Nosophobia is the excessive fear of having a disease. When you are too afraid of contacting COVID-19, then you are exhibiting this phobia. A lot of times, this fear is steamed from the cyber space. When you fall sick, instead of seeking professional help, you dive into the internet for symptoms and possibly diagnosis. This is a very wrong thing to do.
There is a similar condition which should not be mistaken for Nosophobia it is known as Hypochondriasis. It is somewhat similar with Nosophia, but they have slight differences.
Hypochondriasis is a condition whereby a person is excessively worried about having a life threatening illness even when medical examination says otherwise and they exhibit no symptom of these said diseases. For the record, these conditions are not genetically transmitted so have no fear.
These conditions are viewed as illness anxiety. Individuals who get troubled about infections regardless of how minor it is and they simply trust it is a genuine life threatening condition. They keep on getting excessively stressed even after consultations with the doctor and all test outcomes shows that the body and wellbeing is fit and in good shape.
The media and the internet frequently add to this, through TV programs, radio talk shows and advertisement with respect to serious illnesses. They frequently depict these illness as irregular, startling and unavoidable. They make dread notion stir up in the brain of these individuals without giving top to bottom clarification and information about the reason and preventive measures of these illness explicitly. When there is a significant outbreak, for the purpose of illustrations, I will utilize Coronavirus. An individual with the fear and ailment is at the verge. Fear can sneak in and make he/she feel they may have contacted this disease.
Significantly dangerous diseases like HIV, cancer will give people with this phobia the illusions that they have manifestations for this specific ailment.
Read on to know how Nosophobia Manifests.
Having established that the phobia comes from fear, it can bring about actual indications, including:
Unsteadiness
Nausea
Increased heartbeat
Increased Perspiration
Fast breathing
Inconvenience resting/ insomnia
Causes of Nosophobia
There are a few pointers that can trigger this phobia. Usually when somebody near you has a genuine sickness and has difficulties, you may stress that the equivalent could happen to you. This is particularly evident in cases were individuals involved are family members, friends or acquaintance.
Living through a sickness outbreak can likewise add to Nosophobia. In these cases, you may be immersed with news about the illness on the television or continually hear people talk about it. You can surf the web an itemized rundown of side effects and confusions related with pretty much any disease an assume its yours.
How can one detect this phobia?
Nosophoboia is normally analyzed if stress and uneasiness over a disease makes day by day life troubling and contrarily affects personal satisfaction, happiness and wellbeing.
In case you’re worried that your thoughts about these diseases may be a fear because sometimes, you may actually feel like you are exaggerating. When you do, make a meeting with the hospital. They can assign you to an expert who has experience diagnosing and treating this type of condition.
In case you’re encountering trouble that identifies with dread of an illness, another option is to see a therapist. In treatment, you can start talking about your fears and discovering ways to handle it.
Treatment
While specific phobias don’t always require treatment, nosophobia can involve a fear of going anywhere you might be exposed to a certain disease. This can make it difficult to work, go to school, or take care of other needs.
Therapy can be very helpful for specific phobias. The two main types of therapy used are exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Exposure therapy
This approach exposes you to what you’re afraid of in the safe environment of therapy. Your therapist will start by helping you develop tools to deal with the anxiety and distress that comes up when you think about a disease, such as meditation or relaxation techniques. Eventually, you’ll move on to confronting some of these fears, using the tools you’ve learned to help manage your anxiety.
This exposure might involve watching news stories about disease outbreaks, reading about different diseases, or spending time around people with the condition, if it isn’t contagious.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Another helpful therapy is CBT. Though your therapist may incorporate a level of exposure into therapy, CBT primarily focuses on teaching you to recognize and challenge irrational thoughts and fears.
When you begin to worry about the disease, you might stop and reconsider whether your thought is rational. Reframing irrational or distressing thoughts can help improve anxiety.
Another important aspect of therapy for nosophobia is helping reduce your need to seek reassurance that you don’t have a specific disease. A therapist can help you develop better coping tools you can rely on when you feel like seeking reassurance from others.
Medication
While there’s no medication that specifically treats specific phobias, certain drugs can reduce symptoms of fear and anxiety and may be helpful when used along with therapy.
A prescriber may prescribe beta blockers or benzodiazepines for short-term or occasional use:
• Beta blockers help decrease physical symptoms of anxiety. For example, they can help you maintain a steady heart rate and keep your blood pressure from rising.
• Benzodiazepines are a type of sedative that can help with anxiety symptoms. They can be addictive, so they’re not meant to be used for a long time.
Being worried is normal for a human, particularly with current world happenings. Every day, we hear awful information on individuals kicking the bucket and infections spreading. The best you can do for yourself is try not to allow this to overpower you. Adhere to medical instructions, evade things that take your bliss or cause you to feel helpless.
Think emphatically, don’t self-medicate or self – analyze. Most importantly, avoid surfing the web for irrelevant information. Rather, consider the achievement rate not just the drawbacks of the statistics about these illnesses.
