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Alina Imanakhunova
How could the social construction of illness help us understand hypochondria?
Social Construction of illness
social construction
"What is seen as personality flaw in one person may be viewed as a legitimate medical condition in another depending on that individual's sex, race, class, background, religion,nationality, and the time period in which he or she lives"- Conley,p. 415.
Hypochondria in ancient time
Translated from the ancient Greek language, hypochondria means "the area of the body under the ribs." In ancient times it was believed that between the stomach and the anterior chest wall of a person there is a “container of fears”. Hence the name hypochondria - a mental disorder in which a person is overly concerned about his state of health.
Hypochondria
Next theory
Hypochondriac is just a whiner
Later, an opinion emerged that hypochondria was just a character trait, a kind of oddity, and the word itself became firmly established in everyday vocabulary to denote excessive concern for one's health. Hypochondria became confused with ordinary whining and simulation.
But this theory was soon refuted, since the hypochondriac is significantly different from the whiner
The main difference is that the whiner and the simulator are not so much concerned about the state of their health as they are eager to attract attention. When attention is so intent that whiners are trying to impose unpleasant surveys or procedures, he immediately recovers.
Unlike a whiner, a real hypochondriac suffers absolutely genuinely, he is constantly tormented by a constant exhausting fear of death, suffering, helplessness, he sincerely wants to be treated and healed. A hypochondriac can harass himself with diets, physical examinations and very unpleasant painful procedures. There are no obvious bonuses from his condition, and it can be said that he suffers disinterestedly
Modern time theory
Hypochondria is a mental disorder
To date, it has been proven that hypochondria is a kind of mental disorder that can be a manifestation of more serious diseases, such as depression, psychopathy, schizophrenia, etc. The hypochondriac neurosis is described in all international classifications of diseases, including the latter, ICD-10.
Cause and Treatment
Causes
The exact cause of illness anxiety disorder isn't clear, but these factors may play a role:
Beliefs. You may have a difficult time tolerating uncertainty over uncomfortable or unusual body sensations. This could lead you to misinterpret that all body sensations are serious, so you search for evidence to confirm that you have a serious disease.
Family. You may be more likely to have health anxiety if you had parents who worried too much about their own health or your health.
Past experience. You may have had experience with serious illness in childhood, so physical sensations may be frightening to you.
Complications
Illness anxiety disorder may be associated with:
Relationship or family problems because excessive worrying can frustrate others
Work-related performance problems or excessive absences
Problems functioning in daily life, possibly even resulting in disability
Financial problems due to excessive health care visits and medical bills
Having another mental health disorder, such as somatic symptom disorder, other anxiety disorders, depression or a personality disorder
Prevention
Little is known about how to prevent illness anxiety disorder, but these suggestions may help.
If you have problems with hypochondria, seek professional advice as soon as possible to help stop symptoms from getting worse and impairing your quality of life.
Learn to recognize when you're stressed and how this affects your body — and regularly practice stress management and relaxation techniques.
Stick with your treatment plan to help prevent relapses or worsening of symptoms.
Sawchuk CN (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 21, 2018.
Conclusion
Social construction of illness help us understand and consider the disease as hypochondria in more detail. Thanks to it, we learned how people understood hypochondria in different periods of time. In addition social construction of illness can help us to find the cause of the disease and its aftermath.Also it can help us how to live and deal with hypochondria.
Thank you for attention!
TITLE
And don't be hypochondriac