Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD), sometimes still referred to as hypochondriasis, is a mental health condition where a person becomes excessively worried about having or developing a serious illness. Even when there are no symptoms or only very mild ones, the fear remains strong and persistent. A person with IAD often misinterprets normal bodily sensations—like a slight headache, muscle tension, or a flutter in the chest—as signs of a life-threatening disease. This can lead to constant worry, frequent doctor visits, and ongoing research about diseases online, sometimes for hours a day. Some people even avoid going to the doctor out of fear that their worst suspicions will be confirmed. What makes IAD particularly difficult is that the anxiety is not eased by medical reassurance. Even after receiving a clean bill of health, the person may doubt the diagnosis, worry that something was missed, or soon begin fearing a different illness entirely. This creates a cycle of fear, checking, seeking reassurance, and more fear, which can severely disrupt a person’s daily life, work, and relationships.

Unlike someone who is pretending to be sick for attention, a person with IAD genuinely believes something is wrong with their health. They may describe feeling scared, confused, and frustrated—especially when their concerns are brushed off or misunderstood by others. They often live with an overwhelming fear that something terrible is happening inside their body, even if they look and feel fine most of the time. This fear isn’t about wanting attention; it’s about not being able to trust their own body and constantly feeling on edge. While some people with IAD frequently visit doctors, others may avoid medical care completely, fearing that they’ll be told they have something incurable. This shows how the disorder can manifest in different ways depending on the person. What they all have in common is a strong fear of illness that doesn’t go away, even when there’s no real medical reason to be concerned. Visit : https://inlightpsychiatry.com/neurotic-excoriations/ » Contact us : 407.477.4060 Address : 4700 Millenia Blvd, Orlando, FL 32839, USA