have nothing. His disorder, far from belonging to the realm of the organic, is psychological. However, they refuse to accept that what they need is treatment in this regard.

Rather, they often require their doctor to perform the more complicated follow-up examinations. These explorations can consist of analyzes of all kinds, x-rays, scan, electrocardiograms, etc.

After these examinations, they are not usually satisfied, since they continue to think that their discomfort must necessarily come from an organic injury and that what happens is that no one is able to discover that injury. On the other hand, they are wary of the medications that are prescribed for them for whatever reason. They read the leaflets carefully, becoming scared when considering the possibility of suffering from the side effects described therein.

If they decide to take medication, which only happens on some occasions, they suffer these undesirable effects by mere suggestion. This means that they continually change their doctor or consult several to contrast their opinions before deciding to start treatment.

Illness as a subject on which your world revolves

Hypochondriacs also buy and read medical encyclopedias, health web pages, and even attend lectures intended for physicians, etc. They review them every time they notice the slightest symptom or when someone tells them about the disease that an acquaintance has contracted.

Talking about illnesses creates great anxiety for them, but on the other hand, it is also their favorite topic of conversation, since it is the one that interests them the most. In a way, his whole life revolves around the problem of illness and death.

Today’s society, in which pain makes less and less sense, favors the presentation of hypochondriacal symptoms, which, of course, are becoming more and more frequent. And we live in a society fundamentally concerned with comfort, technified and partly dehumanized.

At other times, the fear of illness has a real foundation. So the fear of dying can be downright intense. In cases where this situation lasts a long time, it is also common for a depressive syndrome to arise, as in the case of terminally ill patients.

Ultimately, people who are afraid of the disease make their whole life revolve around the same theme. This does not allow them to live fully and calmly, quite the contrary. The most serious cases of fear of the disease involve a psychological disorder called hypochondria. Hypochondria can find relief, let’s think that the person who suffers the most is the patient himself, if he is treated by a good mental health professional.