Are You A Cyberchondriac? (Video)

Experts believe the internet could be at the root of many newly recognized health problems. Buzz60’s Tony Spitz has the details.

The easy availability of health information on the web has certainly helped countless people make educated decisions about their health and medical treatment, but it can be disastrous for people who are likely to worry. Hypochondriacs researching an illness used to have to scour books and ask doctors for information. Now a universe of information is available with a few mouse clicks.

“For hypochondriacs, the Internet has absolutely changed things for the worse,” says Brian Fallon, MD, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and the co-author of Phantom Illness: Recognizing, Understanding and Overcoming Hypochondria (1996).

So far, no studies have been conducted on just how hypochondriacs use the Internet, Fallon says. But the phenomenon is common enough to have a snappy name — “cyberchondria.”

Understanding Hypochondria

The medical condition called hypochondriasis is defined as worry over an imagined illness with exaggeration of symptoms, no matter how insignificant, that lasts for at least six months and causes significant distress. It tends to develop in the 20s or 30s, and it affects men and women equally. It sometimes comes on following the illness of a friend or family member, and it can also occur as a secondary illness to depression or generalized anxiety disorder.

Although it’s often seen as harmless, sufferers know that it can shift from a quirky, neurotic character trait into a devastating obsession.