Hello all...
Ok im not really sure if hypochondria is a form of OCD or is it a illness all in itself. My husband and I have been fighting really bad lately and Im beginning to think that this could be the end of our marriage. He thinks that I should be getting treatment for hypochondria. And at this point I just dont know anymore. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Nicki

scaredbuthopeful,
Hypochondria is very much a form of OCD. The true medical term for this type of OCD is Health Anxiety. your obsession is your health, and your compulsions are constant reassuring that you are ok..you may or may not have rituals w/ this type of OCD. Your husband is right... you should consider therepy, and/or medication. Much of this has to do w/ a chemical imbalance in the brain which needs medication to fix, just like if you have an iron deficiency..you will need to take medicine to replace the iron...just think of it that way.

Good Luck and God Bless

Thanks for the reponse. The thing is I have been taking meds for this. The doctor started me out on Zoloft but I was having to many side affects with it. So now they have changed me over to Celexa. My husband is mad about the whole thing. He says that the meds are just for depression and not for hypochondria. So im not sure how to explain it to him.

Yes, I'd say hypochondria is a more specific form of OCD, and a lot of people experience it. Perhaps what you want to explain to your husband is that all of the anxiety disorders have a lot in common, and as such they are treated in basically the same way. Since anxiety disorders are often accompanied by depression, it is believed that serotonin is the common variable that is responsible for these disorders. As such, anxiety disorders and depression are all treated by SSRI type medications. Whether it's hypochondria, panic disorder, social phobia, GAD, etc., you're going to treat it with CBT, SSRIs, or both. And, oftentimes, these anxiety disorders can be comorbid with one another.

Hope this helps...

There is a website called www.healthanxiety.com (http://www.healthanxiety.com)
This has a message board that might help with your condition.

I have nothing against people using medication, but don't see it as the easy way out. What u need to be doing is getting in touch with a Cognitive Behavioural therapist and changing your way of thinking, rather than relying on chemical adjusting drugs. U must also label yourself. Accepting health anxiety and detaching yourself from the anxiety and recognizing the problem is instrumental in progression. You are lucky that you have a close relationship that suggests therapy and is not against it. Take the advice

Hypochondria can be OCD only if you have the ritual compulsions that tie into it.
For example, do you feel driven to perform a ritual to reduce the anxiety.
Do you have tremedous anxiety and therefore must perform a ritual to reduce it.
It could be OCD or it could not

I am sorry that your husband isn't understanding about this problem. Perhaps you could have him talk to the doctor with you. If the doctor explained the disorder and the treatment, maybe it would help him be more accepting and more helpful to you.

Best of luck to you.