Hypochondria is an uncontrolled and often pathological concern about one's health. A person prone to such a state is too attentive to his well-being, constantly looking for symptoms of diseases in himself. Hypochondria is closely related to anxiety, which can increase dramatically against the background of an epidemic and quarantine.
Doctors are convinced that hypochondriacal personality disorder is a disease that must be treated. It is impossible to cope with acute hypochondria on your own. In addition, this condition is often combined with depression, obsessive-compulsive syndrome, panic attacks and anxiety disorders.
The common symptoms of hypochondria, in addition to fear of death and pathological anxiety for their health, include:
- a tendency to look for signs of various diseases;
- reacting to the slightest malaise is too emotional;
- acute mistrust of doctors and test results; even when a person is told that everything is fine with him, he continues to worry and worry;
- the search for alternative methods of treatment for non-existent diseases;
- the tendency to independently diagnose oneself with the help of books or the Internet; at the same time, diagnoses are almost always frightening, with no prospect of recovery.
Hypochondria, which can make itself felt very strongly during quarantine and the current coronavirus epidemic, causes problems with sleep and appetite, and negatively affects cognitive functions. This condition, if left unattended, negatively affects the emotional background, can cause panic attacks and sudden mood swings.
In a situation where there is no way to seek help from a psychiatrist or a psychotherapist, you can try to "extinguish" the manifestations of hypochondriacal disorder on your own. Moreover, there are frequent cases when a person calls himself a hardened hypochondriac, but in fact he does not have a mental disorder. But there is excessive anxiety, obsessive thoughts and problems with controlling emotions.
What to do to alleviate the condition on your own:
- try to bring more light into life, spend less time in dark rooms; if possible, it is worth going out to the balcony or loggia, breathing fresh air and sunbathing;
- learn to stop the flow of thoughts, leading to increased anxiety and anxiety; you need to try to stop winding yourself up at the slightest pretext, looking for a rational explanation for your condition; for example, having started coughing, you should not immediately think with horror that this is a coronavirus; it is necessary to try to find the possible cause of the condition, because a cough can be nervous, it can occur due to an allergy to dust, and so on;
- if the symptoms of hypochondria due to the epidemic and quarantine are especially pronounced during or after reading or watching the news, it is recommended to arrange an "information detox"; you do not need to devote several hours every day to studying new information, especially since you do not need to focus only on negative statistics;
- physical activity - cleaning, dancing, exercising, hitting a pillow, simply walking around the apartment - dulls anxiety, helps to free the head from unnecessary thoughts, relieves stress, improves both well-being and mood;
- meditation, yoga, breathing techniques, listening to relaxing music, taking a warm bath, aromatherapy with lavender or peppermint essential oils - these are pleasant ways to help calm the nervous system;
- good rest is extremely important for maintaining both physical and mental health; scientists note that with lack of sleep, insomnia or the wrong daily routine, a person suffers from critical thinking, aggravates fears and negative emotions, increases anxiety, worsens overall health; struggling with hypochondria, you need to go to bed and get up strictly at the same time, while trying to fully sleep for at least 7 hours; rest during the day is also important, because accumulated fatigue negatively affects cognitive functions and - again - exacerbates anxiety and anxiety;
- exercises for relieving anxiety, of which a lot have been developed, are suitable in order to cope with an exacerbation of hypochondriacal disorder amid the coronavirus epidemic and quarantine; adherence to all recommendations that should help reduce the likelihood of contracting the virus will additionally allow you to "extinguish" the tension a little.
