Hypochondriac- how do you deal with one??

[stuckon99percent]

I need help with dealing with DH. He is a hypochondriac but won't admit it. Every little thing wrong with him he wants to see a gp. And it's driving me mad!!

He had a pain in his back once so 111 sent an ambulance, they checked him over and couldn't find anything wrong. Took him to a&e to be safe and DH walked out an hour later as he couldn't be bothered to wait.

At the moment he has a rash on his arm, which he keeps scratching and has spread to his chest. He wanted to ring gp but went to chemist instead who said take anti histamines. I had bought him some the week before but he couldn't be bothered to take them.

I'm just sick of it all, he whines over every little niggle. It's like he's attention seeking!!

Love him to bits but would like him to get some common sense!!

Health anxiety is a very real illness of its own.

I'm sure it is, and I understand why he has it.

Doesn't stop it driving me insane though.

It’s very draining, but isa very serious condition in its own right. Try and look for triggers in his life. Not necessarily health related. It’s anxiety not attention seeking.

It’s not clear from your post whether he gets over anxious about illness or whether you just have different thresholds for seeking medical advice and you find his behaviour irritating for reasons of your own.

IF the former, this might be helpful:

www.nhs.uk/conditions/hypochondria/Documents/Health%20Anxiety%20A4%20%202010.pdf

but bear in mind the issue might be with how YOU perceive help-seeking.

I was about to start a thread on this but found yours. I could have written this myself. So far this year DH has believed he has had various cancers, precursors to stroke and heart attack, multiple sclerosis, BSE (mad cows) and an unknown "tropical disease" from a rash whilst on holiday in Egypt.

I am sympathetic as there is clearly something deeper going on but I'm also at my wits end. He will refuse to see a doctor for any of the health "issues" but also the health anxiety.

I have tried being both hard and soft and don't know how best to manage it.

I am a HA sufferer.

It is not helpful if my DH gets angry or frustrated with me when I am in the grip of HA, as my reaction to symptoms, and my irrational worry, is not within my control (as I see it).

It is also unhelpful to be indulgent i.e. acknowledging that it is possible I might have X condition and should see a doctor.

The best way to deal with a HA sufferer (and this is just from my own personal experience as a sufferer) is to say something like - "I understand how this is making you anxious, and you do what you need to do [see GP etc], but I am sure that it is nothing serious and that everything will be fine". And give them a hug! Remind them too of the mantra "this too shall pass", and hopefully it will.

Hope that helps a little.