Fear of getting sick - what is a phobia: how to overcome the fear of illness, effective methods

Many people are familiar with the situation when their friends or relatives worry about their health with pathological zeal. They become afraid of getting sick, they often undergo a full medical examination and undergo various tests without a doctor’s prescription. From such people you can hear statements: “I am afraid that I have this disease,” “I struggled with one disease, and now it seems there are others,” “I was afraid of getting this disease, but now I feel its symptoms,” or “Aren’t you afraid that I will get sick and die?”

In addition, such people constantly wash their hands, disinfect the room unnecessarily, communicate only with healthy (in their opinion) people, and experience a panicky fear of getting sick.

According to medical concepts, the above condition is signs of a disease called “hypochondria”. Also, this mental disorder is also called “pathophobia”.

What is nosophobia

In psychology, nosophobia is the most complex pathological fear. Pathology manifests itself in the form of fear of getting sick and leaves an imprint on a person’s lifestyle and character. It is difficult to fight it, but necessary. It is better if this work is carried out comprehensively and in a timely manner, otherwise the disorder will only progress and may turn into a mental disorder.

According to psychologists, nosophobia is a common type of phobia, based either on childhood experiences or on mental exhaustion. In adults, it appears against the background of stress, neurosis, hypochondria and other disorders due to prolonged stress on the psyche or nervous system.

For your information. The phobia of getting sick differs from other phobias in that it does not have a specific object of fear. The subject of fear of getting sick is a generalized syndrome, manifested in the fear of getting sick in general or in the form of panic in front of a specific disease.

This phobia cannot be underestimated, since if untreated it is accompanied by psychosis, forcing a person to become fixated on hygiene rituals associated with the prevention of the disease. So, he can wash his hands many times a day, not touch the door handle, or avoid public places.

Normal or mental disorder

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To find out what the fear of illness is, you need to compare the categories: is it normal or a mental disorder. From this perspective, phobia is often called hypochondria, since they have very similar syndromes. This is wrong, since hypochondria is a mental disorder due to suspicion of various diseases, and nosophobia has a component inherent in any phobia: frequent attacks of unreasonable panic about a specific disease. This greatly influences the manifestation of pathology.

Frequent attacks of unreasonable panic about a non-existent illness make the course of the phobia severe

Simply put, a hypochondriac begins to suspect that he has all the illnesses at once, including the illness that he read about on the Internet or overheard in the clinic. Nosophobe invents a specific illness for himself, in severe cases of the disorder coming to the conclusion that he has threatening symptoms. Experts who study this phobia note that many people suffer from it. It can create discomfort in life, as it deprives a person of physical and emotional strength.

Important! Psychologists advise the relatives of a nosophobe to convey to him how harmful and severe such a pathology is. First of all, the person himself faces problems. He begins to be tormented by vain fears, worsening the condition of the nervous system and leading himself to a serious disorder. In addition, loved ones also suffer, as they are forced to constantly listen to the complaints of a nosophobe and endure his depression and panic.

Treatment

Nosophobia is not easy to diagnose. Since a person, having discovered, for example, signs that not everything is in order with his heart, is unlikely to think that he is beginning to develop a phobic disorder.

Therefore, he won’t rush to see a psychotherapist, but first of all will go to a cardiologist.

This also confuses relatives, who sound the alarm only after countless examinations that deny the fact that their loved one has an incurable disease.

Therefore, a person usually comes to a psychologist in severe cases, when he is exhausted by obsessive thoughts, insomnia, and so on.

It is recommended to take medications prescribed by a psychiatrist in parallel with psychotherapy. These can be sedatives to reduce anxiety and relax the nervous system.

Antidepressants, when the mood has not been there for a long time, and despondency and fear evoke one desire - for it all to end as soon as possible.

If you notice that you have become too worried about your well-being, that even a minor ailment causes panic, go to a specialist just in case.

Because if things go too far, you will have to think not only about how to get rid of the phobia, but also from a number of psychosomatic diseases that arise due to experiences.

Main forms of disease phobia

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Experts call a phobia the fear of disease. Depending on what exactly a person is afraid of getting sick, common variants are identified. Their terms come from the name of the disease:

• get heart disease - cardiophobia;
• fear of a heart attack - heart attack phobia;
• fear of angina attacks - anginophobia;
• fear of getting cancer - cancerophobia or oncophobia;
• diabetic disorders – diabetes phobia;
• fear of catching AIDS - speedophobia;
• fears of syphilis - syphilophobia;
• fear of developing dementia - dementophobia.

For many nosophobes, the most common symptoms are cardiophobia and cancerophobia. Experts remind that all phobias are considered a serious mental diagnosis, since it is difficult for a person to live with constant fear for his health.

