Ms. Crampton, a journalist, said she experiences hypochondria. excessive worry to be sick or to become ill. She says she’s not alone in this anxiety, but she can feel alone.
Crampton explores the roots of hypochondria in his new book, “Body Made of Glass: A Cultural History of Hypochondria.”
Here are some of Crampton’s discoveries and how they helped her manage her anxiety. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
When did people first start experiencing hypochondria?
The word “hypochondriac” is actually a very old word.I’m working on [classical Greek physician] Hippocrates in the 5th century BC, but he didn’t mean it in the way we use it today. This was an anatomical term for the area of the abdomen known as the hypochondriac.
The word then went on an incredible journey over more than a thousand years, ceasing to be such an anatomical, body-describing word and becoming what we know today: a purely mental state of health, It became related to the symptoms. It is recognized only in the mind, experienced as anxiety.
Hypochondriasis as we know it today really began to occur in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At that time, a certain slang term was used in the literary world of London. People describe themselves as feeling hippie, which is shorthand for hypochondriac.people like you [poets] Byron and Alexander Pope both said then and later that they felt they were hippies.
In writing the history of hypochondria, you also wrote the history of “quack” doctors and snake oil treatments. Are there any similarities between that history and today’s wellness industry?
In many functional respects they are the same. I recently interviewed a doctor who told me that today’s wellness influencer industry and its overpriced supplements are like medicine from the 1750s, just with a different brand name.
People end up talking to quacks with unique tinctures, balms, etc. because they are not treated well by legitimate providers. But it also has to do with the new and new ways we think about health. In other words, health no longer simply refers to a state of being free of disease, but has come to encapsulate health as something that can be optimized, improved, and improved.It’s not enough just not to get sick; you can get sick at any time. more Well, you can always do better. So even people who are diagnosed with no health concerns end up taking different supplements, trying different diets, and doing all sorts of things that their doctor deems not completely necessary. is.
Do you have any advice on using the internet to manage health anxiety?
It is a force for good in the sense that it helps people, especially those traditionally excluded from public health care, to better advocate for themselves. It means they can cross-check what has been said. But on the flip side, you can fall down a 12-hour rabbit hole. If you Google things that could happen to your feet, you’ll read some really scary articles that probably have nothing to do with you. your symptoms.
I often think back to when I was first diagnosed with cancer. That was in 2006. Although the Internet existed and was widely used, it was not yet as portable as it is today. But still, my oncology team was concerned about what I would find on the internet. So when I made my initial treatment appointment, I remember the nurse giving me this printed list that she had made herself and saying, “Please don’t Google your cancer.” I am. But if you want to look into it, I recommend her website below. ‘And since I’m in the UK, that list included the NHS [the National Health Service] Some academic publishers may have websites, relevant journal articles, and some cancer charities have produced guides for patients. And nearly 20 years later, that’s still what I try to stick to.
How has this research changed the way you think about health?
I have never touched my body like this before. I was never good at sports, nor was I the type of person who was good at adjusting my body. And when I got cancer, it was so easy to break up.I It’s this way.and then There Does my body have cancer? ”
Writing this book forced me to really face this problem and learn more about the mind-body relationship as it is currently understood and as seen in past centuries. And understanding all of that a little bit better, all of the different biological systems that were operating at any given moment, gave me this intense and very banal sense of wonder about the whole thing. And then the feeling of, “Oh, no, I am,” came back. all Of this. There is no separation. ”
Do you think there is a cure for hypochondria?
Personally, I think it’s part of being human.
However, that being said, there are evidence-based treatments that have emerged over the past 30 to 40 years. SSRIs have had very good results. [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors], commonly prescribed as an antidepressant. Cognitive behavioral therapy has been very helpful for some people. A lot of the purpose of CBT is, what’s the worst that can happen here?
I interviewed quite a few different therapists while writing this book. One of them, for example, described a therapy she prescribes to people who have a very common health anxiety fear of getting sick from riding public transportation. She suggests getting on the bus and licking your hand when you get off the bus, which as someone with a specific fear is unimaginable. And then a week later she says, “Are we sick?” And the answer is likely to be a resounding no. And you have to internalize that fact and say, “Okay, well, I did the worst thing.” I ran in the direction of fear, but nothing bad happened. ” And just repeat that over and over again until the anxiety response subsides. Well, its usefulness can definitely be proven. However, you need to be willing to do it. It’s a lot of work.
