Hypochondriacs often provide comic relief in TV and film (see stubbornly bedridden Cameron at the beginning of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" or Melman the anxious pill-popping giraffe in "Madagascar"). The doctor-patient relationship itself is also played for laughs: "Scrubs," for instance, featured a recurring character named Harvey Corman whom an irritated Dr. Cox greets in one episode with his incurable bite: "And what imaginary disease is ailing you this time, my friend?" For a physician, these sorts of patients are frustrating to deal with, but not because their problem is a joke.
Real hypochondria, which today we believe is a form of extreme anxiety connected to depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, is serious, costly and debilitating. A brief perusal of hypochondria message boards will show you how terrifying the disorder really is. Driven by the frightening and unwavering conviction that every twinge, tingle and ache is a mortal threat, these patients can't stop calling 911, making doctor's appointments and demanding test upon test, drug upon drug. It adds up: Collectively, hypochondriacs cost our health system some $20 billion a year.
Modern culture provides fertile ground for this sort of anxiety. Google any ache or pain you might have, and you'll find a long list of life-threatening diagnoses. The term "cyberchondria" has been coined to describe those who spend too much time "e-searching" ailments. A Microsoft study revealed that half of the company's employees interrupted their day at some point to search for medical information online. More troublingly, researchers found that these searches often popped up the worst possible diagnoses. There's even an iPhone app that caters directly to the hypochondriac.
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