What kind of phobia is fear of disease?

In addition to fear of specific objects, there is a fear of getting sick, nosophobia. The thought that after certain actions a serious illness may begin to develop haunts a person everywhere.

What phobias include the fear of getting sick is discussed in one of the sections of the International Classification of Diseases. The condition is not identified as independent and belongs to the category of other disorders.

Among them are:

• Carcinophobia or carcinophobia. This is a constant feeling of anxiety about the possibility of getting cancer. The condition may worsen if among relatives there are cancer patients with real diagnoses.
• Phthisiophobia . Fear of tuberculosis. People susceptible to this type of disorder often disinfect their hands, are wary of public places, and try to go to stores as little as possible.
• Dermatopathophobia. Experts testify to cases where patients with this variety are terrified of tactile contact. They believe that traveling by public transport, visiting a cafe or restaurant will lead to eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis.

Symptoms, manifestations and signs of the disease

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Despite the severity of phobic manifestations, nosophobes are difficult to distinguish among other people. Symptoms become more noticeable in person. Like any phobia, the fear of getting sick has physiological symptoms common to all in the form of rapid heartbeat, panic attacks, dry throat, nausea, and high blood pressure.

Psychological signs of fear of infection have been identified:

• increased anxiety;
• panic in situations that, in a person’s opinion, are conducive to illness;
• depressive state with the manifestation of blues;
• ritual actions in the form of hygiene procedures, use of medications;
• obsession with visiting clinics and hospitals, even despite the high fees for some services, in order to find “your disease”;
• lack of appetite, insomnia;
• problems in communication, withdrawal from contacts with others.

Ritual behavior in the form of constant hygiene procedures becomes a phobic action

In addition to psychological reasons, specific physiological factors are identified: chills or fever during open panic attacks, mutism (refusal of verbal communication), gastrointestinal disorder.

For your information. Despite the presence of psychological and physiological symptoms, passing tests and undergoing numerous tests, the disease invented by the patient, as a rule, is not confirmed.

Diagnosis of the disease

When diagnosing nosophobia, its insidiousness and complexity are noted, since in practice it is difficult to determine independently. Most patients come to a psychotherapist after spending a lot of time and effort on examinations with the desire to find their “disease”.

Relatives of a nosophobe can trace specific traits that are inherent in those who are afraid of contracting an incurable disease:

• intelligence, erudition, ability to analyze;
• impressionability, emotionality, vivid imagination;
• the ability to clearly discuss any disease, the desire to show one’s competence;
• minor health deviations when discussing a particular illness (rapid heartbeat, upset stomach, heaviness in the head);
• desire for unconventional methods of treatment;
• the desire to get acquainted with medical news, watching similar TV shows, reading literature, searching websites;
• visiting doctors at the slightest hint of any illness.

For your information. It has been noticed that patients with nosophobia do not visit a psychotherapist voluntarily. Most often this happens at the insistence of relatives or the attending physician. Therefore, it must be remembered that only a specialist can diagnose the disorder.

Treating germ fear with medications and psychotherapy

The most popular treatment for OCD is the combined use of medications (mainly antidepressants) and psychotherapy.

It should be remembered that medications have only a symptomatic effect, and after stopping their use, the symptoms worsen again []. The effect of psychotherapy lasts for years.

If we talk about psychotherapy, the most popular direction for the treatment of bacteriophobia is cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, in particular its form such as exposure and response prevention. Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz has developed an entire program based on this method, it is known as “4 Steps” (detailed information about the method is here).

Psychotherapy teaches you how to manage your thoughts.

What is the essence of the exposure and response prevention method? It has long been known that although performing compulsive rituals provides immediate relief, it nevertheless contributes to increased anxiety in the future. On the other hand, if you gradually encounter a frightening object (exposure) and do not do the usual ritual (reaction prevention), then anxiety can go away on its own.

Therefore, in cognitive psychotherapy, special emphasis is placed on convincing the patient to resist performing the cleansing ritual. Usually by moving it back in time. For example, a psychotherapist may tell a client that if, after washing their hands for the first time, there is a desire to wash them again, then they need to wait 15 minutes before doing so. Gradually, the period of time will increase until the person suffering from a phobic fear of germs will be able to completely abandon the compulsive action.

Brain scanning results show that during successful psychotherapy for fear of germs, significant changes occur in a person's brain activity. That is, “word treatment” has no less effect on the brain than treatment with pills.

Glucose metabolism in the brain in OCD is significantly higher than normal.

As you might guess, exposure is a rather unpleasant technique for the client. After all, one way or another you need to come into contact with what you are afraid of. However, we note that in addition to cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, there are other methods that are quite effective, but milder. For example, hypnotherapy or strategic psychotherapy.

