Customer Reviews

The Hypochondriacs: Nine Tormented Lives

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An immensely readable account of nine individuals whose depression and/or anxiety (and in one case, damn-near psychosis) manifested itself in hypochondria. You can't help feeling some sympathy for these sufferers -- in addition to the near-constant fear of, and preoccupation with, disease, they all experience a range of physical and emotional symptoms, ranging from the merely irritating to the downright debilitating.

One fascinating point the author makes is that, by and large, hypochondria is based on the false belief that a healthy body is a neutral, static entity, when in fact bodies - even the healthiest ones - are in a constant state of flux and self-correction. The curse of hypochondriacs is to mistake every infinitesimal fluctuation as a sign of illness.

A second interesting point is the way in which these sufferers relied on their hypochondria (or, in their view, their actual infirmities) to control their lives to some extent. For several of these individuals, illness was the only way to achieve and maintain the physical and/or emotional distance from others they needed in order to function.

Overall, a fascinating look at a disorder that, more than most, dearly tries the patience of the patient's family and friends. Many emotional disorders are romanticized from time to time; hypochondria, we must admit, is usually only the butt of jokes.