What is the difference between hypochondria and cyberchondria?

Hypochondria, also called illness anxiety disorder or hypochondriasis, is an unrealistic fear that a patient has a severe medical condition. It is also defined as the unfounded fear of being at a high risk of becoming sick.

Hypochondriacs usually misinterpret typical body functions as signs of illness. People with hypochondria can't control how they feel, and their health worries can interfere with their lives, careers, and relationships.

Cyberchondria, on the other hand, refers to the tendency of self-diagnosing health issues online to anxiety-producing results. This internet-induced anxiety is caused by the widespread availability of online information that exaggerates health-related fears.

People with cyberchondria usually spend a lot of time online searching for health advice. Cyberchondriacs have deep-rooted unnatural fears about contracting various diseases and generally grow anxious when reading health diagnoses on the web.

While both conditions are characterized by anxiety brought by unfounded fears of having severe medical conditions or exaggerated fears of contracting an illness, a cyberchondriac grows anxious when researching their potential disease on the internet.

Whereas hypochondria has been known since the 19th century, cyberchondria is a relatively new phenomenon. Cyberchondria is a growing concern due to the proliferation of the internet and smartphone devices that make it easy for people to self-diagnose online. Hypochondria and cyberchondria both harm the lives, relationships, and careers of people suffering from the conditions.


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