Our practice shows that a very important resource in the psychotherapy of contagion obsessions is the family. As we noted earlier, family members do not always correctly understand those with OCD. A man who sees that his wife keeps the house perfectly clean, devoting 3-4 hours to cleaning every day, may at first think that he is very lucky with his mistress. Until she begins to notice that she is constantly tired, irritated, and there is something unnatural in her craving for cleanliness and attitude towards germs. And then the husband begins to study the problem more deeply on the Internet until he understands that we are talking about a rather serious disorder - OCD.

Quite often, it is spouses who push their spouses suffering from illness to see a psychotherapist. And it’s good that this is so: in cases where family members are actively involved in the therapeutic process as “helpers,” recovery is much faster and easier.

Causes of fear

Fear of an incurable disease appears in a person prone to mental disorder. In most cases, symptoms appear in suspicious and impressionable people. Factors that can provoke a phobia:

1. Concern for your health, especially if in childhood you were instilled with fears about the possibility of contracting incurable diseases.
2. Shock from the unexpected death of a loved one, for example, the loss of a mother or father from a serious illness. The fear of repeating the fate of the parents may take hold.
3. Long-term, protracted depression due to the epidemic and the large number of sick people.
4. Having suffered a serious illness or surgery in childhood can provoke a fear of a repetition of the situation.
5. Information space about various diseases, for example, from the point of view of professional situations or constant reading of medical literature. A young doctor may begin to look for signs of some disease.

The reason for the fear of contracting an incurable disease may be the chosen medical specialty.

Where does the fear of contracting an incurable disease come from?

According to experts, difficult living conditions leave an imprint on a person’s condition, including the emergence of a desire to constantly receive treatment. The origins of the disease nosophobia are quite difficult to identify even during diagnosis. It’s easier to highlight the most significant factors that can activate a phobia:

• mental disorders, depression, suspiciousness, anxiety;
• disruption of brain activity, which introduces disorder into the autonomic nervous system, affects the loss of energy in the body, and causes delusional ideas;
• low self-esteem, inability to find one’s place in society, fiasco in intimate relationships, discord in personal life;
• unfavorable past experiences.

From the point of view of personal prerequisites, the factors for the appearance of nosophobia are the same as for other anxiety disorders: suspiciousness, emotional lability, genetic predisposition, chronic stress. A protracted illness and subsequent death of someone close can be a strong provoking factor.

For your information. The manifestations of the phobia are such that the relatives of the patient may be confused by the symptoms of the alleged disease, which he describes plausibly. The fact is that, having received medical information about the disease, the nosophobe begins to experience false symptoms. However, when the truth is revealed, in no case should one be dismissive of a person’s fear, as this is a serious phobia.

On the one hand, the phobia is exhausting with constant anxiety, panic attacks, and vegetative manifestations (tachycardia, rapid breathing, dizziness, fainting, sweating) deplete the nervous and cardiovascular systems. On the other hand, constantly looking for symptoms of illness and excessive attention to internal sensations disrupt the body's regulation, which can even reveal illness.

The disorder requires mandatory treatment under the supervision of a psychotherapist

Thus, the disorder requires mandatory treatment, which can only be carried out by a specialist. He is able to find and eliminate the cause of the disease, select psychotherapeutic and medicinal treatments, and return the patient to normal life.

Treatment of the disorder with psychotherapy

The basis of the psychotherapeutic approach is the study of the patient’s thoughts. The doctor suggests realizing your own fears and working to eliminate them over a given period. Based on the results of the meetings, conditions are analyzed and a decision is made on the need for drug therapy. An auxiliary component of this method can be the use of antidepressants.

Psychotherapy will not help to cope with the problem in the short term. The fact is that patients need to learn how to deal with the development of anxiety; for this they must master a special technique. Finding the right method can take months.

How to get rid of nosophobia

Answering the question of how not to be afraid of diseases, psychologists say that everything depends on the type and severity of the disorder. The problem is that if a person is afraid of all the diseases in the world, then his recognition of a mental disorder can also serve as a reason for even greater fear. Therefore, during treatment it is necessary to use techniques that do not allow a panic attack to occur.

Important! The symptoms that appear should be a signal to action for the family and friends of the nosophobe. It is necessary to promptly seek help from a specialist.

Psychotherapeutic methods

Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered the most effective in treating any phobias. Her methods can help nosophobes. The main point is this:

1. First, a person must realize that he is sick and accept his illness.
2. In the future, under the guidance of a doctor, the causes of the development of the phobia are identified and worked through in such a way as to stop remembering the traumatic situation.
3. The main thing is the formation of new attitudes and a change in attitude towards the disease.

