hypochondriac

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Hypochondriac was once commonly used to refer to a person who constantly and excessively worries about their health, believing that they are or are about to become ill when there is really no reason to believe so.The condition of constantly worrying in this way was once commonly known as hypochondria (or hypochondriasis).However, mental health practitioners have largely stopped using the terms hypochondriac and hypochondria in favor of other terms due to such labels being seen as demeaning. People with the condition are now sometimes diagnosed with illness anxiety disorder. The chronic anxiety that the condition involves is often focused on particular ailments—such as heart or stomach pains—and may even be accompanied by physical symptoms.It’s normal to wonder if you’re sick when you have a cough or a runny nose, but illness anxiety disorder is recognized as a mental disorder when such worrying becomes constant and excessive, especially when there are no symptoms. In these cases, the anxiety often disrupts a person’s daily life.The words hypochondriac and hypochondria are still often used in a casual way outside of their use by medical and mental health professionals, such as in the context of a person who frequently becomes convinced that minor pains are a sign of a serious health problem. However, using the words in this way can be insensitive and offensive.Hypochondriac can also be used as an adjective describing things that involve hypochondria, as in hypochondriac tendencies. A less common variant of the adjective is hypochondriacal. These terms are also avoided by mental health professionals and can be considered insensitive in casual use.Example: Labeling patients as hypochondriacs only stigmatized them—it didn’t do anything to help their underlying anxiety.