This article is based on an expert interview with Ran D. Anbar, MD, FAAP, conducted by wikiHow Staff Editors. Dr. Ran D. Anbar is a pediatric medical counselor and is board certified in both pediatric pulmonology and general pediatrics, offering clinical hypnosis and counseling services at Center Point Medicine in La Jolla, California and Syracuse, New York. With over 30 years of medical training and practice, Dr. Anbar has also served as a professor of pediatrics and medicine and the Director of pediatric pulmonology at SUNY Upstate Medical University. Dr. Anbar holds a BS in Biology and Psychology from the University of California, San Diego and an MD from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. Dr. Anbar completed his pediatric residency and pediatric pulmonary fellowship training at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and is also a past President, fellow and approved consultant of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.
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Worrying that every minor symptom you experience is a sign of something more serious can be exhausting and lead to a lot of unnecessary anxiety. The good news is that there are coping skills you can develop to help with hypochondria and stop it from making you feel that way. In this video, medical doctor Ran. D. Anbar explains some proven coping skills you can use if you have hypochondria and also why your hypochondria might even be a good thing sometimes.
Think of hypochondria as a wish to be well. So I like to reframe ideas in a way that doesn't make it seem like something's wrong with you. If you have hypochondria, that means you want to be well, and that's great. And then you might ask yourself, “How can I be well?” For example, in 2020, we learned to be well, you want to maintain social distance, or you want to wash your hands, or you want to avoid people who are sick. And those are good things to do. But there are other things you can do even when we're not in a pandemic. You can get plenty of sleep, get plenty of exercise, eat a healthy diet—those are all things that help you stay well. And these are things that you should undertake if you're concerned about your health. And if you're not concerned about your health, I encourage you to still sleep, exercise, and eat well because that's the secret to living a long, healthy life. Somebody with hypochondria should not be reading everything about their illness. That only gives them more ideas and they fall into thinking “Oh, maybe I have this maybe I have that.” I remember when I was in medical school, I noticed a bump under my skin as I was reading about muscle cancer and I said “Oh, I must have muscle cancer.” I actually had the bump removed and it turned out to be little fat globules. So I have a little sense of what it's like to worry about yourself. Bottom line, you've gone to physicians, and if you haven't gone to a physician you should to make sure they tell you you’re okay. Focus on the fact that you are okay. Focus on how to stay well, and let thoughts that you're not doing well, let them go. You don't have to ignore them. But you say, “Okay, I worried I’m not doing well, that means I'm worried about my health. I'm concerned about my health. I want to stay healthy, and I'm gonna do the healthy behavior things and I'll feel better.”
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