It is possible to help yourself in the form of control of your body during a panic attack, proper breathing to avoid rapid heartbeat, relaxation exercises to relieve tension in the body, control of your emotions and imagination, and a positive attitude.

Drug treatment can support psychotherapeutic sessions in getting rid of nosophobia

Drug treatment

It is impossible to deny the drug reinforcement of psychotherapeutic sessions during the fight against pathology. Medicines are especially important if a person is in an extremely serious condition, experiencing exhaustion of the nervous system.

Attention! The choice of medications is made only by a doctor; self-medication is excluded.

To relieve mental stress, tranquilizers are used: Adaptol, Diazepam, Afobazol, which are available only by prescription. All medications are taken in a short course over one to two weeks.

Sedatives are used to relieve insomnia and as a sedative. Among the most popular are Novopassit, Persen, Tenoten, which reduce stimulation of the nervous system and eliminate irritability.

Home treatment

It may be impossible for a person to get rid of the fear of getting sick alone. Therefore, home treatment involves the help of loved ones. They can create special situations that will help the patient cope with disturbing thoughts, inspire confidence that in the modern world any disease can be cured, and switch the patient’s attention to positive things. Hobbies, trips to nature, intimate conversations over tea help well.

Recommendations:

• It is useful to make evening tea parties a tradition, during which you can give the nosophobe soothing drinks. Mint, chamomile, linden, St. John's wort, and valerian have a good effect on the nervous system and relieve anxiety.
• To switch anxious thoughts, work with breathing, and strengthen the nervous system, you can master breathing exercises, yoga, qigong, and meditation.
• Evening soothing baths and aromatherapy help relieve stress.

Relaxation, meditation, qigong relieve tension and help get rid of anxious thoughts

Under no circumstances should you mock the condition of a sick person or ignore his complaints. The attentive attitude of others will help a person with a fear of getting sick to cope with the disorder and return to a full life.

Symptoms of OCD based on fear of germs

Not everyone will immediately notice the manifestation of a phobia in this man. And she is!

Here are the main signs that psychiatrists look for to make a diagnosis of OCD []:

• The obsession with the fear of infection gradually takes over a person’s life and actions.
• A person engages in cleansing rituals for at least 1 hour a day.
• The person performs compulsive rituals to relieve anxiety.
• There is a clear avoidance (due to increased anxiety levels) of places such as public toilets, fitting rooms in stores, eating places, etc.
• A person knows that a phobia of germs is absurd, but nevertheless feels forced to wash or disinfect over and over again.

By the way, since we are talking about obsessive actions with germaphobia - fear of infection. Colleagues, friends and even close relatives often cannot fully understand the meaning of repetitive actions (compulsions) in people suffering from contagion OCD.

In such cases, we suggest trying a simple but effective thought experiment. We ask a relative to imagine that he suddenly learned that his apartment was contaminated with bacteria or spores of a dangerous disease, for example, syphilis. “How will you feel and what will you do?” we ask. If you are able to get used to the role well, then you will probably feel anxiety for your life, as well as the health of your children and loved ones, growing from the very depths of your nature. As for your actions, most likely you will head to the bathroom to wash the infection down the drain as quickly as possible. Moreover, you will move around the apartment with a strange gait, pressing your hands to your body and not touching anything. (This is exactly how people move during the next attack of fear of infection).

When you wash, you will not be satisfied with just going in. You will do this repeatedly and very carefully. But even after several visits, you will still feel uncertainty and anxiety: after all, even if you managed to get rid of 99.9% of the harmful spores, the remaining 0.1% is still a threat. Of course, to be sure, you will use disinfectant reagents.

Excessive disinfection and disinfestation can cause more harm to health than all insects and bacteria combined

Also think about how carefully you will scrub everything in the house: floors, walls, furniture, etc. In our practice, there were people who monthly gave almost their entire salary to cleaning companies. And so on for several years.

Now multiply that little anxiety you felt from going through this experiment by 1000 times. This is the level of fear that takes hold of people suffering from germ phobia. Some part of these people's brains truly believes in the danger of infection. Therefore, the fears they experience are also real. Contagion OCD is almost always accompanied by character traits such as:

• hypertrophied responsibility for others.
• feelings of guilt (often rooted far back in childhood).
• exaggerated concern for health, disbelief in the “defense forces of the body.”

Schematically, all the fears and actions of “bacteriophobes” can be described in a 5-step scheme:

1. There is a feeling or thought about the danger of infection;
2. Hand washing (or other appropriate activities) begins;
3. Doubts arise about the sufficient quality of cleanliness;
4. Even more thorough cleaning and disinfection;
5. Relief.

People who have OCD symptoms such as germ phobia are often concerned that they will become carriers of the disease. That is, they will not necessarily have physical manifestations, but will spread the disease and infect others with it.