Archive for Hypochondria / Health Anxiety
Proposed DSM-5 Changes for OCD and Anxiety Disorders
There have long been rumblings that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) was undertaking a thorough review of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV). The ostensible goal of such a review would be to create a more accurate and in-depth edition of the DSM, which was last updated in 1994.
After ten years of ongoing debate, the numerous APA work groups investigating potential revisions to various diagnoses and categories to be included in a planned fifth edition have presented their suggestions to the APA. Some of these changes are likely to be as controversial as current classifications in the DSM-IV, while others will pass barely noticed into the new DSM-5 (for example, the switch away from Roman numerals in the title). A number of these proposed changes directly impact conditions treated here at the OCD Center of Los Angeles. To wit: › Continue reading
Reassurance Seeking in OCD and Related Conditions
People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who experience the pain and terror brought on by unwanted intrusive thoughts will use whatever means necessary to alleviate their discomfort. If they can’t make themselves feel sure about something internally, they reach out to the nearest person who they think can do it for them. If they are unavailable, the person with OCD will often reach out to the cold, unforgiving internet where the answers they hope not to find will always be waiting. › Continue reading
Hypochondria and Health Anxiety in the 21st Century
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Lately, the OCD Center seems to be getting more and more calls from people suffering with Hypochondria, also known as Health Anxiety. Many in the public, as well as many physicians, don’t take Hypochondria very seriously. Their attitude is often that this is not a “real” problem, and that people with Health Anxiety are simply being neurotic or seeking attention. Numerous physicians I have spoken to have complained that patients with Hypochondria use a dramatically disproportionate share of doctors’ limited time. › Continue reading
OCD and the Swine Flu – Part 2
As summer ends, students return to school, and flu-season appears on the horizon, the drumbeat of panic about Swine flu is starting to increase again. Yesterday (August 25, 2009), the CNN website had a headline that read: “Swine flu could cause up to 90,000 U.S. deaths”. On the same day, the Los Angeles Times ran a story that reported that 20% to 40% of the US population could get Swine flu this year, and up to 2 million Americans could be hospitalized as a result. › Continue reading
Michael Jackson and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)
Michael Jackson has died. And predictably, reports of his various mental health issues have rapidly come to the fore.
Of course, anyone who has been paying attention knew that Jackson was troubled. Over the past twenty-five years, his physical appearance radically changed. The glaringly obvious alterations of his nose, chin, facial structure, and skin tone indicate that he had multiple cosmetic procedures, and suggest that he suffered from a significant case of Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). › Continue reading
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