hypochondria

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hy·po·chon·dri·a

(hī′pə-kŏn′drē-ə)

1. The conviction that one is or is likely to become ill even though there is no medical evidence of illness.

2. A psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive concern about having a serious illness. Patients formerly diagnosed with this disorder are now often diagnosed with either somatic symptom disorder (if physical symptoms are present) or illness anxiety disorder (if physical symptoms are not present). Also called hypochondriasis.

3. Plural of hypochondrium.

[Late Latin, abdomen, from Greek hupokhondria, pl. of hupokhondrion, abdomen (held to be the seat of melancholy), from neuter of hupokhondrios, under the cartilage of the breastbone : hupo-, hypo- + khondros, cartilage; see ghrendh- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hypochondria

(ˌhaɪpəˈkɒndrɪə)

(Psychiatry) chronic abnormal anxiety concerning the state of one's health, even in the absence of any evidence of disease on medical examination. Also called: hypochondriasis or hypochondriasm

[C18: from Late Latin: the abdomen, supposedly the seat of melancholy, from Greek hupokhondria, from hupokhondrios of the upper abdomen, from hypo- + khondros cartilage]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hy•po•chon•dri•a

(ˌhaɪ pəˈkɒn dri ə)

also hy•po•chon•dri•a•sis

(-poʊ kənˈdraɪ ə sɪs)

n.

an excessive preoccupation with one's health, usu. focusing on some particular symptom; excessive worry about one's health.

[1555–65; < Late Latin < Greek, neuter pl. of hypochóndrios pertaining to the part of the abdomen under the ribs (supposed seat of melancholy) =hypo- hypo- + -chondrios, adj. derivative of chóndros cartilage of the breastbone]

hy·po·chon·dri·a

(hī′pə-kŏn′drē-ə)

A condition in which a person often believes that he or she is ill without actually being ill, or worries so much about becoming ill that it affects his or her life. ♦ A person with hypochondria is called a hypochondriac.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hypochondria

- First referred to the upper abdomen and the organs under the ribs (liver, gall bladder, spleen)—thought to be the source of melancholy.

hypochondria

noun hypochondriasis, valetudinarianism People with such ruminations often have a tendency towards hypochondria.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

Hypochondrie

υποχονδρία

hipocondría

hypokondriapelkosairaus

ipocondria

hypochondria

[ˌhaɪpəʊˈkɒndrɪə] N → hipocondría f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hypochondria

[ˌhaɪpəˈkɒndriə] n → hypocondrie f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

hypochondria

n → Hypochondrie f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

hypochondria

[ˌhaɪpəʊˈkɒndrɪə] n → ipocondria

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

hy·po·chon·dri·a

n. hipocondría, excesiva preocupación por la salud propia, con síntomas imaginarios de enfermedades.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

References in classic literature ?

Pierre longer suffered moments of despair, hypochondria, and disgust with life, but the malady that had formerly found expression in such acute attacks was driven inwards and never left him for a moment.

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No wonder her spells THEN had power; but NOW, when my course was widening, my prospect brightening; when my affections had found a rest; when my desires, folding wings, weary with long flight, had just alighted on the very lap of fruition, and nestled there warm, content, under the caress of a soft hand--why did hypochondria accost me now?

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Blue devils, hypochondria, and doleful dumps, went and hid themselves among the nooks and crannies of the rocks.

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This was not because he was cowardly and abject, quite the contrary; but for some time past he had been in an overstrained irritable condition, verging on hypochondria. He had become so completely absorbed in himself, and isolated from his fellows that he dreaded meeting, not only his landlady, but anyone at all.

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He had fallen asleep after a while, but not for long, and had awaked in a state of violent hypochondria which had ended in his quarrel with Hippolyte, and the solemn cursing of Ptitsin's establishment generally.

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He inherited a constitution of iron, great physical strength, and fearless self-assertiveness, but also hypochondria (persistent melancholy), uncouthness of body and movement, and scrofula, which disfigured his face and greatly injured his eyesight.

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At one point, they even thought she may have hypochondria.

lyme aid; weather girl's disease fundraiser for pal Singer's plight after doctors reject her medical diagnosis

In the chapter In orizontul anxietatii / On the Anxiety, Ibraileanu is "possessed by hypochondria" and "phobias", but also by an "insomnia" full of "troubles and anxiety", tormented by "sadness and sinister thoughts." This state of chronic anxiety and uncontrollable worries has a various etiology circumscribed not only to an unbridled inner fret, but also to a feverish anxiety amid a tired precipitation, sustained by a physical strain resulting from a sleepy and circadian arrhythmia, often associated with neurotic, stress, and somatoform disorders.

Narcis Aprodu Diana Corjan, Bogdan C.S. Pirvu, Ibraileanu: Galceava intre cuget, simtire si trup

However, excessive worry about health, known as health anxiety or hypochondria, can become highly problematic when a person becomes so worried about being ill or the prospect of getting ill that it starts to interfere with their everyday lives.

Is health anxiety taking over your day-to-day life? MIND OVER MATTER

Last year in the Newcastle area 285 patients were prescribed treatment for hypochondria and of this number 280 people started therapy.

Hypochondria rise in region; INTERNET BLAMED

Last year in theNewcastle area 285 patients were prescribed treatment for hypochondria and of this number 280 people started therapy.

Is social media bad for your mental health? These latest figures suggest it is; It is the first time the NHS has revealed the figures for hypochondria as a separate mental health illness

Some subjects explored include hypochondria in Maria EdgeworthAEs Ennui, Southern Gothic and the queer male body, and the man of letters in Middlemarch.