Illness anxiety disorder
Preoccupation with having/acquiring a serious illness despite minimal or no somatic symptoms.
How it presents
high health anxiety, repeated checking, excessive health-related behaviors or avoidance, ≥6 months; low or absent somatic symptoms
Tell it apart from
- Somatic symptom disorder
- Generalized anxiety disorder
Treatment reasoning
CBT (cognitive restructuring, exposure to health cues), SSRIs, limit reassurance-seeking and avoid multiple providers.