cyberchondria
Internet symptom spiral
Cyberchondria is health anxiety amplified by internet searching.
Someone with mild symptoms researches them online, encounters worst-case diagnoses, and spirals into escalating worry: I looked up my headache and now I'm convinced I have a brain tumor.
The word blends cyber with hypochondria.
Unlike general health anxiety, cyberchondria specifically involves the feedback loop of symptom-searching and catastrophizing.
Troubled mental state
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
- fearEmotional response to threat
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
overthinking · hypervigilance · paranoia · catastrophizing · rumination · apprehension · nervousness · unease
Medical information website
- Dr. GoogleOnline medical self-consultation
- misdiagnosisIncorrect identification of ailment
- e-healthHealthcare delivered electronically
- Mayo ClinicRenowned Minnesota medical institution
Persistent mental attachment
- preoccupationAbsorbing mental focus
- psychosomaticMind-induced bodily illness
- somatizationMental distress expressed physically
Deliberately spreading exaggerated threats
- clickbaitSensationalized content for traffic
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
worry
Troubled mental state
stress · overthinking · hypervigilance · paranoia · catastrophizing · rumination · apprehension · nervousness · unease · distress
WebMD
Medical information website
- Dr. GoogleOnline medical self-consultation
- misdiagnosisIncorrect identification of ailment
- e-healthHealthcare delivered electronically
fixation
Persistent mental attachment
- preoccupationAbsorbing mental focus
- psychosomaticMind-induced bodily illness
- somatizationMental distress expressed physically
fearmongering
Deliberately spreading exaggerated threats
- clickbaitSensationalized content for traffic
- algorithmFinite problem-solving procedure
- pseudoscienceBogus methodology posing as factual
- Modern AilmentsADHD, anxiety disorder, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, insomnia
- psychosomatic disordersconversion disorder, functional disorder, hypochondriasis, somatization, hysterical blindness
- phobiasphobia, claustrophobia, agoraphobia, bibliophobia, acrophobia
cyberchondriawillful ignorance
Purposely remaining uninformed
cyberchondriadenial
Refusal to accept reality
stoicism · underreaction · dismissiveness · nonchalance · reckless disregard
cyber, cyberspace, hypochondriac, cybernetics, cybersecurity, cyberbullying, cybernetic, hypochondria, hypochondriacs