4 ms·

After skimming this article, it drove me to search for the term “hypochondria” which this article suggests afflicts 5%-10% of the population. https://www.psych

After skimming this article, it drove me to search for the term “hypochondria” which this article suggests afflicts 5%-10% of the population. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/hypochondria https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/hypochondria Those afflicted with hypochondria spend 10x more on health care than the average individual, according to this article. May be a relevant driver for health care costs, and thus insurance costs. I’ve heard that every medical student at some time in their education becomes a hypochondriac after learning all the failure modes of the human body.

jph00 1y ago
As the article notes, hypochondria is not an officially designated term. Historically a great many diseases that medical research had not understood, have been widely assumed to be imaginary. For instance: “fakers disease” which you’ll now know by its medical term: “multiple sclerosis”.
- stavros 1y ago
  Yeah but Faker's Disease was called that because it was first described by John William Faker.
  - IsTom 1y ago
    There's no hits for this in google or wikipedia.
    - stavros 1y ago
      Neither are there any for "faker's disease", so I'm starting to suspect we both made things up.
  - signalToNose 1y ago
    Must be a burden to have a family name that also is a disease, like Alzheimer.
    - stavros 1y ago
      One can only imagine what James Jonathan Multiple Sclerosis must have felt.
286395273 1y ago
I was diagnosed with Celiac disease in 2014 via blood test and upper endoscopy. Before I was diagnosed I went to at least 5 doctors (that I can remember) complaining of symptoms. When I said that I felt fatigued, I was told to sleep more. When I complained of joint pain, I was told that I was just typing too much. When I complained of mood swings, I was told it was just being a teenager. Doctor after doctor told me that that I was a hypochondriac. Celiac disease is not rare--it affects ~1% of the population--so statistically speaking, all the doctors who told me to stop faking it regularly see Celiac patients. My story is incredibly common; every person with chronic illness I know has a version of the same story: being called a hypochondriac by many doctors before finally getting a diagnosis. (Diagnoses which, like my own Celiac disease diagnosis, are not wonky or controversial; they meet standard diagnostic criteria.) I don't know think the entirety of that "5%-10%" of the population are actually hypochondriacs.
- IsTom 1y ago
  That 5%-10% number is a little close to number of people with rare diseases, per wikipedia: > European Union has suggested that between 6 and 8% of the European population could be affected by a rare disease sometime in their lives. Obviously some of rare diseases are quite visible and obvious, but I wonder how many aren't.
- whatevaa 1y ago
  What there your symptoms?

jph00 1y ago

As the article notes, hypochondria is not an officially designated term. Historically a great many diseases that medical research had not understood, have been widely assumed to be imaginary. For instance: “fakers disease” which you’ll now know by its medical term: “multiple sclerosis”.

stavros 1y ago
Yeah but Faker's Disease was called that because it was first described by John William Faker.
- IsTom 1y ago
  There's no hits for this in google or wikipedia.
  - stavros 1y ago
    Neither are there any for "faker's disease", so I'm starting to suspect we both made things up.
- signalToNose 1y ago
  Must be a burden to have a family name that also is a disease, like Alzheimer.
  - stavros 1y ago
    One can only imagine what James Jonathan Multiple Sclerosis must have felt.

286395273 1y ago

I was diagnosed with Celiac disease in 2014 via blood test and upper endoscopy. Before I was diagnosed I went to at least 5 doctors (that I can remember) complaining of symptoms. When I said that I felt fatigued, I was told to sleep more. When I complained of joint pain, I was told that I was just typing too much. When I complained of mood swings, I was told it was just being a teenager. Doctor after doctor told me that that I was a hypochondriac. Celiac disease is not rare--it affects ~1% of the population--so statistically speaking, all the doctors who told me to stop faking it regularly see Celiac patients. My story is incredibly common; every person with chronic illness I know has a version of the same story: being called a hypochondriac by many doctors before finally getting a diagnosis. (Diagnoses which, like my own Celiac disease diagnosis, are not wonky or controversial; they meet standard diagnostic criteria.) I don't know think the entirety of that "5%-10%" of the population are actually hypochondriacs.

IsTom 1y ago
That 5%-10% number is a little close to number of people with rare diseases, per wikipedia: > European Union has suggested that between 6 and 8% of the European population could be affected by a rare disease sometime in their lives. Obviously some of rare diseases are quite visible and obvious, but I wonder how many aren't.
whatevaa 1y ago
What there your symptoms?