DS (15) becoming a hypochondriac?

[Wonderwine]

He has always been an anxious child - used to get tummy upsets/ headaches when younger whenever worried about something. I had hoped he would grow out of it!
He has GCSEs soon, and yes, I know he is a bit stressed, but the list of ailments he keeps throwing at us is never-ending:

• headaches
• random lumps and spots
• worries about bodily fluids
• chest pains

He always insists it's 'really sore/ bad/ awful' so we end up getting a GP appointment, then as soon as the GP has told him there's nothing to worry about he's as right as rain again. But by then he's missed half a day of school or whatever. I don't think he's skivving - I think he convinces himself he is genuinely ill! In the past, if I've said 'you're fine, take some paracetamol' and sent him to school, we get a call from the medical room at lunchtime to come and pick him up!

I don't know how to break the cycle, and what if he really WAS ill?

I'm a good bit older than your DS and recently went through my own period of hypochondria (much improved now but not 100%). As you've probably realised, it's most likely caused by anxiety and stress, likely from his GCSEs. Can you possibly make an appointment with the GP to discuss anxiety? I did that and mine was really helpful, explained how the physical symptoms of anxiety can mimic lots of other things - you're not imaging the things wrong with you but there's a strong likelihood there's nothing seriously wrong, it's just anxiety tricking your body.
A lot of the time I knew logically I wasn't seriously ill but some part of my brain kept telling me I was and it's really tricky to tune that out.
Could you have a chat with him about anxiety? There's also some good books about over coming anxiety but your DS would have to recognise his anxiety and want to overcome it or they probably wouldn't be helpful.
Please be patient with him, it's an awful mental state to be in and it really is a vicious circle that's hard to break.
If he's seriously ill I'm sure you'll recognise that so don't worry!

Also forgot to say, if you think it's warranted and he agrees you could look into getting him some cognitive behavioural therapy. This can be really useful for anxiety as it teaches you how to change anxious thinking patterns and how to cope better with those thoughts.

My DS has had a dislocated arm, a dislocated knee, appendicitus, blind in one eye, close to collapse in the past month alone. All this conditions self correct if I suggest a hospital visit. In his case its more attention seeking.

penguin - yes, I have used the 'let's take you to A&E then' to assess how serious something is...

Cherry - thanks for sharing your own experiences, it's helpful to hear.
He has seen the GP in the past fr anxiety, but no real solution/treatment / follow-up was offered.
I've thought before that CBT may help him in a number of areas actually (negative thinking, always considering others to be angry/ blaming him etc). Is that something we'd need to access privately? How do you go about finding a CBT therapist?

I think you can ask your GP for a referral to one or you can google CBT therapists in your area for a private one. Not sure how long the waiting list would be if you went via GP. Good luck!

I think this site has details of CBT therapists - you can try going via GP too but often the wait is very long - 12 months or so.

www.cbtregisteruk.com/